I knew by starting this thread another old 'my method vs. your method' debate might erupt, and clearly those debates are pointless. But this thread hasn't entirely turned out that way (good!), and I would like to steer it back towards the article again.
I have taken some time to re-read the article again, and reflect on my specific issues with Holle's comparison of techniques. Essentially, it comes down to two conclusions by Holle -- the statements that batch sparging is inherently less efficient and that it necessarily produces lower quality wort. The first issue has been addressed by Kaiser in this thread already, so lets discuss the other.
The statement that batch sparging will produce lower quality wort for homebrewers is based on what appears to be merely a HYPOTHESIS by the author, although it is not presented as such (I have included this section of the article below for those that do not have it). He states (hypothesizes) that by exposing the surface of the grainbed to air in the mash tun, the batch sparging technique leads to oxidation of tannins in the mash. He also states that by introducing batch sparge water, air is entrained in the grainbed further contributing to oxidation (I am still unclear why this would not be an issue for fly sparging, too, especially for those who use a sparge arm to sprinkle their liquor over the mash).
If you read the section below, you will see that Holle provides no evidence that batch sparging will lead to problems with oxidation of tannins/polyphenols in the mash -- it is simply stated as fact. Further, he does not cite any other article that provides evidence. The only reference is to a comment from a German publication by Narziss (1992) that says oxidated phenols are bad in wort. Fine, but the issue should really be whether batch sparging is more prone to this than fly sparging, yet this is not addressed in the article.
So, is the thesis by Holle that batch sparged homebrew is inferior because it is a less efficient method that produces lower quality wort true? No, it is absolute rubbish. Science aside, we have plenty of evidence in the homebrewing community that BREWHOUSE efficiency with batch sparging can be just as high as fly sparging. Furthermore, we have enough people around here that have used both methods and found no difference in taste -- clearly if batch sparging produced inferior beer, somebody would have noticed this by now.
.
We could just reduce the forum down to answering "is my yeast dead" threads every other day and keep posting that pic of your keggle on the odd days (framed with various inspirational poster borders for variety).
I do religiously check my thermometer though. I hit all my temps square on.
