BIAB Sparge Water Temp?

[tonyolympia]

I have been reading conflicting things here about the right sparge water temp for BIAB, though that's never the central question so I wonder if I'm misreading.

Do you BIAB'ers heat your sparge water to 170, or do you heat it higher to allow for equalization at 170? If it's the latter, what temp do you shoot for?

I'm about to do my first BIAB (and first AG!) so all help in dialing in the process would be appreciated. If you care to mention how long you sparge for, that'd be great too. I want to FWH in my mash water while I sparge, but I wasn't sure if I should allow the sparge to go a full 30 minutes (the duration of the FWH).

 

[ErieShores]

Try heating your water to 180 and don't exceed 10 minutes in the sparge water. You will be fine with FWH is using that process, there is plenty if time for the hops to steep before the boil and after you pull the bag. I have never had a problem FWH-ing using this method.

 

[ElDuderino]

Are you talking about heating the vessel which contains the wort the bag has been steeping in before removing the bag or heating a seperate container of sparge water to dunk your bag in?

I do the former, and I heat it to 175 and then lower the bag back in and stir really well for a couple of minutes. The temperature equals out around 165, so you might try what the above poster suggested and raise it to 180. I've read that the risk of extracting tannins has more to do with using 170+ degree liquor (which would have a higher ph as well) rather than using 170+ degree wort. That said, I read it on the interwebs, but it makes me feel better and I haven't noticed any astringent flavors.

 

[samc]

I just raise the temp with bag in place to 170F and let it sit (recirculate for me) for 10-15 minutes, then pull bag and boil.

 

[redcoat_or_rebel]

just don't go over 170 and sparge as long as you want

 

[ShakerD]

Heating the sparge water with BIAB is unecessary. I have hit 92% without heating.

The main benifit of BIAB is keeping it simple.

 

[redcoat_or_rebel]

Heating the sparge water with BIAB is unecessary. I have hit 92% without heating.

The main benifit of BIAB is keeping it simple.

verrrrrrrry interesting. how long did you mash for?

+1 on simplicity. i just did a no boil blueberry pilsner ala this thread

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/experiment-idea-no-boil-ag-beer-202785/

 

[ShakerD]

I usually grind to the almost smallest setting on my barley mill and mash for 90 min. I then dunk sparge the bag three times.

That being said there are lots of threads on here about cold water sparging. The consensus, it seems, is that it doesn't matter. Of course I personally have never tried using colder water than what is already in my keggle.

 

[JuanMoore]

Heating the sparge water with BIAB is unecessary. I have hit 92% without heating.

The main benifit of BIAB is keeping it simple.

+1
I've batch sparged with room temp water without any issues, and got the same efficiency I always get. Doing a mash-out has benefits for fly sparging, but sparge temp and mash-out vs no mash-out really don't make a difference for BIAB or batch sparging.

 

[Bradinator]

I just hit a 90% efficiency with a BIAB and did not bother raising the temperature of the mash before sparging. I just sparged with 175F water, slowly pouring, 1 cup at a time over the grain, collecting the runnings as the kettle became full. Worked awesome and I would do it again this way for sure!

 

[Mysticmead]

of course there's the other side of BIAB that keeps even more simple.. no sparge needed. just use the full volume of water to begin with. I mash for 90 minutes then heat to 168 for 10 mins and pull the bag. after it has drained the majority of wort I set it in a colander over my old 5 gallon kettle and do my FWH at that time (in main kettle) I let the bag drain for 25 minutes and then spend an extra 5 minutes squeezing the bag. Of course I do use a 10 gallon kettle for full volume BIAB 5 gallon batches.

This is the best part of this hobby. Everyone can do it their way and they still end up making great beer!

 

[wolfman_48442]

of course there's the other side of BIAB that keeps even more simple.. no sparge needed. just use the full volume of water to begin with. I mash for 90 minutes then heat to 168 for 10 mins and pull the bag. after it has drained the majority of wort I set it in a colander over my old 5 gallon kettle and do my FWH at that time (in main kettle) I let the bag drain for 25 minutes and then spend an extra 5 minutes squeezing the bag. Of course I do use a 10 gallon kettle for full volume BIAB 5 gallon batches.

This is what I normally do. My last few batches though, I haven't even bothered to mash out. Still get my typical 72-73% efficiency.

 

[seabass07]

I just heat the kettle to 170f for mash out and pour my 170F sparge water over the grains to get to pre boil volume. It is probably not necessary to heat up the sparge water. I'll try it without heating next time.

 

[tonyolympia]

This is crazy. I'm reading Deathbrewer's stickied thread about stovetop BIAB brewing, and granted I'm only 15 pages in or so, but so far there has not been ONE hint of the no-sparge or cold-sparge tactics discussed above. Everyone is mashing in one pot and dunk-sparging in a separate pot heated to ~170 - 180.

So many different versions of the process to choose from. Doing my first BIAB this weekend, it's going to be tough to decide which one to follow!

 

[chapa]

This is crazy. I'm reading Deathbrewer's stickied thread about stovetop BIAB brewing, and granted I'm only 15 pages in or so, but so far there has not been ONE hint of the no-sparge or cold-sparge tactics discussed above. Everyone is mashing in one pot and dunk-sparging in a separate pot heated to ~170 - 180.

So many different versions of the process to choose from. Doing my first BIAB this weekend, it's going to be tough to decide which one to follow!

No matter which you choose, you'll still have great beer!! I've been doing the no-sparge and I love it...so simple!!

My only problem is holding temp...for some reason I seem to drop 5 degrees within 10-20min, so I have to keep reapplying heat. This has me considering using my cooler/mlt to just do full mashes with no sparge. I did this last time, and it was still pretty quick, and I didn't have issues holding temp like I do mashing in the kettle.

While you get less efficiency doing the no-sparge, I've been getting 60% efficiency for a while, so it doesn't really bother me. I'm going to tighten the gap on my malt mill next time, so if I was able to increase my efficiency anywhere close to 70% doing a no-sparge, I'll be ecstatic, but even if I stay at 60%, I'm happy with a quick, streamlined brewday!

 

[Mysticmead]

This is crazy. I'm reading Deathbrewer's stickied thread about stovetop BIAB brewing, and granted I'm only 15 pages in or so, but so far there has not been ONE hint of the no-sparge or cold-sparge tactics discussed above. Everyone is mashing in one pot and dunk-sparging in a separate pot heated to ~170 - 180.

So many different versions of the process to choose from. Doing my first BIAB this weekend, it's going to be tough to decide which one to follow!

Deathbrewer's thread is a good starting point for brewing on teh stove top with minimal sized pots. However it is far from the only source of BIAB. BIAB started in Austrailia and a lot of info can be found at http://www.biabrewer.info/ even that isn't going to be the sole source.. HBT has a lot of threads on BIAB, there's a BIAB group (called teabagers) here and there's a BIAB facebook group that a lot of us diehard BIABers frequent.


there have been tests done by some brewers here with cold sparging and the original BIAB technique was a full volume no -sparge brewing method. I believe that cold sparging showed little or no difference than heating the sparge water. The biggest difference is getting to a mash out temp and stopping enzyme activity. Not doing so "COULD" result in a more fermentable wort. That would mean a "SLIGHTLY" drier beer with "SLIGHTLY" more alcohol.

 

[seabass07]

I only sparge because I generally need 1 or 2 gallons of top up water to get to my preboil volume. I figure if I'm going to add water after the mash, I might as well pour it over the grains to get some sugar out of there. If I had a 12 gallon kettle, I wouldn't need any more water and wouldn't sparge.

 

[tonyolympia]

Mysticmead, I think I recall another thread where you were talking about a mash thickness as low as 3 quarts/lb. I imagine that you were referring to a no-sparge BIAB mash, correct?

 

[Mysticmead]

yep.. that would be a no sparge. basically, take total batch size + absorption +boil off + trub loss + water needed for full volume BIAB. to determine absorption I use .05 x grain in pounds. Others use .08..

 

[cyclonite]

My only problem is holding temp...for some reason I seem to drop 5 degrees within 10-20min, so I have to keep reapplying heat. This has me considering using my cooler/mlt to just do full mashes with no sparge. I did this last time, and it was still pretty quick, and I didn't have issues holding temp like I do mashing in the kettle.

Try wrapping a couple of towels around the kettle and securing them with something (I use a couple large binder clamps), and then lay another towel folded over itself across the top. I've been doing this lately, and only lose 1 degree over an hour mash when brewing in the garage (ambient temp was about 72F). Seems to provide pretty good insulation. You could also use a sleeping bag, comforter, etc. I just used some old towels in case I splashed on them, and didn't care what happened to them

 

[ShakerD]

Try wrapping a couple of towels around the kettle and securing them with something (I use a couple large binder clamps), and then lay another towel folded over itself across the top. I've been doing this lately, and only lose 1 degree over an hour mash when brewing in the garage (ambient temp was about 72F). Seems to provide pretty good insulation. You could also use a sleeping bag, comforter, etc. I just used some old towels in case I splashed on them, and didn't care what happened to them

I do this in the winter when it's -20 and I brew outside, it works. Just make sure the bottom is not to hot or you can kiss your towel/blanket/sleeping bag good bye. I just give it a quick once over with a spray bottle.

If the temp drops a couple of degrees is it really a big deal? Plan for it advance and start a couple degrees higher. If you know your equipment you will know where it will begin and end right?

I am a minimum effort maximum gain kind of guy.

 

[Mysticmead]

other options are... wrap it in an old sleeping bag (what I do for now) or go to walmart and buy a roll or 2 of the reflective insulation they sell for water heaters.. wrap a couple time and tape it. then it can be slipped off and on as needed (will be doing on my keggle)

 

[wolfman_48442]

The reflectix from Lowes works great. I put three layers on my kettle and get maybe a 1 degree drop in a 90 minute mash.
Just don't forget to take it off before you fire up the burner! (Don't ask me how I know this :cross