extraction of tannins, efficiency and pH of last runnings...

[superfluent]

I just finished my third batch AG and this time I used my pH meter to take some readings during the mash with a simple RIMS rig I've put together. The pH was pretty much rock steady at 5.2 (as expected) but the last runnings where 5.4. I mashed 6 kg grainbill with 13.5 liters of water and sparged with another 16 to collect 25 litres preboil.

Thing is I got a 92% efficiency out of my setup which is great, but I kind of wonder if I should sparge less to prevent extracting tannins and other stuff you don't want in the wort? I tasted the last runnings and they did taste just slightly astringent.

H

 

[Kaiser]

See what the beer tastes like and go from there. So far your pH seems to be in check. You could also mash with more water, which gives you more of the precious first wort and you don't have to use as much sparge water. This also cuts down on tannin extraction.

Kai

 

[superfluent]

See what the beer tastes like and go from there. So far your pH seems to be in check. You could also mash with more water, which gives you more of the precious first wort and you don't have to use as much sparge water. This also cuts down on tannin extraction.

Kai

Yes, I'll probably go ahead and mash with more water and sparge with less and see what happens for my next batch. My first post actually contains a typo; it's a 5.2 kg grainbill and nothing else so with 13+ liters it's about 2.5 liters/kg which is what's generally recommended.

However, I have a pretty unconventional electric "in situ" RIMS setup that basically allows me to do the mashing and sparging directly in the wort kettle. I like it because it is super compact (I brew indoors in a converted bathroom in my flat) but the drawback is that you can't really do any measurements of the runnings until you've (almost) completed the sparge.

H