First whole grain. No sparg questions

[pongchamp]

So this will be my very first time doing an all grain homebrew. im doing flat tire from midwest brewers. this calls for 3gallons of mash water and another 5.25 gallons for the sparg. The grain total is 10.5lbs I'd like to avoid sparging till I have more equipment. (i currently use the BIAB method) so how much water would i need to do the no sparg method. If someone could help me out or even take my calculations and give me a little tutorial on what I need to do it would be very much appreciated. Thanks for reading.

 

[Oginme]

For no-sparge brewing, take the sparge water amount and add it in at the mash step. So your volume of mash water would be 3 gallons plus the 5.25 gallons of sparge water for 8.25 gallons total.

 

[Kingbogart]

To calculate the amount of water you need, you essentially need to take where you want to end, and add water for all your losses, and get to where you need to start. I don't have the information about your particular setup, so it's hard to land it perfectly....

That kit is designed for 5 gallons, so you need that much. Boil off will evaporate anywhere from .75 to 1.5 gallons on average, so add that on. Grain absorbs, in my experience between around .045-.1 gal/lb, add that on. Various losses in hoses and at the bottom of the kettle can be between 0 to a quart or more. About .04 gal per ounce of hops.

If you start with 8.25 gal - absorption (1.05 gal) - boil off (1.25 estimated) = 5.95 - various losses I would expect you to end up around 5.75 gal or more. Which is a little high, I would suggest reducing your water by about .5 gal.

http://biabcalculator.com/ should help you out if you just want the numbers, it's numbers about match mine, suggesting to use about 7.5 gallons total.

If you've been doing extracts, you should have a concept for how much boil off to expect, and can punch that in to get a little more precise.

 

[pongchamp]

Awesome thanks and currently I've only done micro brews so jumping up to 5 gallons is a big step going straight to all grain but I'm gonna give it a whirl thanks very much for your input

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Check out my calculator at pricelessbrewing.github.io/BiabCalc

 

[Iseneye]

With BIAB I get very low grain absorption so be careful with that. I get around 0.05 gallons per pound.

If you haven't done a 5 gallon batch you will also need to work out your boil off rate. You can do a test with water and calculate it.

 

[pongchamp]

I do have one more question With the no sparg BIAB method do I just use the same time limits like the 60min mash time and then the 60 to 90 minute boil?

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I do have one more question With the no sparg BIAB method do I just use the same time limits like the 60min mash time and then the 60 to 90 minute boil?

Usually. I've done 45 minute mashes with no efficiency loss.

 

[pongchamp]

So I still do both time limits tho?

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Yup.

 

[doug293cz]

I just did a 10.25 lb no sparge BIAB two days ago. I started with 8.1 gal of water and netted about 5.75 to the fermenter (about 0.25 over my target vol.) I squeezed this batch pretty aggressively (first time I got no liquid in the bottom of the bucket I put the bag into prior to disposal), so that might account for the extra volume.

So, 8 - 8.25 gal should work out for you. Keep good notes on all your volumes and gravities so you can do more exact calculations in the future.

Brew on

p.s. I use and recommend Priceless' BIAB water calculator.

 

[pongchamp]

So I do have one more question in refrence to times my recipe says to do a 60 minute mash then a 30 to 90 minute sparge and then the 60 minute boil so I still do all of those time limits as if I was still doing a regular sparg and what not

 

[Cider123]

So I do have one more question in refrence to times my recipe says to do a 60 minute mash then a 30 to 90 minute sparge and then the 60 minute boil so I still do all of those time limits as if I was still doing a regular sparg and what not

For the ale you are making, a 60 min mash is all you need. There are some cases where you might mash for more or less time, but for the majority of your ales 60 min is just fine.

I also boil for 60 min on all beers that I make with the exception of when you are using a bulk amount of pilsner malt. A 90 min boil is often needed to reduce DMS in your beer.

Good for you on running no sparge BIAB. IMO it is the way to go.

The previously mentioned BIAB calculators are very good. I use the BIABacus which is available for free at BIABrewer.info This is a great resource for folks who BIAB.

 

[AnOldUR]

For no-sparge brewing, take the sparge water amount and add it in at the mash step.

If you're not going to take precautions with mash pH, you're better off starting your mash at less than 2 qts/lb and then doing an infusion to mash-out temperature.

Old quote from Denny Conn:

No Sparge Brewing

As described by John Palmer in his BYO article “Skip the Sparge” (May-June 2003), a no sparge brew has the entire volume of “sparge” water added to the mash and stirred in before any runoff has taken place. Even though additional water has been added, since it’s been added to the mash before runoff has begun, we can more properly think of it as a mash infusion, rather than a sparge addition...hence the name “no-sparge”.

 

[doug293cz]

So I do have one more question in refrence to times my recipe says to do a 60 minute mash then a 30 to 90 minute sparge and then the 60 minute boil so I still do all of those time limits as if I was still doing a regular sparg and what not

Do a 60 minute mash, making sure to stir well during mash in to eliminate any dough balls. Then stir well again before lifting the bag out of the kettle. Since you are doing a full volume mash, you skip the sparge step. You can start heating to a boil as soon as you pull the bag out of the kettle. If you have a way to suspend the bag over the kettle, just let it continue to drain into the kettle while you heat. I suspend my bag from a step ladder using one of the ratchet pulleys that @wilserbrewer sells with his bags. This way I can continue to let the bag drain throughout most of the boil, and can also squeeze the bag if I want to. Boil for 60 minutes as the recipe call for.

Brew on

 

[pongchamp]

Awesome and I've got a step ladder set up with pulleysready to go so that will work perfect

 

[pongchamp]

Well everything went off without a hitch but I do have one more final question I use the brewers best no rinse sterilizer should I be worried if about two table spoons of the deluded product made it into my final fermenting product?

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Well everything went off without a hitch but I do have one more final question I use the brewers best no rinse sterilizer should I be worried if about two table spoons of the deluded product made it into my final fermenting product?

Two things here, I can't find anything about a brewers best no rinse sterilizer. I assume it's a similar product to starsan, in which case don't worry about it.

Second, It's probably a no rinse SANITIZER. This means the item should first be cleaned with something like PBW, or oxyclean free (no perfumes or detergents!), then it should be sanitized using something like starsan or iodophor (starsan is the homebrewing standard).

 

[pongchamp]

I don't think I should be worried it's about two table spoons of deluted selution in about 5.5 gallons of final product but I figured I should ask