Mash temp and sparge water

[jcom87]

Hey everyone,
I am still gathering some last minute items before I take on my first ever AG batch. I have certainly done my homework but I still have some unanswered questions. So after chatting with some brewers in a similar situation as me (limited space and stove top brewing) someone had suggested a simple and effective fly sparge method. He holds a strainer above the grains and pours his water into it, creating a sprinkling effect. Until I have the means to fabricate a sparge arm, I think this will be my method of choice.
My first question is if anyone had any pros and cons for using that method. Also, would recirculating my mash over the top be a better solution?
As for maintaining my mash temp I have heard from several people to keep a pot of almost boiling water on standby and add it if the temp drops. Is this an effective method? The other thing I've heard is to empty a small amount of your mash, heat it a little on the stove and reenter it in the MLT but I think I would lose more heat in that process.
However, if I do use the water method, would I then need to take that same amount of water from my sparge water to keep my pre boil volume where I want it?
I have a 10 gallon Rubbermaid round water cooler as my MLT and I don't expect much heat loss (based on what I've read), but I thought I'd throw it out there to the people with more experience than me. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[stpug]

You're pseudo-fly sparge may work, but I think batch sparging would be easier given your circumstances.

Recirculating your mash would require a pump to truly recirculate, or you could try by hand but the effort would (IMO) not be worth it. Now, if you're referring to vorlaufing (the recirculating to clear the wort before draining you MLT) then you should do that, but it should only take a minute or two.

I help maintain mash temp by adding in boiling (near-boiling) water at the midpoint. I actually remove this water from my initial strike water before doughing in so my sparge water volume is not affected (and doesn't need to be adjusted).

Hope that helps answer some of your questions.

 

[brewkinger]

I'm with stpug comments above.
I think the OP was referring to decoction and not vorlauf though. He mentioned removing and heating a portion and then returning.

You are on the right track for your first AG, but you have to fine tune the specifics.

KISS philosophy....

 

[scottballz]

I have the same mash tun set up so here is what I do. Heat your water about 10 degrees above your strike water temp and dump it in your mash tun then close the lid for about 5 min. this will preheat your mash tun for you. after 5 min take the lid off and check the temp. I usually lose about 7 degrees from my kettle to the MT. At that point just stir the water until you reach about 1 or 2 degrees above your strike temp and add your grain. Stir it real good and check the temp, If you are a little high just keep stirring until you get to your target mash temp and close the lid. If I were you I would just stick to batch sparging. It's way easier and less time consuming. If it is a big beer I would double batch sparge. which just means, splitting your sparge water in half and doing it twice. hope this helps.

 

[scottballz]

Remember to take good notes too so you can calibrate all of your equipment.

 

[jcom87]

I have the same mash tun set up so here is what I do. Heat your water about 10 degrees above your strike water temp and dump it in your mash tun then close the lid for about 5 min. this will preheat your mash tun for you. after 5 min take the lid off and check the temp. I usually lose about 7 degrees from my kettle to the MT. At that point just stir the water until you reach about 1 or 2 degrees above your strike temp and add your grain. Stir it real good and check the temp, If you are a little high just keep stirring until you get to your target mash temp and close the lid. If I were you I would just stick to batch sparging. It's way easier and less time consuming. If it is a big beer I would double batch sparge. which just means, splitting your sparge water in half and doing it twice. hope this helps.

That's very helpful, thanks! Since my OP I have learned that batch sparging would be my best option, so I'd have to say I agree with you. I've always been curious why I would need to double batch sparge so thanks for clearing that up as well! I'll be sure to update how it goes once I do my first batch.

 

[scottballz]

You got it man! Another quick tip, I forgot to mention, is to heat your sparge water up to around 185. I usually hit 168 right on the money from kettle to MT, you can always go a little higher just to be safe and just keep stirring until you reach 168 and close it up. The stirring will actually help a lot anyway.
If you have any questions please feel free to PM me.

 

[ColeVet67]

I batch sparge and used to used upside down bowls for Vorlaufing, then i picked up a SS colander and havent looked back. The holes allow for a nice gentle "sprinkle" without creating holes/stirring up grains. use like a 4 cup measureing cup and like 3 times through the wort should be clear enough to drain to the BK. I use a 5 gal igloo (mash tun) and the colander fits right on top with the protruding handles.

To eliminate your MT from dropping in temp, it may be best to use your strike water to preheat it. Say somewhere in the 170 deg range. place the lid on top and allow to rest for 5-7 mins. once the MT has been heated, after that stir the water til you reach your mash temp, and then dough in, from there your temps should be stable enough to mash (60-70mins) without dropping significantly low. once the time is up stir, stir, stir.. vorlauf, then drain.

The additional water i heat up is for sparging (rinsing). stir stir stir let rest for 5 mins the vorlauf til clear then drain to BK.

"The other thing I've heard is to empty a small amount of your mash, heat it a little on the stove and reenter it in the MLT but I think I would lose more heat in that process." this would refer to decoction mashing. I would say essentially you have listed to ways of mashing here.

 

[itsrolled]

I have the same home depot 10 gallon MLT. I take my strike water heat it to about 180 then dump it into my MLT. like someone said ahead of me, just stir in till you reach your target. My cooler will drop less then 4 degrease during a hour mash. I also brew in the dead of winter in Michigan, ill just wrap a carhart around it and have similar loss.

 

[itsrolled]

You could fly sparge with a pot on your stove and just ladle water in. You want to keep the water level above the grain bed and sparge slowly. so you could get away with it. If you batch sparge you have to stir, wait for it to settle and vorlauf again. that can add a good 10 20 min to your brewday.

 

[stpug]

You could fly sparge with a pot on your stove and just ladle water in. You want to keep the water level above the grain bed and sparge slowly. so you could get away with it. If you batch sparge you have to stir, wait for it to settle and vorlauf again. that can add a good 10 20 min to your brewday.

This ^^ is a bit misleading.

Batch sparging doesn't require waiting for anything to settle, and a vorlauf can be as quick as 20-30 seconds (maybe quicker).

Fly sparging, especially in the manner you have suggested (ladeling), is likely to use up more time and energy that batch sparging. A typical 5 gallon batch fly sparge should range from about 50-70 minutes depending on your preboil volume you aim to achieve.

In typical scenarios, fly/continuous sparging is the method that takes longer.

 

[Bobby_M]

Agreed. If batch sparging takes you longer than fly sparging, you're doing at least one of them wrong (probably both). In other words, I read and hear a lot of people describing an over laborious time wasting batch sparge process. On the other side, a lot of newer fly sparging brewers will run off way too fast.

 

[LLBrewer]

You could fly sparge with a pot on your stove and just ladle water in. You want to keep the water level above the grain bed and sparge slowly. so you could get away with it. If you batch sparge you have to stir, wait for it to settle and vorlauf again. that can add a good 10 20 min to your brewday.

Or you could mash in a grain bag and batch sparge without having to vorlauf.