New to all grain, Questions on sparge and vorlauf.

[bearfootbrewer]

I am new to the All grain world, But I have been brewing partial mash for a good time now. Here are my questions.

1.When I vorlauf is there a set number of times I should do it? Or is it till its clean and particle free?

2. When I have drained my first runnings in to my boil kettle and pour in my sparge water, how long should I leave it in be for I vorlauf and drain it in to the boil kettle?


Here is a blog post I did on my First All Grain batch.

http://bearfootbrewer.blogspot.com/2014/02/belgian-brew-day.html

 

[davekippen]

My process:

I vorlauf about 1 gallon. I open my drain about 1/3 and drain into a gallon pitcher. By then the wort runs clear. I carefully pour that back into the top of the mash

For my batch sparge, I add the required volume of sparge water, beat it like im mad at it for about 5 minutes, follow the vorlauf procedure above and drain into kettle.

Works for me! I get about 70% efficiency on average.

 

[Hresvelgr]

1. I usually just vorlauf until it clears up. It usually takes ~1-2 gallons.

2. I'd give it 5-10 minutes after you put your sparge water into the MT.

 

[Donosaurus]

It varies from with the equipment, how the grain was crushed and process each brewer uses when it comes to vorlauf. How translucent and free of particles the wort is will tell you when to stop.

When batch sparging I tend to add the sparge water, mix the mash thoroughly (takes a few minutes) and start vorlaufing again. In my experience, the time it takes for the grain bed to get established again is enough for the remaining sugars to dissolve. If you are worried about efficiency waiting a bit may help but switching to a more efficient sparging method (like fly sparging) will make much more of a difference.

 

[bearfootbrewer]

Thanks for the replies,

That is what I was thinking but it is nice to hear it from someone who knows.

 

[starscream]

i actually tried to double my batch sparge last time with great results. i had 5 gallons of sparge and i split it into 3 and 2 and hit over my OG and had an amazing efficiency, over 80%. i vorlauf about 8 liters since i use a liter mug to do it. and i dnt wait any time after start my sparge before i vorlauf. just stir like all hell.

 

[Croyzen]

I am new to the All grain world, But I have been brewing partial mash for a good time now. Here are my questions.

1.When I vorlauf is there a set number of times I should do it? Or is it till its clean and particle free?

2. When I have drained my first runnings in to my boil kettle and pour in my sparge water, how long should I leave it in be for I vorlauf and drain it in to the boil kettle?


Here is a blog post I did on my First All Grain batch.

http://bearfootbrewer.blogspot.com/2014/02/belgian-brew-day.html

1. Until it runs clear as in no husks coming through and has a tea like appearance. Could take a couple of cups or a couple of pitchers. The grain bed will settle nicely after running a pitcher or so.

2. You could vorlauf immediately. I usually wait about 5 minutes to let the grain bed settle a little bit after stirring.

 

[graduate]

I vorlauf until clear then put a mesh hop bag over the end of the transfer hose to catch the few pieces that get through.