Preferred Method of Sparging for BIAB

[Jordan Logo]

What's the consensus on the best best way to sparge for BIAB for best efficiency?

1. Dip the bag in sparge water until met volume is needed?
2. Pour water over bag until volume is needed?

The reason why I'm asking is because I have a kettle that won't exactly fit the whole volume so I'm going to mash in the partial volume then sparge till I reach my boil volume!

Thanks!

 

[MaxM]

From what I hear and have done myself, rinse the suspended grain bag with water at mash-out temp to bring the volume up to boil volume. Actually, I’ve had good efficiency just lifting the grain out and letting it drain and giving it a light squeeze. That being said, you might not even need to do the rinse... but you might as well if you have to top off your volume anyway.

 

[Nuggette]

I drilled alot of holes in the bottom n sides of a five gallon bucket, place the drilled bucket in a 6.5 g bucket, the BIAB in the drilled n pour over that and collect. I switch between two different 6.5's to keep it moving.
I hope that makes sense

 

[Pkrd]

I drilled alot of holes in the bottom n sides of a five gallon bucket, place the drilled bucket in a 6.5 g bucket, the BIAB in the drilled n pour over that and collect. I switch between two different 6.5's to keep it moving.
I hope that makes sense

That's what I did with BIAB too, except put a spigot in the lower bucket.
Sparge until I hit my pre boil gravity (adjusted for volume).

 

[lump42]

I drilled alot of holes in the bottom n sides of a five gallon bucket, place the drilled bucket in a 6.5 g bucket, the BIAB in the drilled n pour over that and collect. I switch between two different 6.5's to keep it moving.
I hope that makes sense

That's what I did with BIAB too, except put a spigot in the lower bucket.
Sparge until I hit my pre boil gravity (adjusted for volume).

Doesn't this method turn it into a 2-vessel system, mash tun/boil kettle and a lauter tun? Would it not save a step and mash in the bucket lauter tun and then sparge from there? I thought the big benefit of BIAB was that it was a 1-vessel system. If you're trying to keep the equipment simple just suspend the bag and pour over.

 

[Immocles]

What's the consensus on the best best way to sparge for BIAB for best efficiency?

1. Dip the bag in sparge water until met volume is needed?
2. Pour water over bag until volume is needed?

The reason why I'm asking is because I have a kettle that won't exactly fit the whole volume so I'm going to mash in the partial volume then sparge till I reach my boil volume!

Thanks!

I’ve done both. Dunking at mashout temp is easier for me. I’m in the same boat for kettle size issues so I give it a dunk in a gallon or so of water.

 

[SanPancho]

I second the dunk sparge. Heat it up, dunk the grains, stir it up and let it sit while you do something else for 5-10 minutes. Hoist your bag and drain it over kettle if you can, or wait for it to drain and combine it all.

Have had much better extraction than trying to rinse in the bag while hoisted.

 

[kevin58]

Mash full volume. Squeeze the sh*t out of the bag when done.

 

[Ninoid]

Full water volume BIAB, squeeze with hands (without gloves). Efficiency is about 80%.

 

[RM-MN]

Dunking at mashout temp is easier for me.

Dunking in room temperature water is easier yet as you don't have to heat the water and you get nearly the same efficiency unless your mash isn't complete in which case the higher temp will cause more conversion by the alpha amylase enzyme.

 

[Jordan Logo]

What about your mash temp. What was your grain bill? If you have brewed this before and everything is exactly the same except for water then it could be that . Maybe the grain was old

I don't know about your efficiency, but there's a problem with your data. 3.66 gallons of 1.034 pre-boil wort won't boil down to 2.5 gallons of 1.040. Water goes, sugar stays. If your pre-boil numbers and post-boil volume are all correct, then your post-boil gravity should be 1.045 as predicted. You've got at least one volume or gravity error in there. Either that or you boiled down to more than 2.5 gallons and discarded the leftover wort, in which case you chucked out the rest of the sugars that would have gotten you to your intended OG.

I’ve done both. Dunking at mashout temp is easier for me. I’m in the same boat for kettle size issues so I give it a dunk in a gallon or so of water.

I second the dunk sparge. Heat it up, dunk the grains, stir it up and let it sit while you do something else for 5-10 minutes. Hoist your bag and drain it over kettle if you can, or wait for it to drain and combine it all.

Have had much better extraction than trying to rinse in the bag while hoisted.

Dunking in room temperature water is easier yet as you don't have to heat the water and you get nearly the same efficiency unless your mash isn't complete in which case the higher temp will cause more conversion by the alpha amylase enzyme.

What temp do you guys dunk sparge at? According to BeerSmith it says 168.

 

[FatDragon]

What temp do you guys dunk sparge at? According to BeerSmith it says 168.

I haven't dunked in years - I prefer to pour sparge water through the bag. With BIAB, you can sparge (however you do it) at regular sparge temps (i.e. 168 would be pretty typical) or with cool water. You might see a tiny efficiency boost with warmer water - no guarantees - but cool water cools down the grains and makes it easier to squeeze the bag if you're into that. Plus, if you sparge with cool water, you save one step in the process as you don't have to go out of your way to heat your sparge water.

 

[doug293cz]

The most important difference is that a dunk sparge will be more consistent as far as efficiency and predictability are concerned, if you stir the grains well prior to running off the sparge water. There is really no way to control a pour over sparge, as you have no idea how much channeling you get, or if you are getting the sparge water to rinse all the grains. This lack of predictability is mitigated somewhat, since the sparged wort only contributes maybe 25 - 30% of the total sugars to the BK. So, you have to decide for yourself, which is more important: consistency and predictability, or ease of process?

Brew on

 

[Jordan Logo]

I haven't dunked in years - I prefer to pour sparge water through the bag. With BIAB, you can sparge (however you do it) at regular sparge temps (i.e. 168 would be pretty typical) or with cool water. You might see a tiny efficiency boost with warmer water - no guarantees - but cool water cools down the grains and makes it easier to squeeze the bag if you're into that. Plus, if you sparge with cool water, you save one step in the process as you don't have to go out of your way to heat your sparge water.

Ahh okay... so you just run room temp water over your grains? Cool! Sounds easy enough.

 

[Jordan Logo]

The most important difference is that a dunk sparge will be more consistent as far as efficiency and predictability are concerned, if you stir the grains well prior to running off the sparge water. There is really no way to control a pour over sparge, as you have no idea how much channeling you get, or if you are getting the sparge water to rinse all the grains. This lack of predictability is mitigated somewhat, since the sparged wort only contributes maybe 25 - 30% of the total sugars to the BK. So, you have to decide for yourself, which is more important: consistency and predictability, or ease of process?

Brew on

What temp do you do the dunk sparge?

 

[SanPancho]

168-170 is the norm. But cooler works too. Just be aware that the cooler the water the longer it takes to get a boil.

And if your grist is heavy in oats, rye, wheat then stick with hot water.

 

[RM-MN]

168-170 is the norm. But cooler works too. Just be aware that the cooler the water the longer it takes to get a boil.

And if your grist is heavy in oats, rye, wheat then stick with hot water.

This is true...but the hot wet grains raise the temperature of the sparge water quite a bit so it doesn't take all that much longer.

 

[SanPancho]

Depends on your sparge volume. And your water temp. My groundwater is about 55f year round. Definitely makes a difference.

 

[z-bob]

I think my kettle is just big enough to do a full-volume mash. I do a dunk sparge anyway so I don't have to add so much acid to adjust the mash pH (4 gallons of mash water instead of 6)

I pull the bag out and let it drain, then squeeze it a little. Move it to a bucket and add dechlorinated hot tapwater. I stir that and let it soak for about 10 minutes while I'm heating the first runnings. Then I lift out the bag and let it drain, and squeeze it again (much easier this time because it's not as hot), and add the squeezin's to the kettle.

Next time I'm going to dump the sparge water into the kettle at the end of the mash; wait a few minutes, and pull the bag, squeeze, etc with no sparge. Mainly to see if it makes a difference.

 

[sborz22]

I do a sort of hybrid biab and just last night my efficiency was about 77%.

I put the grain in the mash tun without the bag. After the mash is done I will put a bag over my kettle and fire up the burner and slowly start pouring in the water/grain into the kettle. This completely separates the mash from grain. To sparge, I dumped all of the grain out of the bag and back into the mash tun and poured my cold sparge water back onto the grain. I stirred for 2 minutes then redid the process of attaching the bag over the kettle and dumping the grain and newly sparged mash into the kettle.

 

[balrog]

Full vol here
Lift bag, drip while heating 10-15m to boil
No squeeze, no dunk, no sparge, no runs, no drips, no errors

 

[LittleRiver]

What's the consensus on the best best way to sparge for BIAB for best efficiency?...The reason why I'm asking is because I have a kettle that won't exactly fit the whole volume...

From the responses so far you can see that there is no consensus, because people brew in many different ways, with many differences in their equipment and their brewing spaces.

For someone who brews outside or in the garage they can probably easily hang their bag, so they could do either a dunk or a pour over. For someone who brews on a stovetop they may not be able to hang the bag at all, so a dunk is the way to go. For someone with a small kettle, a full volume mash is impossible, so a sparge is a good idea (especially so if they rely on a store to mill their grains). For someone with a kettle big enough for a full volume mash, and their own grain mill, sparging can be completely eliminated (and still get great efficiency).

Figure out what works best for you in your unique situation. Try it both ways, do one batch with a pour over and another with a dunk and see which works best for you.

 

[doug293cz]

I think my kettle is just big enough to do a full-volume mash. I do a dunk sparge anyway so I don't have to add so much acid to adjust the mash pH (4 gallons of mash water instead of 6)

I pull the bag out and let it drain, then squeeze it a little. Move it to a bucket and add dechlorinated hot tapwater. I stir that and let it soak for about 10 minutes while I'm heating the first runnings. Then I lift out the bag and let it drain, and squeeze it again (much easier this time because it's not as hot), and add the squeezin's to the kettle.

Next time I'm going to dump the sparge water into the kettle at the end of the mash; wait a few minutes, and pull the bag, squeeze, etc with no sparge. Mainly to see if it makes a difference.

You should see a difference, and it is possible to predict that difference pretty accurately. If you tell me your typical grain bill weight and pre-boil volume, that goes with your 6 gal of total brewing water, I can run the simulations for you.

Brew on

 

[Ninoid]

Sparge in BIAB is maybe good idea for brew high ABV beers, with a larger amount of grain in a smaller kettle. If you sparge, you must pay attention for pH of sparge water which is different from pH of kettle water.

 

[Jordan Logo]

Sparge in BIAB is maybe good idea for brew high ABV beers, with a larger amount of grain in a smaller kettle. If you sparge, you must pay attention for pH of sparge water which is different from pH of kettle water.

Thanks! I'm using Bru'n Water so everything is super simple!

 

[balrog]

Thanks! I'm using Bru'n Water so everything is super simple!

I really hate to do this to you, but until you get a pH meter, you are just assuming everything is super simple. Once you start measuring things it might be eye opening. I sometimes wish I'd stuck with the simple sticky instructions but I can't help myself from wanting to know.

 

[z-bob]

I'm not convinced the sparge pH is all that important. I guess maybe it depends how much sparge water, and how hot it is; whether it will extract too much tannin from the grain husks.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

What's the consensus on the best best way to sparge for BIAB for best efficiency?

I started out when I moved to BIAB last December with a dunk sparge (also because that volume let me move my kettle inside into an insulated box I used for mashing). I moved to full volume mashes (insulating with a sleeping bag). Full volume is easier, but I was getting 5% to 10% better efficiency with the sparge and my 10 gal kettle tops out at around 14 lbs of grain. I might move back to a sparge...or maybe just a sparge for big beers.

I think my kettle is just big enough to do a full-volume mash. I do a dunk sparge anyway so I don't have to add so much acid to adjust the mash pH (4 gallons of mash water instead of 6)

I am fairly new to water chemistry and adjusting for mash pH. Wouldn't less mash water mean you need to add more acid?

 

[z-bob]

I started out when I moved to BIAB last December with a dunk sparge (also because that volume let me move my kettle inside into an insulated box I used for mashing). I moved to full volume mashes (insulating with a sleeping bag). Full volume is easier, but I was getting 5% to 10% better efficiency with the sparge and my 10 gal kettle tops out at around 14 lbs of grain. I might move back to a sparge...or maybe just a sparge for big beers.

I am fairly new to water chemistry and adjusting for mash pH. Wouldn't less mash water mean you need to add more acid?

I have extremely alkaline water. (IIRC it's 320 or 260 ppm of alkalinity, depending which units of measure you use) It takes a lot of acid to neutralize that and get the mash pH below 5.5. I usually shoot for 5.4. Two more gallons of water (full volume mash) means several more milliliters of acid. Or I can either use RO water for the sparge, or just don't care about the pH of the sparge water and keep the temperature below about 170 degrees. The "don't care" method is working for me

Someday I will try decarbonating the water with calcium hydroxide; that's probably the cheapest way to go (even cheaper than buying acid), but you need a large bulk storage tank to treat your water.

 

[Jordan Logo]

I really hate to do this to you, but until you get a pH meter, you are just assuming everything is super simple. Once you start measuring things it might be eye opening. I sometimes wish I'd stuck with the simple sticky instructions but I can't help myself from wanting to know.

DARNNN YOU!! Hey, at least I have an excuse to get a meter!

 

[SteveH aka shetc]

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I have extremely alkaline water. (IIRC it's 320 or 260 ppm of alkalinity, depending which units of measure you use) It takes a lot of acid to neutralize that and get the mash pH below 5.5.

Ahhh....my water is [77 ppm Bicarbonate, HCO3] and [63 ppm Total Alkalinity, CaCO3]. In my case 3 oz to 6 oz of Acidulated malt usually puts my light beers into range and darker beers will either be in range or too low (though I have not messed with raising my pH yet). But I guess even in my case, less mash water means a lower pH which would mean less needed acid.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

DARNNN YOU!! Hey, at least I have an excuse to get a meter!

My last 2 batches have been almost exact on the BrunWater prediction (an IPA and an American Brown Ale). I suspect you would be better off to adjust your mash pH without a meter than to not adjust because you don't have a meter. I wanted a meter to help ensure that I was on track.

pH meters seem as intimidating as water chemistry is (with selection, calibration, usage, and storage). I picked up this $40 one and it seems to meet my needs (https://www.amazon.com/Dr-meter-PH100-V-Resolution-Accuracy-Measurement/dp/B00ST3VTQ4). The most recommended meters are in the $120 range, though I have seen some in the $80 range recommended.

Also, now instead of relaxing or eating breakfast after getting my mash started, I am spending 15 minutes calibrating my meter and taking a pH reading.

 

[LittleRiver]

....or maybe just a sparge for big beers....

That's what I do.

For "normal" beers I don't bother with sparging. There's no need to -- I can hit or exceed recipe targets without it, without modifying the recipe.

 

[wepeeler]

Full volume mash when I can. If I'm doing a big beer, for space reasons I will sparge. In that case I pour water directly through bag to reach pre-boil volume.