Proper batch sparge method

[Rob2010SS]

So i think im gonna try batch sparging tomorrow. Im going to have 5 gallons of sparge water. Do i need to break it up into two 2.5 gallon sparges or do it all at once?

The way it works is drain first runnings, add the batch sparge water, stir, let sit for 10 min, drain again. That all there is to it?

 

[Rob2010SS]

Additionally, I'm using a brew bag in my cooler mash tun. Do i need to let the grain sit after adding batch sparge water or can i just start draining right away since im not relying on the grain bed to filter?

 

[mongoose33]

I don't even think you need to wait 10 minutes. It's not like the sugar needs to be dissolved; it's already dissolved, you're just rinsing it off the spent grain.

If you sparge in two stages, you might get a little bit higher efficiency. I never did; I just sparged with full volume.

By the way, you'll probably come across something about the temperature of the sparge water. It really doesn't matter so long as you stay below 170 degrees. At that point, with a high pH, you might extract tannins from the grain.

But you could sparge with cold water. I always heated mine but that's just so I could get a head start on the boil.

 

[BrewingAroundtheRrealm]

I use the mash in a bag method myself. Using a 5 gallon cooler I can't sparge all of the water I need at once. I usually do two sparges with a 20 minute rest each time. If your cooler is large enough I see no reason why you couldn't do one big sparge.

 

[kh54s10]

Don't sparge a specific amount. You need to sparge and collect the amount of wort you need for a preboil amount. I do a two sparge so I get an accurate volume. I know I need right about 7.25 gallons to get just over 5 gallons in the fermenter. So if I get 2.5 gallons out of the mash I know in need 5 more gallons. I then sparge 3 gallons, stir it up, vorlauf and drain. I then measure what I have collected in the BK. Say I only ended up with 5 gallons, I then know I still need another 2.5 gallons.

Whatever, shoot for your preboil amount. Add the sparge water, stir, vorlauf until clear then drain the mash tun. No waiting, it is unnecessary and may let the grain pack so that you get less sugars than if you drain quickly.

 

[Rob2010SS]

Don't sparge a specific amount. You need to sparge and collect the amount of wort you need for a preboil amount. I do a two sparge so I get an accurate volume. I know I need right about 7.25 gallons to get just over 5 gallons in the fermenter. So if I get 2.5 gallons out of the mash I know in need 5 more gallons. I then sparge 3 gallons, stir it up, vorlauf and drain. I then measure what I have collected in the BK. Say I only ended up with 5 gallons, I then know I still need another 2.5 gallons.

Whatever, shoot for your preboil amount. Add the sparge water, stir, vorlauf until clear then drain the mash tun. No waiting, it is unnecessary and may let the grain pack so that you get less sugars than if you drain quickly.

I sparge a specific amount because of the fear of over sparging. I take my grain weight x .15 which tells me how much water is absorbed by the grain. I then subtract that from my strike water. Finally i subtract that value from my target pre boil volume of 7.5 gallons and then i round up just to have a bit more. Should i not be calculating my water that way?

 

[kh54s10]

I sparge a specific amount because of the fear of over sparging. I take my grain weight x .15 which tells me how much water is absorbed by the grain. I then subtract that from my strike water. Finally i subtract that value from my target pre boil volume of 7.5 gallons and then i round up just to have a bit more. Should i not be calculating my water that way?

I guess that works. But it seems simpler to measure how much you collect from the mash after grain absorption then sparge with what you need to get to your preboil amount. As I said before. I drain the mash, measure, sparge with a little over half what I need to get to preboil and the a second sparge with an accurate amount to get preboil volume. That does 2 things. 1) leaves little extra. 2) very little water in the spent grains so they are lighter for disposal.

 

[Soulshine2]

So i think im gonna try batch sparging tomorrow. Im going to have 5 gallons of sparge water. Do i need to break it up into two 2.5 gallon sparges or do it all at once?

The way it works is drain first runnings, add the batch sparge water, stir, let sit for 10 min, drain again. That all there is to it?

Back in my college days we wee taught to triple rinse containers with the same water you intend on using to mix ( we were studying mixing pesticides at the time and every bit of the chemical costs money , no sense throwing away anything useable ,just wasting money. Same with rinsing grains, you'd just be throwing away the sugars youre after) Thats what I did last batch ,mash, twice batch sparged,to achieve pre-boil volume . During the last part of the mash time, I get my sparge water going. By the time it comes up to temperature ,I drain the first sparge into the BK and then dump the second sparge water into the MLT . seemed to work just fine.

 

[BrewMan13]

I guess that works. But it seems simpler to measure how much you collect from the mash after grain absorption then sparge with what you need to get to your preboil amount. As I said before. I drain the mash, measure, sparge with a little over half what I need to get to preboil and the a second sparge with an accurate amount to get preboil volume. That does 2 things. 1) leaves little extra. 2) very little water in the spent grains so they are lighter for disposal.

This is what I basically do, except I do a fairly thin mash, so one sparge is plenty. I used to just ball park it, but got to the point where I wanted to ensure I was using a fairly accurate amount of water on both counts; have been very pleased thus far.

 

[Rob2010SS]

So im doing this currently. I just added my second batch sparge. Is it typical for the wort to be more cloudy with this method?

 

[kh54s10]

I don't know for sure because I have only done a single sparge once or twice, but I don't think it would make much difference. As long as you vorlauf enough to set the grain bed and not have grain particles in the wort.

 

[kevin58]

Denny Conn pretty much wrote the book on batch sparging. Here is his original article... it's 10 years old but the concept hasn't changed any. http://www.dennybrew.com/

 

[cactusgarrett]

Is it typical for the wort to be more cloudy with this method

It shouldn't be if you've vorlaufed. It should be clear AND lighter in color.

Regarding the number of sparges, Kai did some work (or some work on reporting) on the subject (see the second and third graphs). Me? I've settled on double batch sparging, as it strikes a good balance between effort and efficiency. As was mentioned, you can use cold water to sparge (warm/hot just gets you go boil faster), and there's no benefit to wait after adding each batch.

 

[kh54s10]

I double batch sparge for a lazy reason. I want to collect the needed pre-boil volume and leave as little water in the spent grain as possible. For weight reasons. I want to carry the lightest weight possible to the compost or trash.

I find it a lot easier to do a first sparge, measure the volume then sparge with just enough to get to preboil. With a single sparge it is more difficult to hit the pre-boil volume accurately.

 

[Rob2010SS]

So, I didn't do a thorough batch sparge because of the picture below...

I use a brew bag in my cooler MLT. I figured I could get away without doing a vorlauf after both sparges because the brew bag would act as the filter instead of the grain bed.

I did not get any efficiency gains by going the batch sparge method. My planned OG was 1.050 at 75% efficiency and I hit it exactly, even switching from fly sparge to batch sparge.

I will say the batch sparging saved me a bit of time though! That method is quick!

 

[kh54s10]

Why is mash tun still half full? You should measure so that you don't end up with much water at all in the tun after sparging.

 

[Rob2010SS]

That pic was right as I doughed in. With the batch I was doing, that's as full as it got!

 

[kh54s10]

Looks good to me. I usually get about 2.5 to 3 gallons from the mash so I then need a little about 4.25 to 4.75 gallons to get to preboil. I split that roughly in half measuring the collection after the first sparge and adjusting for the second sparge.

 

[LittleRiver]

...I did not get any efficiency gains by going the batch sparge method. My planned OG was 1.050 at 75% efficiency and I hit it exactly, even switching from fly sparge to batch sparge. I will say the batch sparging saved me a bit of time though! That method is quick!

If you want efficiency gains you can tighten your mill gap. That won't cause a problem since you are using a bag and batch sparging.

If you want to save time, you can go single vessel BIAB. That would eliminate the cooler (i.e. eliminate the time you spend cleaning it), and eliminate the time spent transferring liquids from one vessel to another (and eliminate cleaning the hoses/pumps used for transfer).

To hold steady temps when mashing in a kettle, put some insulation over it during the mash. I use an old sleeping bag. Spring through fall I hold within 1 degree for a full hour.

If you want to save even more time, eliminate the sparge. I don't sparge, and I get about 83% efficiency (with a .025" grind) on my simple single vessel BIAB rig.

If you can, rig a lift point above your kettle. When the mash is done, I hoist the bag and immediately fire the burner for the boil. Gravity drains the bag into the kettle. It is all just so easy.

 

[LittleRiver]

Denny Conn pretty much wrote the book on batch sparging. Here is his original article... it's 10 years old but the concept hasn't changed any. http://www.dennybrew.com/

Agreed the basic concepts have not changed, but techniques have evolved that challenge some of his positions. Regarding No Sparge Brewing he says: "This method is the easiest way to mash, but at the expense of poor extraction, typically 50%."

With no sparge BIAB techniques I easily get over 80%.

I don't point that out to slam Denny, without a doubt he has contributed much to the homebrew community. Much more than I ever will.

 

[hawkbox]

I no sparge 5 gallon batches and batch sparge 10 gallon batches. I mash in a bag and have a fairly accurate volume for my pre boil runnings. I just dump the water in however it gets there, leave it for a bit after stirring it up and then drain it.

 

[BobBailey]

So i think im gonna try batch sparging tomorrow. Im going to have 5 gallons of sparge water. Do i need to break it up into two 2.5 gallon sparges or do it all at once?

The way it works is drain first runnings, add the batch sparge water, stir, let sit for 10 min, drain again. That all there is to it?

Theoretically, you want half of your boil volume from the first runnings and the other half from the sparge. Practically, if you use a reasonable water to grain ratio(1.25 to 2), it doesn't make a bunch of difference. Give it a good stir after adding sparge water and run it off.

 

[kh54s10]

Theoretically, you want half of your boil volume from the first runnings and the other half from the sparge. Practically, if you use a reasonable water to grain ratio(1.25 to 2), it doesn't make a bunch of difference. Give it a good stir after adding sparge water and run it off.

This only works if you have a big grain bill. If you are brewing a light beer with say 7 pounds for a 5 gallon batch, with a 1.5 qt to pound ratio that is 10.5 quarts or 2.265 gallons less what you loose to grain absorption. So I would need to sparge with at least 5.25 gallons.

 

[BobBailey]

Try 2qts/lb., the thinner end of the ratios I posted. That'll get you much closer and would the practical way in this case. Maybe I should have clarified that the, "it doesn't make a bunch of difference" referred to getting half the boil volume from first runnings. That's the reason I differentiated between theory and practice.

 

[doug293cz]

...

I did not get any efficiency gains by going the batch sparge method. My planned OG was 1.050 at 75% efficiency and I hit it exactly, even switching from fly sparge to batch sparge.

...

Batch sparging will not give you better lauter efficiency than a well done fly sparge. Batch sparge can have higher efficiency than a poorly done fly sparge.

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