Questions on Beersmith

generalzod4791 · May 31, 2012

Hello all. I'm just getting back in to home brewing after being on hiatus the past few years. The main reason I'd quit was due to time restrictions but thanks to this site and the Aussies I've started using the 'no-chill' method and have been amazed at the results. I used ProMash in the past but just imported my recipe into BeerSmith. I was going to give batch sparging a go as I no longer have a sparging ring but am a little confused by the steps. It suggests that I "Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.17gal, 3.77gal) of 168.0 F water." Does this mean I should add the 1.17gal before initially draining the mash tun and then add the 3.77gal after draining? Or should I recirculate, drain, add the 1.17, drain, add the 3.77, drain? I'm baffled. Sorry about the wall of text.

progmac · May 31, 2012

maybe uncheck the box that says use equal batch sizes. otherwise this is something to do with your equipment profile, i think

BigB · May 31, 2012

Beersmith assumes you will add the first sparge water to the mash. So you would add it prior to vorlauf. I personally don't pay any attention to the sparge steps in beersmith. I've got a good handle as to what I will get out of my initial mash and then split the remaining difference by two... so if I figure I need 6.5 gallons for boil and know that I mashed with 3.5 gallons but will lose 1/2 gallon to tun design and will lose another 1 gallon to grain absorbtion, I know I will get 2 gallons off the initial mash. Then I take the remaining 4.5 gallons I need and have two sparges of 2.25 gallons each. (because I already accounted for tub design loss and grain absorbtion).

hops2it · May 31, 2012

There are many ways to approach it but first you have to decide if you want to do 2 sparges or not. Depends on your preference and/or if you have the cooler space. I do a single sparge now using these selections in Beersmith:

-Check batch sparge using batches that fill...
-Check use equal size batches
-Check drain mash tun before sparging

This will result in a 2 step operation per Beersmith...(drain mash tun, x gallons sparge water). If you want to do it this way for all beers in the future, make that change on the mash profiles tab so it'll apply to all recipes from then on. I just edited the single infusion, medium body, batch sparge profile to the above scenario. I also raised the sparge temp (which is really the sparge water addition temp, not the actual sparge session temp) from 168 to 185 to account for heat loss but that's another topic.

BrewThruYou · May 31, 2012

generalzod4791 said:
I was going to give batch sparging a go as I no longer have a sparging ring but am a little confused by the steps. It suggests that I "Batch sparge with 2 steps (1.17gal, 3.77gal) of 168.0 F water." Does this mean I should add the 1.17gal before initially draining the mash tun and then add the 3.77gal after draining? Or should I recirculate, drain, add the 1.17, drain, add the 3.77, drain? I'm baffled. Sorry about the wall of text.

Yes, it's saying that in order for the two runoffs to be equal, you need to add 1.17gal to the mash before draining. The grain will absorb a lot of strike water, so adding 1.17gal should make each sparge equal.

Granted, you don't have to do this. You could drain completely first, then sparge with the full 4.94 gallons. You could drain first then double batch sparge with 2.47gal in each sparge.

tre9er · May 31, 2012

Bottom line is that you add the sparge water and vorlauf, drain, repeat until you hit your preboil volume. If you do that in 1, 2, or 3 additions (I'd do as few as possible)...whatever.

I'd add the first addition to the mash until cooler is about full, stir, vorlauf, and then add rest. If your mash tun is large enough you should be able to do it that way and save some time/effort.