SoCal-Doug
Well-Known Member
I'm preparing an educational segment for a brewing group I belong to. Curious how the masses feel about sparge liquor. Results and debates might give me some insights to add to my presentation 
Sparge liquor poll
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Softish tap water (34 ppm alkalinity) with salts and (phosphoric) acid.
Using Bru'nWater.
Using Bru'nWater.
madscientist451
Well-Known Member
My garden hose is connected to a spring up on the hill. If there's "crap" in the water, the boiling will kill it.
When sparging you are recovering the sugars. The reason to add salts or acids it if you use hot water you can extract tannins if you get the pH too high, like over 170F. Since the tannin extraction requires both high temp and high pH you need to control one of those. I do it by using cool water for the sparge. The hot, wet mass of grains will warm this so it collects the sugars just fine but will not bring the temp into the danger zone.
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I use filtered(not RO) water from my well. It has pretty low pH, and works well for what I brew.
I run my sparge water up to around 190F and turn off heat, mash highest temp never gets to 170, no problem with tannins, and much better efficiency than the ''normal''168F. Fly sparge and a fairly slow one.
I run my sparge water up to around 190F and turn off heat, mash highest temp never gets to 170, no problem with tannins, and much better efficiency than the ''normal''168F. Fly sparge and a fairly slow one.
isomerization
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Sparge has same salts as mash (excluding rare uses of sodium bicarbonate) and about 0.5 mL lactic acid for every 2 gallons of RO water.
Gnomebrewer
Well-Known Member
I use untreated rainwater. So none of the options listed.
What if you don't sparge?
BIAB'ers, for the most part, don't sparge. I do use a separate mash tun, controlling mash temp with a RIMS, and my mashes are single-infusion with no sparge at the end.
I'm just suggesting that in your presentation you allow for these alternative approaches to brewing w/r/t the role sparging plays in the process.
BTW, the reason I do it this way is I've been trying to nail down LODO techniques, and sparging makes it harder to maintain that.
*******
The cost with this kind of single infusion approach is efficiency. The advantage is usually time, or in the case of LODO, reducing the oxygen exposure of the wort. If I were highly motivated to try it, I could pre-boil the sparge water and carefully add that to the mash tun. I just don't have an easy way to do that as my BK is having the wort pumped into it from the mash tun. I have some ideas how I might do this, but not sure the reward is worth the effort. I just bumped up my grain bill to deal with the reduction in efficiency.
BIAB'ers, for the most part, don't sparge. I do use a separate mash tun, controlling mash temp with a RIMS, and my mashes are single-infusion with no sparge at the end.
I'm just suggesting that in your presentation you allow for these alternative approaches to brewing w/r/t the role sparging plays in the process.
BTW, the reason I do it this way is I've been trying to nail down LODO techniques, and sparging makes it harder to maintain that.
*******
The cost with this kind of single infusion approach is efficiency. The advantage is usually time, or in the case of LODO, reducing the oxygen exposure of the wort. If I were highly motivated to try it, I could pre-boil the sparge water and carefully add that to the mash tun. I just don't have an easy way to do that as my BK is having the wort pumped into it from the mash tun. I have some ideas how I might do this, but not sure the reward is worth the effort. I just bumped up my grain bill to deal with the reduction in efficiency.
Part of what you do will depend on the nature of your sparge. You can fly pretty fast and loose with a batch sparge, but I'm pretty sure you want to be managing pH with a fly sparge.
I batch sparge. I actively manage pH in the mash (with acidulated malt), but have nothing but brewing salts in the sparge.
I batch sparge. I actively manage pH in the mash (with acidulated malt), but have nothing but brewing salts in the sparge.
I do the same as @IslandLizard except I use Lactic acid not phosphoric.
Kirkwooder
Emperor of all things nobody cares about
I have never tested, or therefore treated, any of my tap (well) water. I make pretty good beer and never really see a need to. I have used RO water a few times and treated that, but mostly I let my water fly as is.
I brew in a bag and I sparge with tap water. I do use a hose, but it's a proper potable water hose.
Brunwater invariably tells me to add the same salts I add to my mashin liquor, and always says to add 3ml lactic acid (per 4 gallon sparge liquor). So, that's what I do.......
McKnuckle
Well-Known Member
I used distilled water as a base for brewing. I add salts and acid to the mash liquor, then sparge with a pre-measured small amount of plain distilled water.
Curious about the lactic acid added to the sparge water. I use Brun' Water and I've never had it specify an acid addition to the sparge water.
Edit: Wow, I just went and looked. I've been obvious to the acid addition it suggests for the sparge water. I'm going to try that for my next batch.
3ml? I went and looked at a handful of my IPA recipes and it's .03ml for every one. That's less than one drop.
I use whatever comes out of my tap, untreated. However - don't use a garden hose! I literally did so for a while, and was fine - but it was an older hose. I replaced the garden hose at one point. Then I was getting awful beer for a few batches. It actually took a few dumpers before I realized it was the new garden hose leeching out nasty chemicals. (I could taste the off-flavors straight from the hose).
Since then no garden hose for me. Still untreated tap water. Seems obvious in hindsight not to use the hose, but hey, I'm a slow learner... It was quite convenient though.
Since then no garden hose for me. Still untreated tap water. Seems obvious in hindsight not to use the hose, but hey, I'm a slow learner... It was quite convenient though.
Shoot as kids we played outside all day and drank from a hose. Were still here lol. It ain't gonna kill ya .
Well sure we all did; I wasn't worried about health affects from the hose. The hose water just made nasty beer, however...
OP
OP
SoCal-Doug
Well-Known Member
Interesting results so far. I intentionally did not give any lead-in's or any pro's or con's to any method, or reasoning for any method. About 20 commercial brewers got the same poll. I figured this forum would be a good place to get a large sampling of the home brew community. The presentation will be filled with plenty of biology, chemistry, math, and experiment results, for all situations. I should mention a couple things at this point...
* "Crap" is meant in jest. I don't mean to insinuate that your hose water is crap. It might be, or might not be. Irrelevant.
* Garden hose could mean the actual hose, kitchen tap, toilet drain, cistern, shower head, or any other source of water you use.
* I get that not all BIAB'ers sparge. Just do your thing, it wont apply to you.
* LODO... Don't care. Not applicable. Take tangents on that subject to other threads.
It's all in fun. And thanks everyone!!!
* "Crap" is meant in jest. I don't mean to insinuate that your hose water is crap. It might be, or might not be. Irrelevant.
* Garden hose could mean the actual hose, kitchen tap, toilet drain, cistern, shower head, or any other source of water you use.
* I get that not all BIAB'ers sparge. Just do your thing, it wont apply to you.
* LODO... Don't care. Not applicable. Take tangents on that subject to other threads.
It's all in fun. And thanks everyone!!!
Treat all my water in one kettle with salts the night before brewing. Then mash and batch sparge. Acid if indicated added to the mash only
My well water has a lot of bicarb that I need to counteract
WestMichBrewer
Well-Known Member
I buy 5 gallons of RO water from the grocery store and treat it with CaCH and sometimes gypsum. My batches are 3 gallons so this 5 gallon jug is almost all I need for a batch.
I mash and sparge with the same treated water, but may have to throw in a quart or two of untreated filtered water with the sparge to get to my boil volume. I know this dilutes my minerals a bit, but DWHAHB.
I mash and sparge with the same treated water, but may have to throw in a quart or two of untreated filtered water with the sparge to get to my boil volume. I know this dilutes my minerals a bit, but DWHAHB.
