Sparge method when grain bill exceeds kettle size

[pretzelb]

I've been reading how people will sometimes sparge when the grain bill exceeds the kettle size but I'm not clear how the water is prepared. I assume everyone has a single vessel so while mashing you can't heat the sparge water. If you get the sparge to 170 first and maybe store it in a cooler you still have to keep it warm for the entire mash, plus, you then have to start to heat the mash water. This sounds time consuming. Is there a method I'm not thinking of?

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I use another pot, but I love dangerously and brew on my stove top.

For my small batches I heat sparge water with my tea kettle.

 

[IslandLizard]

If you're use a separate mashing vessel, you can still use your kettle to heat the sparge water while you're mashing. Then store in a cooler, bucket, other pot to free up your kettle.

I sometimes mash in my kettle too, when done, dump the whole lot in my mash cooler with manifold, and lauter it from there.

Be inventive!

 

[dkevinb]

I used to mash in about 6 gallons of water in an 8-gallon kettle on my propane burner. I'd heat 2 gallons of water in a 5-gallon kettle on the stove to 170 F (mash out temp) near the end of the mash time. I'd pull the bag out of the big kettle, drain a bit, drop it in the little kettle and let it sit for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, while heating the wort in the big kettle. Then I'd pull the bag and squeeze. Finally I'd dump the little kettle into the big kettle and proceed with the boil. It was easier than typing that description and worked quite well.

 

[theseeker4]

I've been reading how people will sometimes sparge when the grain bill exceeds the kettle size but I'm not clear how the water is prepared. I assume everyone has a single vessel so while mashing you can't heat the sparge water. If you get the sparge to 170 first and maybe store it in a cooler you still have to keep it warm for the entire mash, plus, you then have to start to heat the mash water. This sounds time consuming. Is there a method I'm not thinking of?

I simply use hot water from my tap, and put it in my fermentation bucket. After draining my grain bag into the brew kettle, I put the bag into the fermentation bucket and open it up, using my mash paddle to break up the grain and stir it with the water. Once it is well mixed for a few minutes, I pull the grain bag back out and drain it into the bucket. I have read several times that the sparge temperature doesn't matter that much, so haven't been worrying about keeping the sparge water at a particular temperature.

 

[peterj]

I agree with theseeker4, I don't think sparge water temperature matters much at least with a batch sparge type method. So I would just do a cold water sparge, then you won't have to worry about issues with heating the sparge water.

For my past several brews I've just been using room temp water for my sparge, and I've seen no noticeable drop in my efficiency. Also when I do BIAB I can squeeze the bag really well without burning the crap out of my hands.

Here's an experiment Kai did: http://braukaiser.com/blog/blog/2009/05/12/cold-water-sparging/

 

[TexasWine]

No need to heat sparge water, although doing so will speed up the brew day. You can do a pour over sparge or a dunk sparge in something like a bucket.

What I do is pour my sparge water in a bucket and use my extra Brew Hardware Hot Rod to heat it. When the mash is done, pull the bag and put it in the bucket of hot sparge water.

 

[No_Nrg]

I have a 2nd 2 gallon pot I use for cooking that I heat sparge water in while mashing. You can then either do a dunk sparge or pour that water over your grain suspended in a collander over your mash pot.

Just make sure that it is clean of any food residue!

 

[wilserbrewer]

I have found the easiest method to sparge BIAB is to use a ratchet pulley to lift the bag out of the kettle, while the bag is hanging over the kettle, slowly pour your sparge water over the grain and let it drip through. This is also easy if you have a method to measure volume in your kettle, you just sparge to the desired volume. Easy peasy. I often do this not because my kettle is too small, but it is an idiot proof method to achieve a proper pre-boil volume.

 

[pretzelb]

Thanks for all the ideas. I should have mentioned I'm considering a 20g system like BrewBoss out Colorado Brewing. I'd be in the garage and if probably get rid of my other equipment. I don't think the wife wants my messing around in the kitchen anymore so getting another source for hot sparge water might be tricky, unless I go with tap water from the garage sink.

 

[wilserbrewer]

How much sparging you gonna need to do w a 20 gallon system?

Just kidding, from the way the original post presented, I assumed you were trying to squeek 5 gallons out of a 6 gallon kettle

 

[pretzelb]

How much sparging you gonna need to do w a 20 gallon system?

Just kidding, from the way the original post presented, I assumed you were trying to squeek 5 gallons out of a 6 gallon kettle

You bring up a good point. I'm researching this upgrade so much that I'm lost in the weeds looking at all the possible options.

In this case I was looking at Brewing Classic Styles at their recipe for a Barley Wine that calls for around 23lbs for a 5g batch. So even before I've upgraded I'm already getting greedy thinking about having 10g of Barley Wine that I can leave in a closet for a long time. The reality is I've never tried to brew this recipe and even if I did I could probably get by with dialing it down two 4 gallon batches.

Looking in BeerSmith I think my biggest 5g recipe is about 15lbs and that should scale easily to a 10g batch for the BIAB 20g system I'm considering. I just want to know the limits in advance before I pull the trigger on this purchase.