Sparge to 1.010 question

[friscobrewer]

I often read that you should sparge until you are pulling of wort with a gravity of 1.010.

Question - Do you just test a sample with you hydrometer at maybe 150F and adjust for temperature or do you chill it down to 60F?

 

[Yooper]

You'd really have to chill it down- hydrometers are notoriously inaccurate with temperature correction over about 90 degrees. I think most people who fly sparge and actually check their runnings have refractometers which don't need heat correction and only use a drop of wort.

 

[friscobrewer]

Wow fast response!!

I think most people who fly sparge and actually check their runnings have refractometers which don't need heat correction and only use a drop of wort.

So do most people not check their runnings, or is it less important when batch sparging. Or is it that people just follow recommendation from brew software or their own experience.

 

[Yooper]

Wow fast response!!



So do most people not check their runnings, or is it less important when batch sparging. Or is it that people just follow recommendation from brew software or their own experience.

It's less important with batch sparging, at least in my experience. First of all, if you are doing less than .5 gallons of water per pound of grain, it's not really too much of a concern anyway, fly or batch sparging. The batch sparging would have to really be oversparged to get the runnings under 1.010, though, because you are adding the water all at once, and then draining it all at once. I do that twice, by splitting the sparge water in half. (So you aren't really going to get runnings under 1.010, because you're sort of "averaging" all of the runnings out) I don't sparge to get the best efficiency I can- I just sparge to get to my boil volume (almost always under 6.5 gallons). When you fly sparge, you are adding a trickle of water at a time, and the runnings will gradually decrease in SG. That's why it's checked- to make sure tannins are not being extracted from oversparging.

If I wanted to get the most out of my grain, I could sparge once more and check the runnings to make sure I wasn't under 1.010, but I really don't want to boil for hours so that I can have the right volume. It's a trade-off- less efficiency but less time and energy (mine as well as the gas) exerted.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

When batch sparging it is very difficult to bring it down to 1.010. Even doing a third batch sparge to get a light malt water to start a mead was clocking in at 1.016.
That is why some say fly-sparging is more efficient, but most of the time they just collect more wort they have to boil down.

 

[Bobby_M]

I use a double batch sparge method and my third runnings are consistently near 1.015 so I know I'm OK but I recommend calculating your sparge infusions based on desired preboil volume. Ignore the last running gravity.

 

[budbo]

I sparge with 5 gallons.. I take a hydro reading in the keggle before boiling.. that is the only reading I take for a batch.. My efficiency averages 84%, my Beer is tasty and packs the appropriate punch for style.. (if the runnings are high or low I add water or rice syrup solids to hit target)

 

[TwoHeadsBrewing]

Wow fast response!!

So do most people not check their runnings, or is it less important when batch sparging. Or is it that people just follow recommendation from brew software or their own experience.

I take a sample of the runnings in a normal glass, then stick it in a bath of ice water. Only takes 2-3 minutes to chill to 70F, which is close enough for me. I don't get too worried about the gravity reading of each running, but I do want to know what my pre-boil gravity is. This will tell me how much I need to boil off to hit my original gravity...if there is still some sugar left in the MLT, I'm not too worried about it.

 

[beerthirty]

I check my runnings but just to assure my self of consistency. Like Bobby my finals usually run about 1.015. Alas I can't touch his efficiency though. Preboil gravity and volume are key.

 

[DeathBrewer]

i regularly batch sparge and almost always use more water than i need. that way when i reach my pre-boil volume i can do a parti-gyle (small beer) using what is left in the grains. I've never had the small beer come out less than 1.025.

refractometer is the way to go for testing preboil gravity.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Just used my refractometer for the first time last night. Kewl toy.. Runnings were 1.067, 1.027, 1.014 on a double batch sparge to 6.75 gallons.

I can't imagine oversparging with a batch sparge. Last time I measured the final sparge I was at 1.012 and that was with a beer that came out at an OG around 1.038. I ranoff 7 gallons for that one since it was a 90 minute boil.

- Eric