Sparging technique

[u02scn]

Hi all,

When I'm sparging after the mash I continue until the gravity of the runnings is about 1.008. Then stop sparging and start the boil There's a lot of water left in the mash tun which I run down the drain. This seems an awful waste. Does anyone stop sparging and then drain that sugary water into their boil kettle rather than bin it? Or is this a bad idea?

Just worried I'm doing it wrong and losing a load of wort!

Regards

Steve

 

[303Dan]

If you acidify your sparge water until its pH is below 6, (or if you're using RO or Distilled water) then you can just sparge until you hit your boil volume and not worry about it. Do your volume calculations correct before you brew and you won't waste water. If you don't want to go that way, it still comes down to volume calculations whether you're wasting water or not. You'd sparge until you're no longer comforable with the gravity/pH of your runnings, then top off with water.

Hope that helps.

Dan