Sparging

[Sheehan1985]

I have done a couple of home brews that have come out reasonably well but I have never used sparge water mainly because I'm not entirely sure how to do it.
Any tips please guys?

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Do you do biab or use a mash tun? I use two fermenting buckets, one with lots of small holes drilled in the bottom and one with a spigot and place the one with the holes in the one with the spigot. Then transfer the mash to the bucket, collect the first runnings and fill up the sparge water and let it sit for a few minutes, then collect the rest at about 1L/minute.

 

[ATLBeer]

Need more information about how you are brewing. What equipment do you use?

I use a Robobrew and at mash out, I slowly rinse the grain with about 1 1/2 - 2 gallons of 170 degree water. This gets the last of sugar out of the grain and increases the volume of water for the boil.

It's that simple. The approach varies a bit based on equipment, and some don't sparge at all.

 

[McKnuckle]

Sparging is like taking a bath, then standing up at the end and turning on the shower to rinse off. That's all there is to it.

Fresh water with no sugar concentration will rinse sugar clinging to the grains more efficiently than continuing to rinse with the mash water.

Several unique terms are used to define the ways of sparging - batch, fly, pour-over, dunk... it all accomplishes the same thing. As has been mentioned, please mention your equipment to get more applicable advice regarding which sparge techniques would suit you.

 

[Sheehan1985]

My first 2 brews were basically done with a mashed tun which was converted from a cooling box, transferred to a big saucepan for boiling and hop schedule, cooled in an ice bath then transferred to a big fermenting bucket

 

[Sheehan1985]

So basically what I understand, sparging is basically pouring hot water into a sieve full of grain to rinse off remaiinig sugars?

 

[Sheehan1985]

Sparging is like taking a bath, then standing up at the end and turning on the shower to rinse off. That's all there is to it.

Fresh water with no sugar concentration will rinse sugar clinging to the grains more efficiently than continuing to rinse with the mash water.

Several unique terms are used to define the ways of sparging - batch, fly, pour-over, dunk... it all accomplishes the same thing. As has been mentioned, please mention your equipment to get more applicable advice regarding which sparge techniques would suit you.

My first 2 brews were basically done with a mashed tun which was converted from a cooling box, transferred to a big saucepan for boiling and hop schedule, cooled in an ice bath then transferred to a big fermenting bucket

 

[Sheehan1985]

My first 2 brews were basically done with a mashed tun which was converted from a cooling box, transferred to a big saucepan for boiling and hop schedule, cooled in an ice bath then transferred to a big fermenting bucket

So basically what I understand, sparging is basically pouring hot water into a sieve full of grain to rinse off remaiinig sugars?

 

[McKnuckle]

Arguably, the simplest type of sparge is a batch sparge. It's easiest to use when the grain is contained in a mash tun such as a cooler:

1. Determine the total amount of water you need
2. Mix half of the water with the grains for your recipe in a cooler
3. Mash in the cooler for the designated period of time and temperature
4. Run off the wort into a kettle, leaving the grain behind in the cooler
5. Pour the rest of the water into the cooler, mix with the grains, then repeat step 4
6. Proceed to boil

I've left out various nuances in order to explain it simply.

 

[Sheehan1985]

thank you guys you have been very helpful, my next project is a plum porter I'll post results when done, cheers.

 

[pvpeacock]

Note that the grain absorbs a certain amount of strike water when you mash. Once the grain has done so, it will not absorb any more. So when you batch sparge, you should get out the same amount of water you sparge with. This is good to know if you know how much wort you want to start with in the boil.
For example, I always use 5 gallons of strike water to mash (I don't really care about grain to water ratios). When I finish mashing and drain by mash tun, I see how much wort I get. If I get 3.5 gallons of wort and I want to boil 6 gallons, I just sparge with 2.5 gallons of water. Voila!

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

Also note that recipe programs, beersmith atleast, can overestimate the grain absorption and you end up with a bit too much wort and a little lower gravity than planned.
Always measure the wort and compare it with how much you were planning to get if you end up with a lower gravity too adjust for the next time you brew that or some similair beer.

 

[Beermeister32]

Another thing to watch is your sparging temps. On one of my early batches I thought I would save time by heating my sparge water to near boiling to rinse the grains. I ended up extracting tannins and ended up with a very phenolic beer! Yuck!

Keep your temps down. I've been running a cold sparge lately with good results.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

Sparging is like taking a bath, then standing up at the end and turning on the shower to rinse off. That's all there is to it.

Fresh water with no sugar concentration will rinse sugar clinging to the grains more efficiently than continuing to rinse with the mash water.

Funny comparison and somewhat close. But when you're sparging, you're in effect diluting the bath water with fresh water while the drain is open.

MC

 

[McKnuckle]

I was describing a batch sparge. You are describing a fly sparge. But the bathtub analogy does work!

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I was describing a batch sparge. You are describing a fly sparge. But the bathtub analogy does work!

I gathered that!