Strike and Sparge Water

[XpeedeeX]

Hey I'm new to all grain brewing and I was wondering about the amount of water used to the boil time. I only brew in 5 gallon batches and I've read that foir the strike water you want a 1.25-1.5 water to grain ratio and then 1/2 a gallon of water per pound of grain for sparge. So depending on the grain bill the amount of wort that I get after sparging can be really high requiring me to boil longer to get down to my target volume post boil. However I have also read that most people boil for 60 mins, so is this normal to have to boil longer to meet the target volume for a bigger grain bill? Thanks for your help.

 

[Skyforger]

You can end up boiling longer, yes. Most all-grain recipes call for a 90-minute boil, which both helps evaporate more water and makes a cleaner cold break (often more important when brewing all-grain). But, depending on your burner strength, kettle shape, air pressure/humidity, and various other factors, the actual boil time can vary. You just need to get a feel for about how fast water boils off in your system, really. Then you can start tweaking the amount of sparge water so you can get the right amount of starting wort for the boil time you're aiming for.

Sorry to say so, but getting this all right can take a few tries. Follow commonly-used guidelines and you'll be in the ballpark, though. And in either case, the quality of the finished beer won't change that much with different boil times. I've had to do a 3 1/2 hour boil before when I had a crappy burner/too much wort, and the beer turned out fine.

 

[smizak]

sorry to say so, but getting this all right can take a few tries.

+1,000,000

 

[waldoar15]

Right or wrong, here's what I do for normal gravity beers. First runnings go into a white bucket so I can see how much I ran off. If it was two gallons, then I sparge with 5 or 5 1/2 to get pre boil volume.

 

[jmhart]

I only brew in 5 gallon batches and I've read that foir the strike water you want a 1.25-1.5 water to grain ratio and then 1/2 a gallon of water per pound of grain for sparge.

Yes, for strike water in your mash you want ~1.5 qts per pound. However, the sparge number you mention is kind of a "to get the most out of your grain" thing, and it's also highly variable based on your efficiency.

The deal is, your first runnings (the strike water) will have a really high OG. For big beers, this may be the only water you use. However, for low and medium gravity beers, you'll then "dilute" that strike water down to your target OG using the sparge water. So, point is, you may or may not need/use 1/2 gallon per pound for the sparge. You'll just sparge until you reach your target OG which may or may not be your desired pre boil volume. If it's high, then you just boil longer. If it's low, then something wasn't right either in your mash or the amount of grain you used.

However, after you've hit your target OG (including sparge water), all that grain may still have some sugars in it. You can add this to your beer, but it will lower your OG. Or, depending on the gravity of the leftovers, you can make a small beer.

So, the entire point my ramblings is that 1/2 gallon per pound for sparge is really just an estimate to get the most sugar out of your grain post mash. It doesn't mean all of that goes into your brew pot. You can stop whenever.

 

[ibbones]

Right or wrong, here's what I do for normal gravity beers. First runnings go into a white bucket so I can see how much I ran off. If it was two gallons, then I sparge with 5 or 5 1/2 to get pre boil volume.

Same thing here. My buckets are professionally marked with a Sharpie and shaky hand so it gives me a good idea of how much wort is taken off the first running's. Then I double batch sparge to get the rest.

 

[CPooley4]

My suggestion would be use about 1.75 - 2.0 quarts per pound for mashing. This should yield you about half of your boil volume of 6 gallons from the 1st runnings. Figure out what you actually yielded from those first runnings. If 3 gallons then you use 3 more gallons for the sparge. If 3.5 gallons then you use 2.5 gallons for your sparge. You get the picture. Your highest efficiency with a batch sparge comes from equal yields from your 1st and 2nd runnings typically.

 

[OLDBREW]

some food for thought from old school brewing methods!

"rule of thumb" is that for every 10 pounds of milled malt you will absorb 1 gallon of water. It may be more or less, but a very good starting point for predicting the outcome. (take notes)

example:
using 10#'s grain..
Adding 4 gallons strike water at dough in..
gives you 3 gallons of first runnings drained after mashing.. This is without any mashtun/lauter vessel losses(liquor left behind)!
Every brewery has it's own set of loss/usage volumes and needs to be dialed in by taking notes on each brew day to get your brewery running on a consistent bases.

your sparge liquid volume should be at least 2x the mash ratio.. this includes the boil evaporation rate but leaves out absorption.

so let's say for 5 gals.
the mash has 10 # grain
I add 3 gallons strike water, and get 2 gallons out when I drain after absorption.
I use 4 more gallons for my sparge.. 2 gals mash + 4 gals sparge= 6 gals. pre boil.
boil time = 1 hour (evaporation rate = 1 gal. per hour)<DEPENDS ON YOUR EQUIPMENT
finish with 5 gals.