Thinking of going large AG... do you guys recirculate?

[throwbookatface]

Thinking about going All-Grain once I move into my new apartment. Up until now I've been brewing 1-2 gallon batches, all-grain, in my studio because of limited space for storing equipment, plus my sink and stove are tiny. I don't want to backpedal now and start using extracts.

With my small batches I've been able to recirculate the wort through the grain quite easily using strainers and stockpots. However, I can easily have room for a cooler MLT now. My question to you guys with fancy setups is - do you guys recirculate your wort through the grainbed when using your MLTs and batch sparging? I haven't seen a clear answer here. When I see a nice 3-level setup using rectangular coolers, I think it'd be hard to collect the wort and recirculate it. Do you guys just run your sparge water once through the grain and call it a day?

I've seen a couple videos online of people recirculating the first quart or so of wort, but looking through guides, posts, and instructions for larger recipes than that I can't find any clarification on what proper procedure (or people's preferences) are.

 

[binaryc0de]

I recirculate through the grain bed and batch sparge.

 

[throwbookatface]

How do you do it? Do you collect your wort in a bucket then throw it in your tun again?

 

[bernerbrau]

I collect runnings in the boil pot until the wort is running clear, pour back what I've collected, and begin sparging when the fluid level hits the grain bed.

 

[DKershner]

I use a pump to constantly take from the bottom and flow to the top. It also runs through a coil that I use to heat the water if necessary.

Note that recirculating is unnecessary and is essentially an extended Vorlauf and an automatic stir. If you are just starting, just stir the grain instead and then do a normal vorlauf (what you watched in tutorials). Then just sparge by using another container of hot water.

 

[binaryc0de]

A pump is probably the best, but I just use my gallon measuring cup and dump back in until it runs clear.

 

[throwbookatface]

Great, thanks. I'll be vorlaufing within a month, hopefully!

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

Yeah, it usually takes about two gallons to get it clear. I'm still thrilled when you can read through the tubing full of wort.

:rockin: