To Sparge or Not to Saprge, That is the Question

[Rich711]

At present there is no choice as I only have a Mash Tun and a Boil Pot. So I am trying to decide if I should just expand my brew operations with never an eye on sparging or add the sparge pot.

With my two 10 Gallon vessels, it appears that converting my extract high gravity brews to my no sparge all grain method will be a challenge.

Any input about the possibility of working exclusively in the no sparge realm will be appreciated.

 

[doug293cz]

It's ok to batch sparge with cold water, as long as your conversion is essentially complete at the end of your mash (ref: http://braukaiser.com/blog/blog/2009/05/12/cold-water-sparging/.) Just treat your sparge water in a homer bucket prior to batch sparging.

Edit: Here's a chart that gives you an idea of how much volume a no-sparge mash requires.



Brew on

 

[Homercidal]

Really all you need is a large container to hold the hot sparge water while you drain the mash tun into the BK. Heat the sparge water in the BK during the mash. Once you reach sparge temp, drain the sparge water into some container(s). Once the Mash Tun is drained into the BK you can pour the sparge water into the mash tun, mix it up and drain it into the BK (or the other container if you have the BK on heat and can't easily drain directly into it.)

This container could be a few 5 gallon buckets. The temperature of the sparge water doesn't have to be exact.

 

[2trout]

I run a classic BIAB process. 1 Pot. I mash and boil in it. It is a full volume mash and boil. The Sparge is essentially passive, all the water is there from the start of the process. Heat to strike temp, mash, pull the bag and gravity drain or squeeze if you like (I squeeze). An additional step if you wish would be to also do a mash out. Its not really necessary though

Trout

 

[Homercidal]

I run a classic BIAB process. 1 Pot. I mash and boil in it. It is a full volume mash and boil. The Sparge is essentially passive, all the water is there from the start of the process. Heat to strike temp, mash, pull the bag and gravity drain or squeeze if you like (I squeeze). An additional step if you wish would be to also do a mash out. Its not really necessary though

Trout

The big downside is that you can't fit as much in the mash tun that way. That may be a concern if you are projecting not having enough space for all the water and grain necessary to brew the big beers you planned.

With a sparge method you can fit more grain due to using less water at any given time.

 

[HollywoodTK]

I use a small pot to collect first runnings (which is usually a pretty small volume) while my kettle heats/holds my sparge water. Then I add the sparge, pour the first runnings into the kettle, and it's business as usual.

If your fermentation bucket can handle 150F water, you can use that to hold the sweet wort for a few minutes while you batch as well.

 

[mongoose33]

I use a small pot to collect first runnings (which is usually a pretty small volume) while my kettle heats/holds my sparge water. Then I add the sparge, pour the first runnings into the kettle, and it's business as usual.

This is exactly what I do. I inherited a 5-gallon kettle from a guy who was getting out of brewing, and I use that to catch the first runnings. Water from the kettle is used to sparge, when that kettle is empty the first runnings go in the boil kettle and flame is applied.

I don't have quite as large a system as OP, but it seems to work ok:



In this pic, I'm using the pitcher to catch the last of the second runnings and the boil kettle is about 5 degrees short of reaching boil. Don't show the smaller kettle in this pic, but it's there. Trust me.

 

[2trout]

Homercidal has a good point.

The big downside is that you can't fit as much in the mash tun that way. That may be a concern if you are projecting not having enough space for all the water and grain necessary to brew the big beers you planned.

With a sparge method you can fit more grain due to using less water at any given time.

You have a 10G pot correct? With my process, and your 10G pot, you would be limited to lower-mid gravity beers. Higher gravity beers may not fit in you pot with a passive BIAB sparge. You may need an active sparge to get to the volume you want for certain beers.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

I have done several brews without sparging at all when I don't have the time, I still do the vorlof technique to make sure I didn't get any extra gain in the BK and the beers turn out perfectly fine. Its prob not best practice not to sparge and I do sparge prob 70% of the time but I would experiment and see what works for you.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

I use a small pot to collect first runnings (which is usually a pretty small volume) while my kettle heats/holds my sparge water. Then I add the sparge, pour the first runnings into the kettle, and it's business as usual.

If your fermentation bucket can handle 150F water, you can use that to hold the sweet wort for a few minutes while you batch as well.

I have also done this before and id say this works just fine as well.

 

[ViciousFishes]

Sparges? We don't need no stinking sparges!!! I vote no. A bit more grain, but think of all the time you'll save!