Sparging with room temp water

[Kealia]

As I read elsewhere (yes, I cheat on you guys) on people that have a Mash and Boil, it appears that a number of them are sparging with room temp water to avoid having to use two vessels to brew. I've been known to use water that isn't up to the normal 170 or so that I normally aim for but I never even considered using room temp water.

Those that have done it report back 0 loss of efficiency or other problems, other than the obvious one of taking longer for the full wort volume to hit a boil post-sparge. I believe their accounts but would be even more interested in experiences from those here that I 'know' and 'trust' (yeah, that last one REALLY needs to be in quotes ).

Has anybody here sparged with room temp water? What was your experience? I could see this being a big advantage when I start using my M&B to avoid having to carry hot water from the kitchen to my new brewing location.

[BlackDuck]

I’ve never done that. Always sparged with 170 temp water. I’ll be interested in the comments too.


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[Beer-lord]

I think Brulosophy did an experiment with water below 170 but I don't recall it being room temp. If you're just washing the sugar out the grains, why not. But I would think you might see a small drop in efficiency.

[Kealia]

Yes they (he?) did and reported a small difference in gravity but also noted that it could be because his volumes were off. It's not that I don't trust the other people, I just don't know them, their processes, the type of beer they make, etc. Whereas if you, or mashani, or somebody else here posted that they've done it without issue, I'd pretty much take it as gospel.
I'm sure at some point I will give it a try - just not on my initial batch when I use the M&B - which I *should* be getting for Christmas

[mashani]

The few times I've sparged a mash & boil batch I've done it with room temperature water, because hauling hot water down to the basement from my kitchen just isn't something I want to do.

I have not had any problems with it. I hit the numbers I expected, and the grains tasted bland.

That said, I have NOT sparged the same batches with hot water, so I can't tell you if I might get an extra point or something if I did.

[berryman]

I have not personally tried it, but have been reading about it with interest on said other forum. I think Denny Conn brought this up and can maybe give us more insight if he sees this post. As for now I have a electric sparge water heater and around 165-167 degs. and works for me.

[bpgreen]

I've sparged with hot water, room temperature water, and even refrigerated water (to get my no boil, no chill batch cooler faster). I still don't have everything dialed in, but the temperature of the sparge water doesn't seem to hurt. In fact, I got my best efficiency with the refrigerated water.

[Beer-lord]

Now isn't that something? I would never have guessed that cold water would do better. I'd wonder if this was just a happenstance and would be curious if it could be duplicated. Still, it just goes to show you that some of the things we've all read and have been told just don't matter.

[berryman]

Now isn't that something? Still, it just goes to show you that some of the things we've all read and have been told just don't matter.

Yes, I wonder that also and willing to try new things, but know what works for me.

[RickBeer]

Actually it does matter what the temperature of the sparging water is. It's just that the result, as evaluated by a human being, may not be that noticeable (which of course is what all our beer is evaluated by). Similar to whether your mash PH is 5.3 or 5.35. There is a difference, but you may not notice. The difference is also less likely to be noticeable on a 5 gallon homebrew batch vs. a 7 barrel batch at a commercial brewery, because the hot sparge water increases the flow of the wort, which speeds up the brewing process, which allows them to make more batches.

Just make sure that you're either using cold tap water, or heated tap water. You should not be brewing or sparging with water heated by a water heater. Why? Because hot water leaches lead from water pipes (assuming you have copper pipes). Same goes for cooking, always use cold tap water.

[bpgreen]

Lead is only a problem in houses with plumbing that was done before lead was banned in solder used for plumbing. I think that was 1986 in the United States.

[RickBeer]

Lead is only a problem in houses with plumbing that was done before lead was banned in solder used for plumbing. I think that was 1986 in the United States.

Actually, it's more likely in homes built before 1986. That doesn't mean it's absent in homes built after 1986. Lead comes from many places, not just solder. And sitting hot water in pipes (and water heaters) dissolves other chemicals whereas cold water does not. Hot water pipes and tank are not flushed like cold water, and is never recommended for cooking or making beer.

https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-dr ... king-water

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/health/29real.html

https://vitals.lifehacker.com/why-you-s ... 1735556725

[Kealia]

This is all good info. My reasoning for wanting to try this is the same as mashani's: The new Mash & Boil is going to allow me to brew in my rec room instead of the kitchen but I have no water source there. My first batch will be in the kitchen using 170 water like normal, just so I can limit the variables on my first brew but I see me using room temp water after that first batch or two - assuming I have no issues otherwise.

[mashani]

FWIW, I treat all of my water with camden, including the sparge water. I keep about 3-4 gallons of pre-treated water around (in 1 gallon jugs) at all times. I treat my mash water right in the mash & boil before I start the mash, so those jugs are always available for sparge or top up or whatever I might want.

It normally all just starts off as cold tap water, because my Eerie Lake water actually makes good beer except for some specific styles that need very soft water, where I have to start with RO water.

[John Sand]

Lead is the Secret Ingredient that makes my beer so good.