AG brewers, how do you do sparge?

[Kealia]

Specifically, those of you that fly sparge - here is my question: Let's say that you know you need to collect 7.5G of wort pre-boil.

Do you:
A) Use just enough water to collect your 7.5G with nothing left in the mash tun? Meaning that as you finish your sparge you no longer have water covering the grain bed because it ALL has drained.
B) Use enough water to keep the waterline above the grain bed and simply stop collecting wort when you hit your desired volume in the kettle?


Since I switched from BIAB to a 'standard mash' process 3 years ago I've been batch sparging. I was listening to a few podcasts yesterday on my way home from work (yes, my commute is THAT long) and one of the topics was efficiency and sparge processes. For no reason in particular, it made me think of this question as it relates to fly sparging.

I'm always curious about other processes.

[BlackDuck]

Good question. I use option A. I've got BeerSmith figured to the point where it tells me how much water to use in the mash, and how much to use in the sparge. I use a CPVC manifold and not a false bottom, so I have very little, if any water left in the mash tun after the sparge. BeerSmith calculates the grain absorption and I have the mash tun deadspace set to zero. I almost always come out right on the money for my pre-boil wort volume.

EDIT: I've never had to add water, but I have had to let the tun sit a few minutes then tilt it to get the last .25 gallon out of it and into the kettle.

[Kealia]

Cool.

I should follow up my initial question with the next one that comes to mind:
Does either process A or B above provide better efficiency?

And while we are at it....how long do you sparge? 30 minutes? an hour?

I do know that the slower the sparge, the more extraction you get. But wondering how long is long enough? When I batch sparge it ends up taking me about 45 minutes or so from when I start to drain the mash tun to the final drops coming out (initial drain + the batch sparge).

I'm just in a thinking mood today. Dammit, why don't you all live closer so we can talk about this stuff over a beer at the bar!

[Inkleg]

Dammit, why don't you all live closer so we can talk about this stuff over a beer at the bar!

Bar?
Nashville
Asheville
Asheville
Nashville
We saved you a seat on the couch.

[Kealia]

Would you believe a naked cat ate my invitation?

[Inkleg]

They are little shits at times so yes I would.

[BlackDuck]

The timing of my sparge is dependent on the amount of sparge water I have. So, a 2 gallon sparge will not take as long as a 3 gallon sparge. My system is gravity fed. And I use a racking cane with tubing to sparge with. So the sparge rate is pretty slow. I match the outflow into the kettle as close as I can to the flow of the sparge water falling on top of the grain. I start the sparge and let it run until I have a couple inches of water on top of the grain bed, then I open the valve at the bottom of the tun to begin the flow into the kettle. Once the pot with the sparge water is empty, I let it sit until all the water is out of the tun and in the kettle. Once I have the outflow rate where I want it, I do not adjust the outflow from the tun to the kettle at all during the entire sparge period.

As far as which of your two choices has better efficiency...I don't know.

[mashani]

I haven't sparged since I got the M&B. I've not had any reason to.

If I decide to brew a higher gravity 5 gallon batch (more then 1.05) then I will have to sparge somehow.

How I don't know yet.

[Kealia]

What got me thinking about this is a comment/discussion between Jamil and Palmer on one of the Brew Strong episodes.
Essentially they said that the higher the water:grain ratio, the better extraction you'll have.

This makes sense when you think about a compacted grain bed (low water:grain ratio) versus having the grains almost suspended in water (very high water:grain ratio). They commented on how BIAB tends to get really good extraction because of this and it got me thinking about things.

Like.....if you kept sparging until you collected all of your pre-boil wort, would that increase extraction because your water:grain ration stays higher than if you drain the tun completely?
Chris, in your case, you'd keep sparging with your racking cane until you had your pre-boil volume and when you were done, you'd still have an inch or two of water above the grain bed. This would be discarded. The thought here is that the grains get better extraction because of the aforementioned ratio.

Just thinking out loud here....

[BlackDuck]

Makes total sense. If I were to go that route, I’ll need to get a bigger pot for my sparge water. When I make some of my lower ABV beers, or I’m making a lager with a 90 minute boil, my sparge volume is upwards of 6 gallons. My sparge pot is only seven gallons.

The theory behind it seems sound.


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[Dawg LB Steve]

Batch sparge I also use BrewBag in my cooler with the manifold, if I need to split the sparge because of recipe volume I fill the first, stir it in and let sit for 10-12 minutes drain it out and repeat.

Dammit, why don't you all live closer so we can talk about this stuff over a beer at the bar!

Bar?
Nashville
Asheville
Asheville
Nashville
We saved you a seat on the couch.

NO THERE!

[HerbMeowing]

FULL DISCLOSURE: never sparged with flies

Here's why ...
1) Fly sparging adds a lot of time to an already long brew day. 5 is enough hours. No reason to add another one.
2) Maximizing efficiency matters not to brewers of beer at home. Grain is cheap. No reason not to add another half-pound or two to the grist.
3) KISS

[Kealia]

FULL DISCLOSURE: never sparged with flies

Here's why ...
1) Fly sparging adds a lot of time to an already long brew day. 5 is enough hours. No reason to add another one.
2) Maximizing efficiency matters not to brewers of beer at home. Grain is cheap. No reason not to add another half-pound or two to the grist.
3) KISS

All valid points. Sometimes I like to explore little changes in my process, though.
And, I like the discussion of different processes and brewing theories.

[FrozenInTime]

B, modified. After I get what I need in the pot, I stop adding hot water, let that sit for a bit while I work on the brewing. When I get a moment and left over wort in tun has cooled a little, I drain all that off into jugs and throw into da chill box. If I get enough for a 2.5 gallon batch, maybe add a little water, next day or so I do a 2.5 gallon batch. If I don't feel like it, I boil that down and use for building up yeast on stir plate or 1 gallon jug depending on how I feel at the time.

As for drain time, I try to let it finish at 45 to 60 min. I don't worry about how long a brew day is, I'm retired. When I brew I plan on the entire day, take it slow and easy.

[Kealia]

Cool, thanks for adding in your process. I may try that route next time I brew. Or not, who knows [emoji16]

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