Morning,
Has anyone got some experience with this? I am am wondering if there are any downsides except the obvious reduction in efficiency (which doesn't bother me at all, malt is cheap) and needing a big enough tun which I have. Everything else I read suggests positive things otherwise. Who knows tho. Surely the mash pH is pretty different with so much extra water in the mash?
I've been doing it recently as I brew outside and my mash tun has alot of headroom when doing a normal 23l brew, so drops temp in winter. Adding considerably more water obviously helps this and it holds temp alot better like this. So really just been doing it out of nessecity more than anything. But it saves me about an hour and needs less pans. Just seams a fair bit simpler. So wondering if I should adopt it permanently.
Any downsides I am overlooking? I mean sparging isn't exactly a hardship so come summer I may switch back if there are.
Cheers
Si
No Sparge Brewing
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Re: No Sparge Brewing
BIAB aka Full Volume Mashing aka No Sparge Brewing is what your doing it's well documented on the net other than needing to add a bit more grain when efficiency is low your good to go.
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Re: No Sparge Brewing
Efficiency is the main negative. The other minor issue is the size of vessel you need to mash in.
Your beers will come out a bit maltier too - this is just because of the loss of efficiency, meaning you're putting more grain into the beer and getting more malty flavour but with less efficient sugar extraction.
I really like doing no sparge for quick session beers for that last reason.
Your beers will come out a bit maltier too - this is just because of the loss of efficiency, meaning you're putting more grain into the beer and getting more malty flavour but with less efficient sugar extraction.
I really like doing no sparge for quick session beers for that last reason.
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Re: No Sparge Brewing
can't say i've ever noticed a difference in maltiness to be honest, but i regularly mix up full volume and 3V brewing so i'll watch out for that.
the mash pH is the thing i've noticed most, especially with pale beers.
the mash pH is the thing i've noticed most, especially with pale beers.
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Re: No Sparge Brewing
Sparging is a relatively new thing. Just running off was the norm. But more liquor would have been added to the "spent" grain and mashed a second time. The second running might be added to the first, more likely it went to make a weaker beer. And the spent grain might be mashed a third, even forth time.
I was at the English Whisky Company in Norfolk over the New Year break and they still mash like this. They mix the first and second runnings for fermenting and the third running is what they use in the next batch's first mash (instead of plain water). Absolutely no sparging. All whisky is mashed like this?
I was at the English Whisky Company in Norfolk over the New Year break and they still mash like this. They mix the first and second runnings for fermenting and the third running is what they use in the next batch's first mash (instead of plain water). Absolutely no sparging. All whisky is mashed like this?
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Re: No Sparge Brewing
Very modern distilleries might do it differently, but unlike beer making there was never a historically useful product to be made from the 2nd,3rd etc weaker running, but there is an economic imperative to get 100% extract from your grain.
So probably most distilleries will throw all the runnings into the FV.
Any funny products can be sorted in the still itself
So probably most distilleries will throw all the runnings into the FV.
Any funny products can be sorted in the still itself
Re: No Sparge Brewing
So it sounds like its a winner. Think I will stick to it. Probably will still sparge when I do a decoction. It's a lot of effort decocting, would be a shame to just leave some of your lovely produce behind!
Re: No Sparge Brewing
You raised the point yourself but... - depending on your water you will need to keep an eye on the pH.
If you jump from 2.5L/kg water to say 4.5 L/kg you will have much more alkalinity and will increase the mash pH.
I have a braumeister and I find that for a pale beer I need to target about 10 ppm CaCO3 alkalinity to have a mash pH around 5.3 - I also have over 100 ppm Calcium in there. if you don't have a Salifert kit now is the time to buy one.
If you jump from 2.5L/kg water to say 4.5 L/kg you will have much more alkalinity and will increase the mash pH.
I have a braumeister and I find that for a pale beer I need to target about 10 ppm CaCO3 alkalinity to have a mash pH around 5.3 - I also have over 100 ppm Calcium in there. if you don't have a Salifert kit now is the time to buy one.