I'm hoping to go AG sometime next year and have been reading Jims step-by-step guide. I'd like to get the different phases weighed off in my head before diving in there!
Do you have to treat 2 batches of water? The first batch is used for the mashing stage and when you move onto the sparging, the way I understand it is you need to use your boiler to fill up the HLT with clean water at 80 degrees.
A question about technique
-
Vossy1
Hi booldawg, yes that's basically right.
Your first addition of water goes into the mash tun. It will have to be slightly hotter than your intended mash temperature.
This is know as your strike temperature.
When you add the water to the mash tun you loose some heat from the water to the tun itself. Then you add the grains and you lose more heat from the water to the cooler grain.
Typically your strike temp would be 75-77 deg c + to hit a mash temp of 65-67 deg c.
When you come to sparge you need a second batch of water. At the end of the mash the idea is that you raise the temperature of the mash to stop enzymes converting sugars in the grain. To do this you need to raise the mash temp, ideally to 77 deg c.
The mash is only at 65 ish degrees so the sparge water has to be a lot hotter to raise the whole mash to 77 deg c, so you sparge the grains with sparge water of usually around 80 deg c +
I hope that makes some sense
Your first addition of water goes into the mash tun. It will have to be slightly hotter than your intended mash temperature.
This is know as your strike temperature.
When you add the water to the mash tun you loose some heat from the water to the tun itself. Then you add the grains and you lose more heat from the water to the cooler grain.
Typically your strike temp would be 75-77 deg c + to hit a mash temp of 65-67 deg c.
When you come to sparge you need a second batch of water. At the end of the mash the idea is that you raise the temperature of the mash to stop enzymes converting sugars in the grain. To do this you need to raise the mash temp, ideally to 77 deg c.
The mash is only at 65 ish degrees so the sparge water has to be a lot hotter to raise the whole mash to 77 deg c, so you sparge the grains with sparge water of usually around 80 deg c +
I hope that makes some sense
-
booldawg
-
Dan
when i first started brewing i only had 1 boiler. i would heat the mash water in it and then transfer it to a picnic cooler with the grain. during the mash i heated the sparge water in the same boiler and transfered it to an insulated bucket to free up the boiler. the bucket kept the temp well when topped up with the odd kettle of boiling water.
sparging is a proccess of displacement
by using water hotter than the mash, you are able to displace the cooler liquid (along with sugars) . if you cant maintain 77-80 dont worry, as long as the sparge water is hotter than the mash the process will work well.
edit: im speaking in terms of fly sparging rather than batch sparging (which involves no displacement)
sparging is a proccess of displacement
by using water hotter than the mash, you are able to displace the cooler liquid (along with sugars) . if you cant maintain 77-80 dont worry, as long as the sparge water is hotter than the mash the process will work well.
edit: im speaking in terms of fly sparging rather than batch sparging (which involves no displacement)
-
prolix
life becomes a lot easier with two boilers (HLT and boiler), then you don't have to transfer hot water, which is not sensible (ask the lads who paid visits to their local A&E) this way you collect wort in your boiler whilst still using the HLT.
Treat both batches of water I stick 1/2 a camdem tablet in each to remove chlorine, but only decarbonate/acidify the mash liquor, some here acidify both.
Treat both batches of water I stick 1/2 a camdem tablet in each to remove chlorine, but only decarbonate/acidify the mash liquor, some here acidify both.