AG Number 2 - Bl**dy nightmare sparge!

[Jerry Cornelius]

I got my second AG underway today, all was fine until I started the batch sparging about 13:30.

Just a pathetic little dribble. Tried blowing up the tap with a bit of tube, something bubbled and it began to run off then stopped. Tried the blowing up the tube again, same thing happened, started to run off then stuck. I gave it a good stir, waited ten minutes for it to settle and tried again. Nothing.

Remembered reading a post yesterday by sam c who also had a stuck sparge. Tried what was suggested for him, filled the MT to the brim, strirred it right up and waited another ten minutes. Tried to run off, all I got was the same pathetic little dribble! Tried more blowing up the tap, strirring and waiting still nothing! B***er me, this is not funny anymore.

I emptied the MT contents into two FVs and stripped the thing down - a big lump of grain was stuck in the copper tube that forms the tap. Re-assembled and filled it back up - keeping the plate pushed to the bottom of the MT with a long spoon as I slowly poured the contents back in; I thought that perhaps the plate had lifted earlier and grain had got underneath it. By now the temperature of the wort was 55 deg C.

Tried again, slowly. Started to run-off okay and bl**dy stuck again after a couple of minutes. Grrr! Stirred and waited another ten minutes. Tried again. At last it ran-off okay.

Batch two, was about five litres short to make up for the extra I'd used on the first batch. This time it was all okay.

By now it had taken over two hours and in my mucking about I'd managed to get bits of grain in the boil wort. And it was a lot cloudier than the last brew I done a fortnight ago. I still managed to get the OG to 1.046 (I was aiming for 1.048).

Anyhow, the point is - will all this faffing around have had a bad effect on the brew?

[vacant]

Next time, "borrow" a net curtain and line a FV, hanging curtain all around the top of the FV and secure with a piece of rope just below the rim. Pour in the mash, untie and gather the net curtain, lift out the spent grain.

I started AG using the "Brew in a Bag - no sparge" method which filters using net curtain, I've kept my curtain just in case batch sparging goes wrong.

[Jerry Cornelius]

Funny you should say that Vacant, that's more or less what the wife said!

I wonder if I just set the MT up as usual and batch sparged, but lined it with a net curtain as an added pre-caution, if that would work (or is that what you meant?).

I think I'll try that next time.

[vacant]

I wonder if I just set the MT up as usual and batch sparged, but lined it with a net curtain as an added pre-caution

You'll effectively be placing a very fine filter over each and every hole of your copper tubing - that would definitely stop any grain getting into the strainer but possibly slow down filtering, in which case gather up the bag, tie it closed with the rope and suspend it an inch above the MT base.

Having done BIAB, I know it wouldn't take me long to load a mash into a net-lined FV, pull the bag out and continue as normal with the wort. You can leave the bag to drain a bit more and add the collected wort later. So I personally wouldn't bother starting off with a curtain for a batch sparge.

Also, if you might heat while mashing (it has it's own element, or you use your boiler) you'll need a cake rack to stop the curtain getting in contact with the heat source.

BIAB thread

edit: you don't need to sew a bag shape, just use a big enough net

[chris_reboot]

you mean the brewing industry doesn't use aunties old nets ????

[Jerry Cornelius]

Thanks for the detailed explanation Chris.

I will persevere with the false bottom (I know it works okay from the first time I used it - this episode certainly wiped the smug smile off face though ), but I'll definitely be getting a mashing & sparging bag for emergencies - perhaps an old net curtain in the meantime though!