Sparging ?

[alfie09]

Hello all

I haven’t brewed for 10 years. I use to batch sparge before, hlt with mash in water, dough in leave for 90 minutes then run off.

While running off the wort I would warm my hlt sparge water upto 80oc and dump the lot needed in the mash tun stir it all up, wait for 30 mins then run off into the boiler.

But I can’t remember if I only run of to the boiler to brew length of 23 litres or do I run off until 30litrss and boil down to 23?

How do I know I haven’t over rinsed the grain? God I can’t rember much these days

[Jim]

I've never batch sparged, but we do have a member's article on it on the site here - https://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/batch_sparge.htm .

Might be of some use to you?

[Kev888]

Unless you have unusual water or are making a very low gravity wort, batch sparging 'usually' isn't in too much danger of rinsing unpleasant stuff from the grain (it is more forgiving in this respect than continuous sparging). You can check that the gravity and ideally the pH of the wort are sensible during the sparge, and you can help by stirring when adding the sparge liquor to keep things even. (If/when you have advanced to treating your water, it also helps to use sparge liquor of a suitable alkalinity).

My usual process is to top up a bit after the mash has completed, stir, and run that off to the boiler as the first batch. Then replenish with more sparge liquor, stir and run that off as the second batch, arranging things so that the two run-offs are about equal amounts (and remembering the grain will retain some). I've never waited much between stirring and running off (I don't think that would gain much in addition to stirring). Though it can help to begin the run off gently to set the grain bed after stirring, and I usually recirculate the first runnings back to the mash tun as they'll be full of debris.

Ideally the amount you collect in the boiler will be greater than what you want in the fermenter, as there will be evaporation during the boil (during which the wort will also become more concentrated). There might also be some lost to deadspace and retention by hops. So how much more wort you need to collect differs between brew systems and recipes.

It'll probably all come back to you within a brew or two!

[alfie09]

yes watched yonnys video form the copper kettle again and again. i just read in my book at home to top up with tap water in the boiler to desired brew length.... seemed odd so i asked.

looking at making this for my first brew was going for a sMaSh but seen this

10 years later bitter

4260 grams pale ale malt
250grams crystal malt
250grams torrfied wheat

10grams fuggle 90 mins
20 grams styrian goldings 90mins
40 grams amarillo 10 mins

seems ok.... seen a few recipes

[bitter_dave]

Hi Alfie,

I also returned to brewing last year after a ten year break!

I found this batch sparge calculator useful: https://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/batchcalc.php

[Kev888]

i just read in my book at home to top up with tap water in the boiler to desired brew length.... seemed odd so i asked.

I'd guess that might be just to tweak things slightly, as a strategy to hit an exact volume - particularly if you don't yet know what losses to expect from the system. Other people might prefer to hit a particular gravity precisely instead, whilst many would probably be happy 'as is' if things were near enough.

Generally once you understand the efficiencies, evaporation rates and losses of the system then you can start to get quite close to gravity and volume targets by default. If the system is new to you, or its characteristics forgotten, it would help get to that stage if you record all the volumes involved at all stages of the first few brews, along with the pre-boil and post-boil gravities.

That said, there are sometimes reasons to purposely brew far less and top up a lot, but they aren't really normal practice IMO and tend to reduce extraction efficiency. E.g. if the boiler was undersized, or if a very low gravity wort was wanted.

[DethApostle]

yes watched yonnys video form the copper kettle again and again. i just read in my book at home to top up with tap water in the boiler to desired brew length.... seemed odd so i asked.

looking at making this for my first brew was going for a sMaSh but seen this

10 years later bitter

4260 grams pale ale malt
250grams crystal malt
250grams torrfied wheat

10grams fuggle 90 mins
20 grams styrian goldings 90mins
40 grams amarillo 10 mins

seems ok.... seen a few recipes

4260g of Pale malt seems like a very specific number!

Good luck with your returning brew!
DA