I do a 2 step sparge. First step about 5 liters depending on the recipe. I then drain the mash tun and add the rest of the sparge water. I stir for about 1 -2 minutes proir to closing the lid of the mashtun and leaving for 10 minutes before run off. I also temp check at every stage.
I have been brewing for 7 years and this is my 10th allgrain batch. The funny thing is that my first batch I had 81% efficiency and it has gone down from there. Could the crush have something to do with it? I get my grain crushed at the home brew store and they are a really knowledgeable bunch. Here is a photo of the crush.
Ok let me paraphrase your sparge process and see if i have it right - (btw - If i were to describe my process to someone this is the sort of format and level of detail I'd think it needed.) Yourprocess as Imunderstand it in blue, my comments in orange
After mashing for 1 hr at ??C at an L:G ratio of ?? - I conduct my lauter step by...
- add 5L of 75 water to the mash tun and stir it in thoroughly for a minute or two. The 5L is recipe dependent? Why? What is it dependent on? - I'm going to assume its because you are trying to make your two run-off volumes roughly equal?
- let the mash rest for 10 mins
- gently recirculate some wort till your run-off becomes nice and clear
- Drain the whole volume (run off step 1) to the kettle
- Add remaining sparge water @ 75 to the mash tun, stir it thoroughly for 1-2 mins
- Let the mash rest for 10mins
- gently recirculate some wort till your run-off becomes nice and clear
- Run-off the second batch to the kettle
- First and second sparge additions are calculated to give you your full kettle pre-boil volume in two equal run-off batches
If thats it - then your process is pretty bloody good and needs no real change except the ones I'll detail below - where it perhaps differers from that process (with my suggestions included).... is where your issues are likely to be.
- I added the vorlouf steps into your process, i assumed you had just forgotten to mention them, if y actually dont re-circulate your wort for a little while - start doing it
- The temp of your sparge water is too low. you want to bring if possible, the whole grain bed up to 78-80C - which you aren't going to do by adding 75 water to it. Try adding 85-90 water. The small amout you add in your first batch will heat things up a bit, and the secnd batch will get things all the way there.
- If you want you could have those rests a lot shorter than 10mins... a couple would do. I'd sooner see "stir two minutes, rest two minutes, stir two minutes, rest two minutes.... vorlauf" - less resting and more stirring, especially as you get your temperature up towards 78-80. No total increase in time required, but with added heat and added stirring, a much more intensive mash
And with that sort if mash/lauter regime there is no reason at all you shouldn't be getting "into the kettle" type efficiencies in the 78-80 range pretty regularly. Of course your efficiency will go up on beers with small grain bills and it will go down on ones with large grain bills - that always happens with batch sparging
If you aren't in that range and you are following your process with my tweaks - then its time to look at things like grain crush and mash pH - the things that stop you making the sugar in the first place rather than the things that allow or hinder you from simply collecting what you made
