Sparge volumes?

[Nick667]

Hi there, I have a Brewzilla and I think I am getting bitterness from sparging with to much water and extracting tannins. I am getting quite good numbers over all but always to bitter. Is there a simple rule of thumb for sparge volume and grain weight or mash volume without setting up the calculators in Brewfather. I am mashing in 23lts of water with around 5kg grain and sparging with 15lts water at 75C. I am getting good efficiency of 75- 80% not doing PH. No infections.

 

[MHB]

Not really, sparge volumes can vary from 0 to somewhere around 4 times the grain mass (~20L in your case).
I think a better question would be how to stop the extraction of tannins. That’s actually a lot easier than you might think.
Make sure it’s under 80oC and slightly Acidic. Without knowing anything about Auckland water, Alkalinity will make the tannin extraction worse; if your water is alkaline it will cause serious problems.
Won’t take much Acid (I prefer Lactic) and you can get a decent pH meter for less than $50, a pretty small expense and you can get the right answer every time.
Mark

 

[Nick667]

Not really, sparge volumes can vary from 0 to somewhere around 4 times the grain mass (~20L in your case).
I think a better question would be how to stop the extraction of tannins. That’s actually a lot easier than you might think.
Make sure it’s under 80oC and slightly Acidic. Without knowing anything about Auckland water, Alkalinity will make the tannin extraction worse; if your water is alkaline it will cause serious problems.
Won’t take much Acid (I prefer Lactic) and you can get a decent pH meter for less than $50, a pretty small expense and you can get the right answer every time.
Mark

Thanks Mark, I never had this problem with biab and I am starting to wonder if the temp is correct on the Brewzilla, will check. How much lactic acid do you use? Is there a calculation?
Nick.

 

[MHB]

Yes there is a calculation, but it requires you to know the pH of your sparge water. So you're back to needing a pH meter...
Mate, a decent pH meter and a good thermometer are pretty basic brewing equipment and will make your life a lot easier.
Mark

 

[Grok]

Too right there MHB, even a little tear off book of paper pH test strips would be better than nothing!

 

[Nick667]

Thanks guys, will get one next week and Brewfather has a calculator, it really does taste like tannins.

 

[Hip Hops Don't Stop]

Yes there is a calculation, but it requires you to know the pH of your sparge water. So you're back to needing a pH meter...
Mate, a decent pH meter and a good thermometer are pretty basic brewing equipment and will make your life a lot easier.
Mark

Can you recommend a pH meter? $50 is about my limit at the moment.

 

[MHB]

The one on Keg-Land isn’t too bad. When you get one read up on storage and calibration. Get some storage solution and extra standards 4pH and 7pH are good for brewers.
No doubt there are lots of other good value pH meters on the market but this one will do the job.
Big proviso is that you look after it; or it will turn into a random number generator pretty quickly.
Mark

 

[TwoCrows]

I put a removable dial thermometer on the Brewzilla. A few fittings and connected it between the riser tube from the pump to the (sparge arm tube).
When the mash is complete, I then attach it to test the sparge water and later to the chiller. Very handy!

Yes!!! to a PH meter, sparge around the 5.5 Ph mark.

 

[Sidney Harbour-Bridge]

As suggested, acidifying your sparge water will help, I'm in Melbourne and our water is pretty neutral, I add just 1ml of lactic acid to my sparge water to bring the pH down to 4.4 according to my pH meter

 

[shmick]

Have you tried brewing the same beer with half or even no sparge water (like BIAB)
Will pretty quickly let you know if it's the sparge or pH or something else entirely.