Sparging

[Margwar]

Hi all,

Still a bit of a noob but I have made some reall good extract brews and now want to move to partials and AG.
I have read so much of this forum and have a folder full of how too's and how not too's.

I have got together a bit of gear now and am ready to get into a partial or AG, but I just cannot find a definative answer on sparging. I have a smaller 25l esky and not sure if I will be able to batch sparge to make life a little easier. But if I have to fly sparge then I will give that a go...

I have searched high and low but cannot find what is the best and easist sparging for a noob with only a 25l mash tun? I am happy to experiment, which is what home brewing is all about, but just want a bit of guidance so I dont completely stuff things up...

Cheers,

Dietz

 

[Pennywise]

You'll be able to batch or fly sparge if it's just a partial with a 25 litre jobbie. Full AG you should be able to batch sparge although it might get tricky with really big beers. Personally I get better results with fly sparging, so I'd just go that route.

 

[alowen474]

You can do a bit of both if you are tight for room.
Slowly drain most of the water into the bottom of your kettle via tubing from the mash tun. Don't splash it in as it may result in oxidation that can give you some probs later.
Top up your mash tun with 78 degree water and again slowly drain into your kettle.this will take from 1/2 to 1 hr.
For a 20L batch you'll have about 4kgs of grain and hence about 10 to 12 litrres of water. this will give you about 8 litres in the kettle.
Run another 12 litres through the grain at 78 degrees and you should have about 20 litres in the kettle.
Here I top it up with water so at the end of boil you'll have enough to fill the fermenter.

Hope that helps

 

[manticle]

Hi all,

Still a bit of a noob but I have made some reall good extract brews and now want to move to partials and AG.
I have read so much of this forum and have a folder full of how too's and how not too's.

I have got together a bit of gear now and am ready to get into a partial or AG, but I just cannot find a definative answer on sparging. I have a smaller 25l esky and not sure if I will be able to batch sparge to make life a little easier. But if I have to fly sparge then I will give that a go...

I have searched high and low but cannot find what is the best and easist sparging for a noob with only a 25l mash tun? I am happy to experiment, which is what home brewing is all about, but just want a bit of guidance so I dont completely stuff things up...

Cheers,

Dietz

I have a 26 litre esky and I batch sparge. Most grain bills are around 6+ kg and my ration is usually 2.5 L per kg of grain. I mash out and that usually fills the tun right to the top. I've never tried fly sparging but for most size single batches your esky should be fine.

 

[Margwar]

I have a 26 litre esky and I batch sparge. Most grain bills are around 6+ kg and my ration is usually 2.5 L per kg of grain. I mash out and that usually fills the tun right to the top. I've never tried fly sparging but for most size single batches your esky should be fine.

I was hoping that you would reply manticle.
I have seen some post from you and your 25l esky. Read that topic with great interest and this now confirms for me that I should be right to batch sparge.... awesome.
Thanks everyone for the advice... this is an awesome site for noobs like myself and I look forward now to making some awesome AG's.

 

[Fourstar]

I was hoping that you would reply manticle.
I have seen some post from you and your 25l esky. Read that topic with great interest and this now confirms for me that I should be right to batch sparge.... awesome.
Thanks everyone for the advice... this is an awesome site for noobs like myself and I look forward now to making some awesome AG's.

yeah just batch sparge away, i used to have a small esky like that too when i 1st started. Keep your eyes open for rays outdoors having sales on their coolers and pick one up. they are usually on sale for 50-60 bucks. best investment i made.

 

[Supra-Jim]

Dietz, grab a cop of beersmith and enter the specifics of your equipment (mash tun, kettle size etc), then work out/enter your recipes. Beersmith will perform all of the liquid calcs etc and you'll also get a warning if the mash size (or sparge volume required) exceeds your equipment.

Cheers SJ

(as others have already stated, you should be fine batch sparging with your esky)

 

[WarmBeer]

I was hoping that you would reply manticle.
I have seen some post from you and your 25l esky. Read that topic with great interest and this now confirms for me that I should be right to batch sparge.... awesome.
Thanks everyone for the advice... this is an awesome site for noobs like myself and I look forward now to making some awesome AG's.

I'm using a 25lt esky as well, and so far have single batch sparged.

I've only been getting about 55% efficiency, but haven't been able to do a successful mash-out step yet due to a lack of space in the tun.

Going to use a lower initial water:grain ratio of 2.5:1, giving me an extra couple of litres of headspace to try to get my %eff up.

A mate of mine on this forum, Zebba, is in Berwick, too. Try hitting him up, you might be able to see an AG session in action. That's what tipped me over the edge.

 

[warra48]

I use a 25 litre cooler to mash in. I use a manifold, and only have about litre dead space.

I don't measure my grain/water ratio, I just heat my HLT to about 8C above my target mash temperature, and let the water trickle in as I stir. I stop when I reach my target temperature.

I add a mashout addiditon to fill the mashtun. Then I recirculate and drain it, and check how much I've collected into the kettle. I need about 31 to 32 litres for a 23 litre batch with my system. I sparge with the difference between what is in the kettle and what I still need, in two equal sparges.

Works for me, and I usually achieve 90+% mash efficiency.

I do agree that bigger beers, anything over about 6 kg of grain is difficult, and probably about the limit in this size mashtun.

 

[Margwar]

Dietz, grab a cop of beersmith and enter the specifics of your equipment (mash tun, kettle size etc), then work out/enter your recipes. Beersmith will perform all of the liquid calcs etc and you'll also get a warning if the mash size (or sparge volume required) exceeds your equipment.

Cheers SJ

(as others have already stated, you should be fine batch sparging with your esky)

Oh yeah, I do have Beer Smith. Didnt even think to do this.... BRILLIANT!!! Thanks Supra-Jim....

 

[zebba]

A mate of mine on this forum, Zebba, is in Berwick, too. Try hitting him up, you might be able to see an AG session in action. That's what tipped me over the edge.

Woah! Don't oversell a crappy product!

I've done 2 AG batches, and they have both been "maverick" - to put it mildly. I'm not a poster boy for brewing process. I'm a poster boy for how NOT to do things!

Happy to share a beer though while I go through my patented "Do What You Feel" brew process. But I'm BIAB, and only do a DunkSparge^TM cause my equipment can't hit the volumes for true BIAB method with the amount of grain I've insisted on putting in the pot...

 

[Margwar]

Woah! Don't oversell a crappy product!

I've done 2 AG batches, and they have both been "maverick" - to put it mildly. I'm not a poster boy for brewing process. I'm a poster boy for how NOT to do things!

Happy to share a beer though while I go through my patented "Do What You Feel" brew process. But I'm BIAB, and only do a DunkSparge^TM cause my equipment can't hit the volumes for true BIAB method with the amount of grain I've insisted on putting in the pot...

Cheers Zebba... good to know there is a fellow Berwick Brewer.
Dont believe though for a second that the product is crappy... as it is still sweet BEER!!

 

[zebba]

Dont believe though for a second that the product is crappy... as it is still sweet BEER!!

Never said the product was crappy, only the process! The AG amber (I call it an Amber - it's really just a mongrel ale) sitting in the fridge ATM... :icon_drool2: