What Exactly Is Batch Sparging?

[simpletotoro]

hi...i slowly trying to move in the AG direction all be it on a smaller scale...biggest pot i have is 27 litres...mash tun 25 litre esky...i use a large grain bag ..big enough i'd say for 5-6 kg of grain and i figure my current process is a little ordinary...

i mash (with grain in bag) doing a single infusion...no problems there...but sparging..well my method is probably right crap i'd say...i fill the esky again with say 12-14 litres of water at 75/c and swirl the bag around in it a few times...and then bung on the lid for say 20 mins then just tip out the resulting liquid...
boil her up and thats that...

what i'd like to find out (don't mind building a lauder tun ) is what exactly is batch sparging ...i've searched this site and the web but cannot find out the basics of what the hell the process is :blink: ...plenty of info everywhere on the specifics but none on the basics..
cheers ST

 

[reVoxAHB]

have you referenced PP's Guide To Mashing And Batch Sparging ?

and try Brew 365's types of Sparging Pro's and Con's for a simple overview.

If not basic enough, I'm sure other's here can help.
reVox

 

[user 1153]

plenty of info everywhere on the specifics but none on the basics..

This was the link that got me into AG
http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/

I was like you and not really sure on batch sparging. That site has lots of piccies!! Very good piccies that show each step of the process and in particular the batch sparge process.

Well worth a look.

Troy

 

[simpletotoro]

thanks very much for those links guys...been a big help...
btw has anyone got the actual formula(s) that i could put into exel for sparge volumes etc...
cheers ST

 

[crozdog]

ST

I use the following very basic formula for determining my water additions. It is easy to remember & doesn't need exel.

1. Mash in with 1/2 your desired final volume.
2. Mash out with the grain weight + allowances for tun deadspace, evaporation & kettle loss.
3. Sparge with 1/2 your desired final volume.

For example:
a 23l brew using 6kg grain. deadspace = 1l, evap = 3l, loss = 2l

mash in would require 11.5L (23/2)
mash out = 12l (6+1+3+2)
batch sparge = 11.5L (23/2)

That should give you around 29l in the kettle.

Note this works for me as I have plenty of room in my Tun. You will need to work out what works for your setup (inc determining your losses). Don't forget that you can always do multiple batch sparges to get your volume right if you're tun can't cope with the volume (remember to keep an eye on the gravity of the runnings if you do multiple sparges - stop at 1.010)

 

[Sammus]

don't know why need some fancy guide to tell you what batch sparging is (well, maybe you do and I have it all wrong :blink: )

As far as I know, the 'sparge' is rinsing the grain (see edit). Sparging in the 'normal' sense is adding water to the top of the tun at the same rate as you drain it. slower=better (about .5L/min or less). Also called fly sparging.

Batch sparging is completely draining the tun, then adding all your sparge water and once, then draining it again.

No-sparging is adding your sparge water to you initial infusion water and just draining it all in one go.

Theortically, that is also in order of efficiency (best to worst).

Sounds like your batch sparging already...might do good to up the temp a little of your sparge water (say 80 or 85c)

edit: I noticed you wanted the basics... well it doesnt get more basic than what youve already said (drain, then add some water (called your sparge water) to the grain, bung the lid on, wait, then drain again.)

edit2: Technically, sparging is fly sparge, the other too hardly warrant their names... well no-sparging does

 

[tangent]

add a stir in there as well and that's about it!

 

[simpletotoro]

I noticed you wanted the basics... well it doesnt get more basic than what youve already said (drain, then add some water (called your sparge water) to the grain, bung the lid on, wait, then drain again.)

okay thanks every one ...got it now..i'll up the water temp to say 80/c see how i go..thanks for all the replies...i was close without knowing it..go figure huh...
thanks

 

[blackbock]

No-sparging is adding your sparge water to you initial infusion water and just draining it all in one go.
Theortically, that is also in order of efficiency (best to worst).

I'm glad you wrote "theoretically" in there. BIAB would definitely come under the "no-sparge" definition and plenty of guys on here are claiming 85-90%+ efficiency with that. When I tried it I got nowhere near that - more like 65% max. Now I'm regularly getting 85%+ with batch sparging and the last brew was 97%. Mind you I lost too much to evaporation during a boil after that, but still, with figures like those why would anyone bother with fly sparging and all of the extra difficulties that it brings? Batch sparging is so much simpler and faster!

 

[user 1153]

why would anyone bother with fly sparging and all of the extra difficulties that it brings? Batch sparging is so much simpler and faster!

Not sure, but for me the quicker time it takes to batch sparge was the no brainer, which saves at least an hour of time. When I make a crap beer batch sparging then I will try fly sparging

PS: Happy to be told otherwise

 

[crozdog]

the last brew was 97%.

Seems too good to be true. What did you do different?

 

[oldbugman]

weighed his grains after consuming too many HBs?

 

[blackbock]

Not sure why Croz. I'm not expecting it to happen every time. Mashout seems to help a lot. I'm not very scientific when it comes to these things - tend to change more than one variable at a time. Among the things I've mucked around with lately are: improving grain crush, tipping mash tun to extract last possible drop, multi-step mashes and stirring much much more. And no Bugman, I never brew or weigh while sozzled. I do weigh grain as accurately as I can, but can't claim to have the best scales in the world. Probably just got lucky I suppose.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

I'm glad you wrote "theoretically" in there. BIAB would definitely come under the "no-sparge" definition and plenty of guys on here are claiming 85-90%+ efficiency with that. When I tried it I got nowhere near that - more like 65% max. Now I'm regularly getting 85%+ with batch sparging and the last brew was 97%. Mind you I lost too much to evaporation during a boil after that, but still, with figures like those why would anyone bother with fly sparging and all of the extra difficulties that it brings? Batch sparging is so much simpler and faster!

Us BIABers get to cheat the system a little bit.. thats why the effs are a fair bit higher than you might expect. We dont have any mashtun deadspace, and we lose a LOT less wort left in the spent grain. So rather than extracting the sugar with any magical efficiency, we just manage to get more of it from the mash into the ketlle by trickery

When I do a normal batch I get 78-80% eff. (all my figures are extract efficiencies)

I think the descending order of sparge efficiencies also needs to include the notion that it means a "well managed" version of the technique.

In all probability. the most efficient form of sparging (for the homebrewer anyway) is a very well managed Continuous/Fly sparge, then a well run batch sparge, no-sparge etc etc with BIAB in there somewhere.

Thats why I think a lot of people get an improvement in efficiency when they try going from fly to batch sparging... Its just that they weren't doing their fly sparge very well. Either technique or System was letting them down. I prefer batch sparging to fly sparging, not because I think its better, faster or whatever, just because I am a gumby and I suspect rather strongly that I would bollocks it up.

TB