[IBU] New Batch Sparge Technique

[Mike Young]

I don't usually mess with PH measurements, so I didn't bother taking one last night.  I've got some of those crappy strips but I can never tell what color they are anyway.  I haven't had any problems with tannins in the past, but I was kind of thinking this method would be more prone to tannin extraction.  You are at risk of extracting tannins the longer/more you rinse grains right?  I guess I've never really looked into it because it seems to be more of a concern if you fly sparge.  Maybe I'll have to pull out the PH strips and see what I'm getting on my next batch.  I'll probably brew up something else tonight or over the weekend.
 
--Mike

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From: Cleghorn, Andy [mailto:Cleghorn.Andy at principal.com]
Sent: Thu 5/8/2008 10:40 AM
To: Mike Young; amesbrewersleague at yahoogroups.com; Iowa Brewers Union
Subject: RE: [IBU] New Batch Sparge Technique


Did you take  pH and gravity readings on those final runnings?  Sounds like a good idea if you are extracting a lot of extra tannins.  Big jumps in efficiency make me a little nervous.  I normally just do a continuous sparge until I get my 14.5 gallons of preboil or the gravity coming out of the sparge hits about 1.016 - 1.020.  I average about 82 - 85% depending on the size of the beer.  When I get the mash tun really full, I lose quite a bit of efficiency.

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From: ibu-bounces at iowabrewersunion.org [mailto:ibu-bounces at iowabrewersunion.org] On Behalf Of Mike Young
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2008 9:54 AM
To: amesbrewersleague at yahoogroups.com; Iowa Brewers Union
Subject: [IBU] New Batch Sparge Technique


While checking online forums, I came across a new batch sparge technique that I tried last night for the first time.  Instead of equalizing the first runnings and second runnings, I decreased the amount of sparge water and added a third sparge.  This increased my efficiency by over 10% which I thought was pretty amazing. 
 
My standard procedure has been to mash in with about 1.4 qt/lb.  After 60 minutes, I would add enough water to get to half of my desired pre-boil volume.  I would then add the remainder of my sparge water, vorloff, and drain the mash tun.
 
What I tried last night only took about 5-10 minutes longer and was well worth it.  Instead of adding a lot of water at the end of the mash, I only added .5 gallons, stirred, and drained.  Then I added 2.5 gallons of sparge water, stirred, and drained.  I followed up with a 3rd running using my remaining 2.5 gallons of water.  
 
I calculated the recipe at 75% efficiency which is what I usually get.  After taking a refractometer reading, my wort was already at the SG it was supposed to be after the boil.  Since it was supposed to be a fairly low-gravity beer I ended up boiling a little less vigorously and only increasing my gravity by 4 points instead of my usual 8.  But plugging this recipe into beersmith with the gravity I would have gotten from a vigorous boil, I got 87% efficiency.  This method will definitely become my new SOP and I look forward to trying it out on some higher gravity beers to see what kind of efficiency increase I get.
 
--Mike
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