Today I brewed the paragon apricot ale kit, thought to myself, why sparge??? So after a 1 hour mash I tossed the final 3 gallons in @ boiling, that brought the mash up to 170. I stirred like hell for 5 minutes then started running off into the bk. My volumes were pretty much on the money because I wound up with 5.25 in my bucket. Not bad for measuring sloppy with a 2 qt plastic pitcher.
Wound up with an OG of 1.050 from 11lb grain bill.
This technique saved some time and made my brewday a little bit simpler. I’m loving it and plan to do it again on my next batch.
My last several batches have been no-sparge and I am trying to figure out how best to consistently get above 65%. So far my highest no-sparge mash eff. has been 70%. And that was on a wheat where I ended up topping off the grain bill with a 1/2 lb of whole-grain wheat flour.
My first adjustment to normal technique was to increase mash time by 30 min. That helped some, but seems kind of counter-productive since the goal with no-sparge is to save time in the first place.
Next, I am going to try double-crushing. Actually, I would have just tightened the gap on the mill and crushed once but I bought pre-crushed grain by mistake.
My hope is that “over crushing” will not be such a big deal with no-sparge as it would have been with fly-sparging.
Even if I can save a little time, I do like the ease of the no-sparge.
No sparge with a mash out is simple and a little faster, but as you can see your efficiency will suffer. I would think an 11# grain bill, depending on it’s composition would come in around 1.060 to 1.065. Of course if that is not an issue then no sparge should work fine for you. I just find I gotta rinse. I hate leaving those sugars behing to be tossed out with the grist.
[quote=“Steeler D”]How does that work out for your mash eff.?
My last several batches have been no-sparge and I am trying to figure out how best to consistently get above 65%. So far my highest no-sparge mash eff. has been 70%. And that was on a wheat where I ended up topping off the grain bill with a 1/2 lb of whole-grain wheat flour.
My first adjustment to normal technique was to increase mash time by 30 min. That helped some, but seems kind of counter-productive since the goal with no-sparge is to save time in the first place.
Next, I am going to try double-crushing. Actually, I would have just tightened the gap on the mill and crushed once but I bought pre-crushed grain by mistake.
My hope is that “over crushing” will not be such a big deal with no-sparge as it would have been with fly-sparging.
Even if I can save a little time, I do like the ease of the no-sparge.[/quote]
Since my brew pot won’t hold 7 gallons it’s easiest for me to mash with 4 gallons of water for 1 hour. Then I add 3 gallons of boiling water for the mashout which did get me up to 170F. I stirred like hell then ran everything off.
Perhaps next time I could crank my roller down a bit more for more crush.
I am normally around 70%, so I guess next time I could up my 2-row by 1/2 a pound.[/quote]
You could, but that’s not going to change your efficiency. Why waste grain when you could just try and get more residual sugar out of the grain you have?
I’m not knocking the technique, but it seems like it would be worth your time to attempt another batch sparge?
I am normally around 70%, so I guess next time I could up my 2-row by 1/2 a pound.[/quote]
You could, but that’s not going to change your efficiency. Why waste grain when you could just try and get more residual sugar out of the grain you have?
I’m not knocking the technique, but it seems like it would be worth your time to attempt another batch sparge?
Do whatever you want I guess :lol: [/quote]
1/2 lb of base grain is $.50, a benefit of No sparge is enhanced maltiness which could be a significant improvement in the mouthfeel and complexity of a beer.
I will happily spend an extra $.50 per batch if the quality improves. Also this took about a 1/2 an hour off my brew session. I would like to think 30 minutes of my weekend is worth that as well.
I have just never been that hung up on efficiency, I like to know my brew house efficiency from batch to batch, but as long as I am between 65-70, I don’t worry.
I agree. I think it is still worth tweaking the method to maximize the eff. but the time saved and ease of no-sparging is worth it IMO. The important thing, though, is to establish consistency.
I batch sparge, but take the same amount of steps was you because I don’t mash out. I’m not sure of my efficiency as I have only done a few batches with all new equipment. I’m sure there is not a HUGE difference in efficiency between draining and sparging vs. your method, but it is the same amount of steps and thus no extra time.
Mine is normally 4.5 to 5 hrs. Yesterday from the time I clicked the light on in the garage and pulled the grain out of the bag…to lights off everything done clean dried and put away was 4 hrs flat.
Sure I may be still performing the same steps, but I am changing the order and wait times. By not having to wait for all the wort to drain before adding the sparge water and not having to vorlauf a 2nd time I somehow saved about 30 min.
