Just using the Beersmith numbers right now for 2 step batch sparging (mashout 11l / batch sparge 28l)
Just wondering how long I should give each step.
I was thinking 10 or 15 min each?
I let it sit long enough to stir the water in. 1-2 minutes.
I ended up doing about 15min per step. Next time I’ll cut that time down.
Thanks
Denny has always stated that there is nothing to be gained by letting the batch sparge sit for a prolonged time - Vorlauf and let 'er rip seems to work as long as the grain bed is set. I tend to drain a little slower than that, just to get a clearer run on my setup, but that may be due to any number of factors, including the coarse nature of my filter on my cooler MT (SS dryer lint trap). Ideally, the grain is the true filter for the wort, so runoff can go as fast as the grain bed will allow adequate filtering. YMMV, of course.
Yep. I stopped doing a mashout becasue it was a waste of time. I just raised my mash ratio to get half my boil volume out of it, and get the other half from sparging with 190F water. From the time I start running off my mash til the time I finish running off the sparge, it takes a total of 15 min. for 7.5-8 gal. of wort. That includes vorlaufing and running off the mash, stirring in the sparge water and vorlaufing and running that off. I don’t let the sparge water sit at all…no point.
Yep. I stopped doing a mashout becasue it was a waste of time. I just raised my mash ratio to get half my boil volume out of it, and get the other half from sparging with 190F water. From the time I start running off my mash til the time I finish running off the sparge, it takes a total of 15 min. for 7.5-8 gal. of wort. That includes vorlaufing and running off the mash, stirring in the sparge water and vorlaufing and running that off. I don’t let the sparge water sit at all…no point.[/quote]
Thanks for the info. I only really did the mashout step because I wanted to keep my mash fairly thick for the bitter I was doing. Not sure if it would have made a huge difference, but my first inclination was to split the volume between the mash and the sparge. From now on I will probably do that and save some time with the batch sparge.
Mash thickness has so little real world impact on your beer that you can pretty much discount it unless you go to extremes.
[quote=“Denny”]
Mash thickness has so little real world impact on your beer that you can pretty much discount it unless you go to extremes.[/quote]
Good to know. From now on I will just do half and half volumes for mash and sparge. Easy and quick.
This board is supposed to be about “mashout,” and I don’t see anyone asking or answering my question. Which is, “What’s the point?” For years I have been using my boiler pot with a false bottom and several winter parkas for insulation as a mash tun. I’ve had good results, but, always looking for improvement, I decided to buy an Igloo cooler with the false bottom,etc. to see if the better insulation made any difference. Using the boiler pot, I could always turn on the heat to get the mash up to the prescribed 170 degree temp. However, this is a lot of trouble with the Igloo. Even if you maintain the 150+ target at the end of the mash, getting the temp up to 170 and holding for 10 minutes is a real chore.
I’ve tried adding really hot water, but with all that grain in the mix, you don’t have much space left for the sparge. The alternative I tried today was to move whole mess from the tun back to the pot, and apply the heat, then move it back to the tun for the sparge. What I ended up with was a clogged exit valve and a much delayed boil.
NB sells a million of these Igloos, and they still publish the instruction to “mash out at 170 degrees” on every all grain instruction sheet I’ve ever gotten. What’s the secret?
[quote=“cm_lindsay”]This board is supposed to be about “mashout,” and I don’t see anyone asking or answering my question. Which is, “What’s the point?”
…
NB sells a million of these Igloos, and they still publish the instruction to “mash out at 170 degrees” on every all grain instruction sheet I’ve ever gotten. What’s the secret?[/quote]
A mashout may do two things: (1) stop enzymatic activity, and so “lock in” the level of “fermentability” of your wort, and (2) in the time leading-up until enzymatic activity stops, boost enzymatic production (due to the higher temps) and so eek out another few points of OG.
For most 5-gallon batches in a 10-gallon cooler, you should have no problem with volume when performing a mashout; to reach the temperature, add near-boiling water to raise the temperature to 170+ degrees. Theoretical tannin extraction is possible when adding near-boiling water, but in practice you should be okay as long as the pH is/remains low enough.
If you batch sparge, you can skip a mashout. You get to a boil more quickly with a batch sparge than a fly sparge and boiling will denature enzymes. If you fly sparge, a mashout may be desirable to set the fermentability of the wort.
My original post was actually referring to instructions layed out by Beersmith 2.0 on mashout and sparging. They gave the volumes of the steps, but not the timing.
I have only this year moved from a mashout and fly sparge process to a batch sparge, which most members of this forum tend to advocate for.
After my recent change to batch sparging I have found that my efficiency has actually improved while the length of my brew days has shortened.
With time saved by batch sparging there will be no need for a mashout going forward, so this will save me some time as well.
My only other question here is if I split my volume 50/50 between mashing and sparging, how much of an effect (if any) will this have on my mash PH?
I would guess little to none, but it’s something you’ll have to answer for yourself. I mash around 1.66-1.75 qt./lb. then sparge with whatever volume I need to hit my total boil volume. With my water, there are no pH implications beyond “normal” adjustments. I almost never adjust pH of my sparge water.
Thanks again Denny. Good to know ahead of time.
