"Partial sparge" and mash efficiency targets

The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Ceejay

Landlord.
Joined
Nov 23, 2010
Messages
1,051
Reaction score
1
Location
South Devon
I've been checking out some of the "Brew Strong" podcasts over at thebrewingnetwork.com. They're really good; John Palmer (author of "howtobrew" and Jamil (Mr Malty) talking about all aspects of brewing.


Anyway, I was listening to the Sparging podcast, and one thing they mentioned was if you target mash efficiency to 70-75% you can end up with a richer, smoother wort than if you hit say 90% plus, because you're exctracting less tannin etc from the grain husks. You obviously have to adjust the recipe, adding more grain.

So, I got thinking about the "no sparge" method and how you can basically mash and sparge to hit a lower volume at a higher gravity, then liquor back to your target OG, but instead of "no sparging" it's possible to maybe sparge down to 1016 for instance and then liquor back to target.

Does anyone do this? Is it worth experimenting with? :hmm:
 
I will be interested in any response/opinions to this. Would the liquoring back affect taste/body? I think what you are suggesting is a 'stronger' BIAB type approach where the mashing/sparging is done in the same stage/pot etc.

Regarding efficiency targets - I had an issue with astringency and batch sparging and I noticed my efficiency in Beersmith was incorrectly set to 80%. I carried out a test brew last week with the efficiency set to 70% and this resulted in no astringency and the 2nd sparge output gravity was 1016.
 
mr_spin said:
I will be interested in any response/opinions to this. Would the liquoring back affect taste/body? I think what you are suggesting is a 'stronger' BIAB type approach where the mashing/sparging is done in the same stage/pot etc.
quote]

Kind of - still fly sparging (which is what I do), but deliberately stopping the sparge early.
 
Ceejay said:
mr_spin said:
I will be interested in any response/opinions to this. Would the liquoring back affect taste/body? I think what you are suggesting is a 'stronger' BIAB type approach where the mashing/sparging is done in the same stage/pot etc.
quote]

Kind of - still fly sparging (which is what I do), but deliberately stopping the sparge early.

I see - and then liquoring back to the target gravity then..
 
Exactly - it should help prevent the extraction of tannins and grainy type flavours because you're stopping the sparge before the pH of the wort increases too much. John and Jamil on the podcast say it gives you a richer, smoother wort and a higher quality finished product.
 
Aleman's Effin Mild was made as a no sparge beer . . . and he regularly only sparges to 1.020 and no lower
 
Does he now? :hmm:

So, when formulating recipies for a "1020 sparge" do you just assume an arbitrarily lower mash efficiency, or do you do you use a calculation? If so, what calculation?

So, if I was at say 93% mash efficiency by sparging down to 1008, how to I work out what mash efficiency to shoot for when sparging down to 1020?
 
I formulate my recipes assuming a 68% efficiency . . . I know I get higher than that, once I have the volume I need pre boil I just check the gravity of the runnings . . . it's rarely less than 1.020 . . . For true no - sparge I assume a 50% efficiency
 
great - so no issues with liquoring back then like lack of body etc? I may adjust mine down to 68% also. I can live with adding a bit more grain as a consequence of better wort quality.
 
Aleman said:
Aleman's Effin Mild was made as a no sparge beer . . . and he regularly only sparges to 1.020 and no lower

I do enjoy this type of post, thanks.
I adjust my sparge volume and tend to find I sparge with a similar amount as the volume of water the mash started with. I don't usually take a hydrometer reading but think I might start.

Aleman, I'm trying to form my second 'session' ale and looking to 'mild' as a template. 3% or less, possibly only 3-4 grains include Pale, IBU at about 30 with no more than 3 hops but with Fuggle as the main.
Is your Effin Mild listed?

Cheers
 
mr_spin said:
great - so no issues with liquoring back then like lack of body etc? I may adjust mine down to 68% also. I can live with adding a bit more grain as a consequence of better wort quality.


Liquoring back should have no effect on body. I mean, eg. 1.045 is 1.045 regardless of how the OG is reached. It's just a sugar concentration, add more water and the 'body' will be diluted.
 
Exactly; you end up with the same body, but avoid the extraction of too much tannin and polyphenols. The (slight) downside is you need to use more grain, but for the cost of an extra kilo of malt (£2 or so) it's probably worth a try :thumb:
 
Back
Top