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caio

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Hi all!

Never taken part in a forum like this before so bear with me...

I've been brewing for a few months with an all-grain starter kit from Homebrewtique but willing to invest in better kit. I'm having difficulties with one bit in the process though, which is to Vorlauf-Lauter-Sparge. This isn't a problem with my current kit as all I have to do is transfer from mash tun to fermenting bucket.

Any advice on this?

Many thanks,
Caio
 
croeso tothe fforwm
ychydig mwy o wybodaeth â'r hyn cit sydd gennych maint a'r hyn yr ydych yn gwneud eich berwi mewn
Byddai heelp a beth yr ydych yn bragu
 
croeso tothe fforwm
ychydig mwy o wybodaeth â'r hyn cit sydd gennych maint a'r hyn yr ydych yn gwneud eich berwi mewn
Byddai heelp a beth yr ydych yn bragu

Whatever your drinking must have had a high OG and low FG....:whistle:
Just kidding...are yo looking at buying a stand alone brew system like Grainfather or simular ?
 
Helo Caio,

A lot depends on the equipment you have to hand. In simple terms, you want to set up a cascading process that will draw water (at around 70-80c) through your mashed malt and into your boiler (or something that you can use to transfer to the boiler). If all happens nicely - and it usually does if you take it slowly - the hot water will drain through the bed of malt, pushing the heavy sugary stuff through first and then washing off the sugars that have stuck to the grain.

The system that I use is to have:
A boiler with a ball valve, connecting into a rotating sparge arm (you can get a nice spray going with a clean watering can but life is too short etc etc) spraying onto a mash tun with a ball valve connected to a hose running into a transfer vessel. You will also need a jug.

Bring the sparge water up to temperature while the malt is mashing.

Once the malt has mashed out and the sparge water has reached the required temperature (whichever is the later), start to run the water slowly through the sparge arm onto the mash. Let the hot water build up to about an inch above the level of the mash and then open the ball valve on the mash tun ever-so-slightly to let the nice stuff run through the hose and into your jug.

Once you have filled the jug, close the ball valve and carefully pour the liquor back into the mash tun. This is because the first run of wort usually contains a load of bits and husks from the drain. You might have to repeat this step a couple of times before the wort starts to run clear.

Now open the tap on the mash tun about a quarter of the way open. Less is more with sparging but the principle is to make sure that the rate you run wort out is never greater than the rate that you are running it into the mash tun through your sparge arm/watering can. Opening the lower tap too far, or letting your sparge water drop below 50c can result in a sweary brewer.

The next question is when to stop sparging. The maximum stopping point is when the runnings get below 1010 (999 at 54c, which is the usual exit temperature in our brews, at least) but I find the best approach is to stop sparging when you have extracted the amount of wort you want to ferment, then drain another 8 litres out of the mash tun before turning that tap off.

Simples.

Iechyd da pob Cymro...
 
Last edited:
Whatever your drinking must have had a high OG and low FG....:whistle:
Just kidding...are yo looking at buying a stand alone brew system like Grainfather or simular ?
no I got a ace microbrewery system but thanks
 
Thank you so much MadBadger. Really appreciated. I'll get to it and let you know how things pan out!
Diolch eto.
Caio

Helo Caio,

A lot depends on the equipment you have to hand. In simple terms, you want to set up a cascading process that will draw water (at around 70-80c) through your mashed malt and into your boiler (or something that you can use to transfer to the boiler). If all happens nicely - and it usually does if you take it slowly - the hot water will drain through the bed of malt, pushing the heavy sugary stuff through first and then washing off the sugars that have stuck to the grain.

The system that I use is to have:
A boiler with a ball valve, connecting into a rotating sparge arm (you can get a nice spray going with a clean watering can but life is too short etc etc) spraying onto a mash tun with a ball valve connected to a hose running into a transfer vessel. You will also need a jug.

Bring the sparge water up to temperature while the malt is mashing.

Once the malt has mashed out and the sparge water has reached the required temperature (whichever is the later), start to run the water slowly through the sparge arm onto the mash. Let the hot water build up to about an inch above the level of the mash and then open the ball valve on the mash tun ever-so-slightly to let the nice stuff run through the hose and into your jug.

Once you have filled the jug, close the ball valve and carefully pour the liquor back into the mash tun. This is because the first run of wort usually contains a load of bits and husks from the drain. You might have to repeat this step a couple of times before the wort starts to run clear.

Now open the tap on the mash tun about a quarter of the way open. Less is more with sparging but the principle is to make sure that the rate you run wort out is never greater than the rate that you are running it into the mash tun through your sparge arm/watering can. Opening the lower tap too far, or letting your sparge water drop below 50c can result in a sweary brewer.

The next question is when to stop sparging. The maximum stopping point is when the runnings get below 1010 (999 at 54c, which is the usual exit temperature in our brews, at least) but I find the best approach is to stop sparging when you have extracted the amount of wort you want to ferment, then drain another 8 litres out of the mash tun before turning that tap off.

Simples.

Iechyd da pob Cymro...
 
Thanks to everyone for your warm welcome!

Out of interest, could you describe your own full brewing kits and perhaps recommend where is the best place to get the kit? I saw the SS Brewmaster Bucket online the other day - looks nice!

Thanks again,
Caio
 
As a new brewer I have found this post very useful. My question is ..... On my first brew, the water coming from my sparge arm was spraying around the perimeter of the mash. i.e around the edges of the mash tun. Is this right? I had assumed that it would cover the whole mash.
 
I have a ace microbrewery system which I got from ebay they do sale out quick
just have a look here a nice and easy system to use
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvvNzy3X1rs[/ame]
 
Hi Brett,

Sorry for the late reply. This is what I'm using now, which gives you an idea of my process as well: https://www.homebrewtique.com/product/craft-beer-ultimate-starter-kit/

Out of interest, what does the 'Fermenting', 'Conditioning' and 'Drinking' bit mean underneath your posts? Might sound like a stupid question but if I 'assume' I might make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'!

Whatever your drinking must have had a high OG and low FG....:whistle:
Just kidding...are yo looking at buying a stand alone brew system like Grainfather or simular ?
 
I have three fv 6 pbs
the only questions that is stupid is the one you don't ask
also don't for get to get a hydrometer and thermometer
wort cooler a hop filter of some kind this will depend on if you use leaf or pellets hops

so don't for get to ask things as there is always someone here to help you
we all at to start somewhere
and best of luck and don't give in
 
Thank you so much. Just two more before you go - where do you get your fv from... and what's a PBS?!
 
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