33 replies to this topic

[MakeMeHoppy]

No pro brewer batch sparges.... etc. etc.....

Pro brewers also all brew indoors. Therefore all homebrewers should brew indoors like I do!

[Malzig]

I know of one professional brewery that is about to christen an entirely batch sparge brewery, Yellowhammer Brewery in Alabama.

Would you mind posting that again? I had it, gave it a quick look and lost the link before I could give it a good read. Thanks!

This is the talk he gave at NHC.Thisand this are two places on his website that discuss the topic of mash efficiency in general and troubleshooting in particular.If you download his Batch Sparge Efficiency Analysis spreadsheet and Batch Sparge Simulator, you can get a good idea of where your efficiency losses are and what it has the potential to be. Essentially, it will show that achieving complete conversion (by first running gravity, not by iodine) should guarantee you 85-90% Mash Efficiency from a single Batch Sparge on something like a 12-14 P beer without any extraordinary lautering effort.I've been playing around with these for the last half-dozen batches or so, and they are extremely accurate predictors of the real-world numbers I've been seeing. The Sparge Simulator will also show you one nice thing about achieving high efficiencies from a Batch Sparge: a safety margin against oversparging since your final runnings should be well above 1.020 and channeling is a non-issue. In my field it's what we call a "robust" procedure.

[davelew]

No pro brewer batch sparges.... etc. etc.....

Most pro brewers make American Light Lagers.

[djinkc]

I know of one professional brewery that is about to christen an entirely batch sparge brewery, Yellowhammer Brewery in Alabama.This is the talk he gave at NHC.Thisand this are two places on his website that discuss the topic of mash efficiency in general and troubleshooting in particular.If you download his Batch Sparge Efficiency Analysis spreadsheet and Batch Sparge Simulator, you can get a good idea of where your efficiency losses are and what it has the potential to be. Essentially, it will show that achieving complete conversion (by first running gravity, not by iodine) should guarantee you 85-90% Mash Efficiency from a single Batch Sparge on something like a 12-14 P beer without any extraordinary lautering effort.I've been playing around with these for the last half-dozen batches or so, and they are extremely accurate predictors of the real-world numbers I've been seeing. The Sparge Simulator will also show you one nice thing about achieving high efficiencies from a Batch Sparge: a safety margin against oversparging since your final runnings should be well above 1.020 and channeling is a non-issue. In my field it's what we call a "robust" procedure.

Thanks

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I know of one professional brewery that is about to christen an entirely batch sparge brewery, Yellowhammer Brewery in Alabama.This is the talk he gave at NHC.

What is this guys association with BFoD? That's a NH based homebrewers group.

[Malzig]

What is this guys association with BFoD? That's a NH based homebrewers group.

The quoting function makes it look like there's a relationship between the brewery in Alabama and Kai Troester, who did the research and gave the talk, which there isn't. If that's the source of the confusion. Kai lives near NH and I assume he's a member of BFoD, since he references them in the powerpoint.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

The quoting function makes it look like there's a relationship between the brewery in Alabama and Kai Troester, who did the research and gave the talk, which there isn't. If that's the source of the confusion. Kai lives near NH and I assume he's a member of BFoD, since he references them in the powerpoint.

gotcha - my mistake.

[MolBasser]

Most pro brewers make American Light Lagers.

Nope. The majority of breweries brew craft beer.They just don't match the volume of the big boys.MolBasser

[davelew]

Nope. The majority of breweries brew craft beer.They just don't match the volume of the big boys.MolBasser

I said brewers, not breweries. I imagine the big boys have more automation than craft breweries, but I would also guess they employ more brewers and brew techs.

[MolBasser]

I doubt it. But maybe.MolBasser

[mead4science]

Don't worry--not frightened away. ;o) Just between bottling, blanching and freezing peaches for this weekend's mead, and grad-school--I've been a little busy and not checking the board as often as I usually do.

Most people's first mash is something like this:1. You either buy the grains crushed, or crush them at the local homebrew store. Crushing is the common name for what you call physically shearing.2. You mix the grains with heated water and put them in a container that will hold the grain/water mixture at 150 F for an hour3. You drain the water from the grains, collect it, add more heated water to the grains, collect that, and so on.4. You boil the collected liquid (which is now called "wort" with hops, cool it, add yeast, wait for a while, and you will have beer

Thanks, that clears a lot up. So basically, as long as it stays at 150---and from what's I've read *exactly* 150--it's all good. And the cooler/larger volume helps it stay at 150 without back heating it. And I think I remember that grain mash floats--so having the bung on the bottom makes things go more smoothly. Do you reduce the pre-wort to concentrate it into wort? Or is it at the right concentration already? I noticed that I lost maybe a 1/2 gallon to evaporation while we were adding the hops.

[MtnBrewer]

Don't worry--not frightened away. ;o) Just between bottling, blanching and freezing peaches for this weekend's mead, and grad-school--I've been a little busy and not checking the board as often as I usually do. Thanks, that clears a lot up. So basically, as long as it stays at 150---and from what's I've read *exactly* 150--it's all good. And the cooler/larger volume helps it stay at 150 without back heating it. And I think I remember that grain mash floats--so having the bung on the bottom makes things go more smoothly. Do you reduce the pre-wort to concentrate it into wort? Or is it at the right concentration already? I noticed that I lost maybe a 1/2 gallon to evaporation while we were adding the hops.

I'm not sure what you mean by pre-wort. You generally collect about 7 gallons of wort from your mash through a process called sparging. This wort is boiled for 60-90 minutes. One reason you boil it is to concentrate it to the gravity you need for the start of fermentation.If nobody has suggested this yet, I'd recommend you pick up a book called How to Brew by John Palmer. The book is just what the name says it is. Also there is an online version at https://www.howtobrew.com.

[Deerslyr]

Don't worry--not frightened away. ;o) Just between bottling, blanching and freezing peaches for this weekend's mead, and grad-school--I've been a little busy and not checking the board as often as I usually do. Thanks, that clears a lot up. So basically, as long as it stays at 150---and from what's I've read *exactly* 150--it's all good. And the cooler/larger volume helps it stay at 150 without back heating it. And I think I remember that grain mash floats--so having the bung on the bottom makes things go more smoothly. Do you reduce the pre-wort to concentrate it into wort? Or is it at the right concentration already? I noticed that I lost maybe a 1/2 gallon to evaporation while we were adding the hops.

150 is the mid target really. You can go as low as around 146 and as high as around 155. It can have an effect on the outcome of the beer. A Mash at the lower end produces higher amounts of fermentable sugars resulting in a drier beer. A Mash at the higher end produces more unfermentable sugars, which will result in a beer that has more body. Not sure where you heard the 150... but it is not an absolute. You do have a range to play in depending on either the style you are shooting for, or in my case, personal preference. I like beers with more body, so I tend to Mash at around 154.

[davelew]

Don't worry--not frightened away. ;o) Just between bottling, blanching and freezing peaches for this weekend's mead, and grad-school--I've been a little busy and not checking the board as often as I usually do. Thanks, that clears a lot up. So basically, as long as it stays at 150---and from what's I've read *exactly* 150--it's all good. And the cooler/larger volume helps it stay at 150 without back heating it. And I think I remember that grain mash floats--so having the bung on the bottom makes things go more smoothly. Do you reduce the pre-wort to concentrate it into wort? Or is it at the right concentration already? I noticed that I lost maybe a 1/2 gallon to evaporation while we were adding the hops.

Grain doesn't float. Sometimes a few grains might float for a little while, but 99.99% of the grain will sink. The outlet is on the bottom because the water drips through the grain, picking up beer-y goodness as it goes. It's sort of like brewing coffee, where the water filters through the coffee grounds and drips into the cup. The difference between coffee beans and malted barley is that coffee needs a filter, while barley husks actually create their own filter bed.