Easy Fly Sparge Technique(1)

Easy fly sparge technique for homebrewers.

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[mizzikee]

Propane indoors? I hope you have a big window open with a fan going....

[soughter]

@mizzikee The garage door is open. I crack it 2 feet in winter and run the propane along with a kerosene heater and have never had a problem. No fan necessary in my case. I'm in and out a lot, too, so maybe that helps. Can't speak to the safety of it all, only what's worked for me over the past 10 years.

[JustWonderingHowToDo]

Would it be okay to put all of the sparge water in at once in de mash tun (after the first running has been drained to the boil kettle) and let it recirculate with a pump for about 10 minutes and then drain all of it to the boil kettle. Wouldn't this also absorb all the sugars from the mash?

[soughter]

@JustWonderingHowToDo Sounds like you're describing a batch sparge technique. Your first runnings would be all but what the grain held. You risk poor efficiency and astringency that way. Trickle the sparge water in, keep the ins equal to the outs, keeping the grain bed submerged under an inch of water. Nearly an hour to collect 7-8 gal. Stop when gravity goes below 1018 (astringency risk beyond that). You'll get great efficiency and powerful beer. BrauKiller

[aarossell]

@JustWonderingHowToDo I almost always do what you described-- batch sparge. Simply because I am impatient, and batch sparge saves me about 40-60 minutes on brew day. It is not important to me if I'm as efficient as possible-- 5 gallons of beer is different from 150 gallons or more, where efficiency matters. As long as my gravity measures well I'm happy-- and I don't suck husks into the boil :)

[soughter]

@aarossell This isn't a batch sparge technique. It's one way to fly sparge. I understand you don't always want to shoot for high efficience. In beers like kolsch and Pils you can get a grainy character. Keep water temp below 170 and pH not too much over 6 and you'll extract fewer polyphenols and haze compounds than batch sparging. Speed up flow rate to reduce efficiency, reduce it to increase. Put a plastic lid on top the water in the lauter tun to avoid channeling through the grain.

[aarossell]

@soughter yeah I'm replying to "JustWonderingHowToDo", who described batch sparging. See the @ symbol?

[TheHopSlam]

@mizzikee Um . . . Yeah.