2. The Sparge

Sparging just means rinsing. During this stage, which follows the mash, water is trickled over the grains to wash out the remaining sugar.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Homebrew
• home brew
• brewing
• beer
• malt
• hops
• Sparge
• drink

[aarossell]

ever experience hot side aeration off flavors?

[JimsBeerKit]

@aarossell Never.

[djdevelope32]

Do you let your mash tun drain down into the boil kettle until it gets wort level gets about two inches from the grain bed?

[JimsBeerKit]

@djdevelope32 Not sure what your question is getting at, so I'll answer both possibilities. ;o) I don't let the level of liquid in go much below the top of the grain bed while actually sparging, and I sparge until the specific gravity of the runnings get down to about 1.008 (although I usually judge that by sticking my finger under the tap and licking it to see if it's still sweet!).

[DiggaDiggaDo]

@djdevelope32 Aren't you worried about hot side aeration letting your wort dribble out like that? That should be running through some tubing and gently filling your kettle or collection vessel. All that splashing will make your beer oxidized and have off flavors.

[JimsBeerKit]

@DiggaDiggaDo - Hi DDD. I don't believe hot side aeration is anything to worry about; there are a lot of brewing myths in circulation and I believe that's one of them! There are a number of discussions on my forum about HSA (or lack of it) if you want to look into it. Homebrewing guru Graham Wheeler in particular is very vocal about it (he's a non-believer as well).

[backyardsounds]

this makes me wanna' "P".

[JimsBeerKit]

@rawtofu666 No, it's a bought one. I don't think you can get them in Britain any more.

[rawtofu666]

did you make that rotating fly sparge?

if you did how??

[JimsBeerKit]

Something like 20-30 pence a pint for all grain (which is cheaper than kits), depending on the recipe. The beer can be as good as or even better than the best commercial beers.

Jim