No Sparge

[rodgers]

I was watching a vid from Basic Brewing where the guys were discussing no sparge. The idea seemed to be that by skipping the sparge step you weren't diluting the wort with water, resulting in a sweeter, maltier wort. The logic makes sense but it just feels so wrong.

Thinking of trying this out next brew day but curious to see if anyone has any thoughts, or has tried this before? If so did you notice any difference?

 

[kev211]

How did they compensate for boil off? Did they just run a thinner mash?

 

[m1k3]

My last brew was a No Sparge. 57% brewhouse efficiency 1.078 OG from 22.25# of grist.

I mash in a 70 quart cooler so it was easy to add all the water I needed for a 5 gallon finished batch.
(I usually do 10 or 15 gallons in that cooler)

 

[rodgers]

How did they compensate for boil off? Did they just run a thinner mash?

More mash water I believe. Vid below if you wanna check it out. It's pretty interesting:

https://youtu.be/B5MaEh_iFso

My last brew was a No Sparge. 57% brewhouse efficiency 1.078 OG from 22.25# of grist.

I mash in a 70 quart cooler so it was easy to add all the water I needed for a 5 gallon finished batch.
(I usually do 10 or 15 gallons in that cooler)

Lower efficiency is a drawback, but that wouldn't stop me I don't think. What did you think? Was there a noticeable difference compared to sparging?

 

[jeremy0209]

No sparge is a beautiful thing. That's how I do all my low gravity beers. IMO, they come out great and you don't have to worry about the extra step.

 

[Callacave]

I get a very slight efficiency drop by about 2% or so. There's really nothing magical about no sparge. The mash is just thinner, and it actually saves time. I do it for all of my 2.5 gal batches. I don't notice any difference, but I haven't made the same beer using both methods.

 

[20grit]

My last brew was a No Sparge. 57% brewhouse efficiency 1.078 OG from 22.25# of grist.

I mash in a 70 quart cooler so it was easy to add all the water I needed for a 5 gallon finished batch.
(I usually do 10 or 15 gallons in that cooler)

If you are that low on efficiency, why not try a parti-gyle and at least make use of all the grain you are using?

 

[normonster]

Excellent idea @20grit.

 

[jschein]

Yes I do it all the time but I recirculate.