Sparging temp?

[shawnstr71]

Hello All,
So...I guess I am on batch.....15 or 16?? now. I have been all grain brewing for about a year and a half. (and loving it)
I do 5 gal. batches (eventually 10...when funds allow), and I batch sparge. I use a 5 gal. Igloo cooler as a mash tun. I always sparge around 170 to 175, 10 min rest, and then run off. Usually do this 3 times to get my pre boil volume.
I usually come pretty close to my O.G. of recipe.
I read from a cpl different sources that they sparge with close to boiling/boiling water so that the grain bed is at 170 degrees. I guess my questions are, does anyone else use this method? and should I bother changing my sparge procedure if my gravities are coming out on/close?
Thanx

 

[241]

I always sparge below 170F per John Palmer. 168F seems to work well for me.

The temperature of the sparge water is important. The water should be no more than 170°F, as husk tannins become more soluble above this temperature, depending on wort pH. This could lead to astringency in the beer.

Source: http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter17.html

 

[Jayhem]

Sparging above 170F can lead to tannins being extracted from the grain husks (Per Palmer's book).

The temp of your sparge has little to do with your extraction efficiency if you are using highly modified malted barley (like 2-row, Pilsen, etc) since you easily get full conversion in 60 minutes at 147-154F. The sparge is just to rinse the grains of the converted sugars. I sparge with a grain bed temp of 165F which means I'm adding water that is 175-180F.

Edit: With a 90 min full boil I am getting better than 87% extraction efficiency.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

If you want to "mash out" before lautering then you want to get the entire grain bed up to 168F, not just use 168F water. This will denature the enzymes so they stop converting the starches into sugars and changing the sugars from long-chain into short chain.
It might be more a question of if you like the body and fermentability of your beers than if you're hitting your OG. The only benefit of mashing out is to stop the sugars were they are.
It might be worth trying a mashout once to see if you want to add it on a regular basis.

But, like Jayhem said, if you do use boiling water, you want to add this only for the first sparge. You would be trying to bring the grain up from your mash temp to 170F, which the first sparge would do. The 2nd (and in your case 3rd) would take the grain over 170F resulting in a bitter/astringent character on the tongue. So after boiling for the 1st, then switch back to 170F for the 2nd and 3rd.

 

[orangehero]

Tannin extraction is caused by high temeperature combined with high pH. If it were just a result of temperature then doing a decoction mash would lead to tannin astringency. If you treat your sparge water with an acid you should have no issues with tannins, although I would not recommend doing the entire sparge with boiling water.

Extraction efficiency is different from conversion efficiency. Doing a mashout at 170°F and sparging at 170°F should improve both. Mashing out at 170°F not only arrests further diastase activity, but also helps to gelatinize any remaining starch and momentarily boost alpha-amylase action, raising conversion efficiency. The higher temperature sparge makes the wort less viscous thus raising extraction efficiency.

 

[Bobby_M]

The 170F or 168F sparge figure is specific to a fly sparge process where a mash out step has already raised the mash to 170. This is not necessary or true in a batch sparge with no mash out.

 

[Jayhem]

Tannin extraction is caused by high temeperature combined with high pH. If it were just a result of temperature then doing a decoction mash would lead to tannin astringency. If you treat your sparge water with an acid you should have no issues with tannins, although I would not recommend doing the entire sparge with boiling water.

Correct. For those who haven't had their water tested or run a Bru'n Water report to adjust their water it is best to keep the sparge temps down to be safe. You can adjust the fermentability of your wort by mash temp easier with highly modified malts where a "mash out" doesn't really do much since you already have full conversion in 60 minutes.

Mash at 153-155F for a maltier beer and 148-152 for a more fermentable wort and drier beer.

 

[orangehero]

You can adjust the fermentability of your wort by mash temp easier with highly modified malts where a "mash out" doesn't really do much since you already have full conversion in 60 minutes.

Although you may have full conversion even at 15 minutes, that doesn't mean the sugar profile doesn't change with time. You can control fermentability both through temperature as well as length of mash. The main purpose of a mash-out is consistency.

You don't need to have your water tested (for this purpose) if you have a pH meter. You can easily adjust sparge water pH through small incremental additions of acid.

 

[thekraken]

The 170F or 168F sparge figure is specific to a fly sparge process where a mash out step has already raised the mash to 170. This is not necessary or true in a batch sparge with no mash out.

I was under the impression that even batch sparging could benefit from the lower viscosity from higher temp sparge water. Not so much?

 

[shawnstr71]

Thanks everyone! This confirms what I was thinking. And the quick science refresher was helpful. As soon as football season is over, gonna get back to increasing my beer knowledge! Lol. Cheers!