Too much sparge water negative side effects

[Denny]

So, now we have a real life example of an over sparge when batch sparging. @smyrnaquince 's pre-boil SG was slightly lower than for my simulation, which had a final runnings SG of 2˚P or 1.008, so the real batch's final runnings would likely have been less than 2˚P.

From this we can work out a guideline for when to avoid double batch sparging in order to avoid over sparging.

To keep last sparge runnings SG greater than 3˚P (1.012), don't do a double batch sparge for pre-boil SG targets lower than 1.039 (OG ~ 1.048)

To keep last sparge runnings SG greater than 2.5˚P (1.010), don't do a double batch sparge for pre-boil SG targets lower than 1.036 (OG ~ 1.044)​

@smyrnaquince : Do you know the alkalinity of your sparge water, and did you acidify the sparge water?

Brew on

OR....never do a double batch sparge unless your mash tun is too small to hold all the sparge water at once.

 

[doug293cz]

The risk of oversparguing is very slight, assuming you use the same amount of water as you would for a single sparge addition. But unless your mash tun isn't big enough to hold all the sparge water at once, you gain nothing by doing it and waste time.

I disagree. There is a quantifiable benefit to doing more than one sparge step. You do get diminishing returns with each additional sparge. The chart below shows the differences for the case of equal run offs for first runnings and each of the sparges.



Kai Troester gets similar results as reported here. He covers smaller grain bills in his chart than do I.

Whether the efficiency gain is worth the extra effort is a separate question, that each brewer gets to decide for themselves.

Brew on

 

[Denny]

I have batch sparged 501 batches of beer now. I have tested multiple sparges many, many times. Using 2 sparges results in so little efficiency increase in the real world that it's virtually unmeasurable and what I consider to be a waste of my time. I encourage people who are doing multiple sparges to try it with only one to see what the difference is. And if there IS a large difference, it's indicative of a problem somewhere in your process. You may want to solve that problem.

 

[Stillraining]

Thanks for that Doug....I was going to disagree too but thought who am I to do that with this guy... Im Not a math guru or beer guru as you guys are..I'm just a pragmatist.


Drinking = fun
Cleaning=boring
Bottling/ Keging= boring
Fermentation = boring
Boiling = boring
Batch Sparging/Vorluf ( 1st time ) =fun
Mashing =fun
Building recipe=fun

Score now tied at 4-4

Batch sparge and Vorluf ( 2nd time) =fun

Puts me in the winners circle mentally on brew day every time...No problem with process on my end. ......I understand this is not scientific at all... and YMOV.....that's OK...Peace, Love man!

Carry on.