What volume of water to strike with?

[kwm5067]

Iv'e been brewing for a solid year with the same routine give or take a few experiments. I brew 100% all grain 5 gallon batches and typically like to sparge with even amounts. This seems to work for me.

I see some recipes that call for very different strike volume amounts, 3.75 gallons, 5 gallons, 6 gallons etc. Some recipes call for a large first batch sparge and then a much smaller second batch sparge to get the pre-boil volumes needed (I presume).

My question is, are there any advantages or techniques I am ignorant of that would require all these different strike volumes and batch sparging amounts?

Take these directions for example: Mash In 23.82 qt of water at 166.6 F

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (0.11gal, 4.09gal) of 168.0 F water

Why such a small first sparge?

thanks in advance!

 

[jbsg02]

I started doing full volume mash BIAB for simplicity and ease. Calculate and treat my full volume of water to hit mash pH. I don't think water to grist ratio is really super important in the grand scheme

 

[McKnuckle]

Other people's mashing and sparging volumes are fairly irrelevant to yours. I think the magazines, like BYO and such, and of course the famous brewing books, include these directions in order to give an idiot-proof option to newbies. But frankly I think it makes things worse, because it can be interpreted as dogma.

Your own system and preferences dictate your mashing scheme. There are some beliefs and even some facts (!) regarding a mash that is more or less viscous; whether or not to sparge and with what volume/temp etc. - but nearly every technique works.

Personally, I calculate my total water volume and split it 50/50 between the mash and a single batch sparge. But I've also done many batches with a full volume mash and no sparge.

 

[GPP33]

As others have said, the actual ratio is probably irrelevant. What matters to me is a consistent ratio. I know exactly how much temp I'll loose when I add my grains because the ratio is always the same. Plus overall consistency is good. If I'm brewing a recipe I look at grain ratios, hop ratios and timing and mash temp. Everything else I go with what I know about my system.

 

[jalc6927]

In total agreement with last few answers in that you'll be best served forming your own process over time

I've found that 40/60 split mash/ sparge works well for me only because I feel like having a thicker mash makes more sense

Reality is that it probably doesn't matter, just comfort level

Beer turns out wonderful

 

[kwm5067]

Thanks for all of the responses! I guess it does come down to personal preference and at the end of the day doing what works for you. Since the way I do things works for me I won't worry about it too much. Just thought I was missing some valuable information that could make for a higher quality end product.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Is there a reason you don't go full volume? Maybe pot size or heat issues? Its so easy. Fill up your pot add grains and your done. After a batch or 2 you'll know your grain absorption and boil off and be all set with your strike water

 

[Jwin]

I've seen the split method similar to the one you posted (small initial sparge). I always assumed it was for one reason. To flush much of the deadspace mash wort from the mlt.
No other reason that I can see to do such a small sparge on any system short of a couple of gallons.
Now, in a size restricted system (low water/grain ratio), where you are getting around half of your wort from the initial mash, two sparges make perfect sense. If you have 60% of your wort coming out of your sparge, might as well make the attempt to gain more efficiently. Not to mention, if you have that much water left behind, it might not fit, depending on your system.
Now, to add to the things I do column...
I use a 3 vessel, old school system. The biggest benefit to this is I can do back to back batches by partigyleing(sp?).
I build my recipe in beersmith(for big beers only) for single infusion, no sparge. I will then do a sparge and get a second, lower gravity beer, from the mash. If I'm doing an imperial stout, I may draw a porter off of it. Or I may steep the roasted grains in my boil kettle and draw a pale ale from it.
A dipa may yield a pale ale. Etc...
The way I see it, I produce 100% more beer in 39-40% more time.
But, that's me, my system and my time. Ymmv.
Cheers!

 

[doug293cz]

Strike water to sparge water ratios will not affect the quality of your beer, and just about anything that works for your system is fine.

Water ratios do affect lauter efficiency however. The highest lauter efficiency when batch sparging is achieved when all of the run-offs have equal volume. Because of grain absorption effects, this means that for maximum efficiency, strike water volume needs to be higher than the water volume for each sparge. However, it also turns out that the efficiency difference between exactly equal and merely similar volumes is very small, so you don't really have to worry about being exact. There are no drawbacks to thin mashes, and in fact thin mashes can provide better conversion efficiency. You might want to limit the max mash thickness, for ease of dough in and stirring, and to insure good conversion. A simple strategy that will get you nearly optimal batch sparge efficiency is as follows:

1. Determine pre-boil volume target.
2. Total brewing water volume is pre-boil volume target plus expected grain absorption and MLT undrainable volume.
3. Strike water volume is 60 percent of total brewing water, or the volume required for your minimum acceptable water/grain ratio, whichever is larger.
4. Sparge water volume is total brewing water volume minus strike volume

If you want to do two sparges, then change 60% to 50% in step 3, and use half the sparge water for each sparge.

Brew on

 

[IslandLizard]

[...] Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (0.11gal, 4.09gal) of 168.0 F water

Why such a small first sparge?

That small amount (highlighted) is not a sparge. A sparge is a rinse, that small amount (less than a pint) won't do diddly squat. That number is either a mistake or a joke.

From reading much around here and elsewhere, 2 equally sized sparges (when batch sparging) will yield an optimum, while small deviations from that (say 10-20%) won't make much difference.

When I started AG (5.5 gallon batches) I used to mash with a water to grain ratio of 1.25 (quarts/pound of grist), but found it too thick to mix and stir well. Also the mass was a bit low to hold temps well. Went to 1.33 then settled at 1.5, and like the results: A nice and fluffy mash!

The balance of brewing water needed is then used for the 2 (batch) sparges, equally divided. Put a checkmark in that box when using BeerSmith.

The most important factor in getting maximum mash efficiency is a good crush (tighten the mill gap when milling small kernels, like wheat, rye, etc.) and stirring (mixing) well. Other important factors, but at a lesser degree, are a suitable mash pH and temp, good stirring, and a small dead space in the mash tun (ideally none), and always lauter each running thoroughly. If tilting the tun toward the end achieves that, do it.

I always take a refractometer reading of the first runnings, just to make sure nothing weird is going on, sometimes of the 2nd and 3rd. In a few cases where I came up a bit short on points or volume I did a very small 3rd sparge, a few quarts at most. In those few cases the gravity never dropped below 1.010, usually stayed above 1.012.

That said, I don't believe full volume mashes are as efficient, there's a significant amount of high gravity wort (sugars) trapped in the grain. Even a small sparge, or dunking the bag into a couple gallons of water, like many BIAB brewers do, helps, as does a good squeeze.