Does a faster sparge = better beer?

[guypettigrew]

For decades my sparging has been carried out using the original style "Phil's sparge arm".

It finally gave up the ghost a couple of weeks or so ago, and refused to rotate. A new one was ordered from "Hop and Grape" (or hope and grape as it appears on the credit card bill!), which arrived very quickly.

It sparges much faster than the old one. Which neans it's easier to balance the liquor going in with the wort running out. The sparge took 15-20 minutes instead of the previous 45 minutes.

Having just had a sneak preview taste of the ale as it went into the keg, it seems fresher, less coarse and generally better.

Is this luck, or is there some benefit in running the sparge liquor through more quickly?

Guy

[PureGuiness]

I batch spare normally but I thought the key to good fly sparging was matching the input and output flow rates so that the grain bed just remains covered and isn't disturbed. I would think that a run off that is too quick might also result in the grain bed bedding down and potentially causing a stuck sparge.

[guypettigrew]

The sparge rate and run off rate matched perfectly. The grain bed always had a few millimetres of liquor on top of it. Perhaps that's the key? A floating grain bed and always the same level of liquor on top of it?

Guy

[Cuckoo Barmy]

I also batch sparge but it seems likely to me there is a mechanical factor to faster flow pulling more sugar from the grain. Perhaps its tonight's pints, but I always view sparging as washing away a sticky jam or treacle from my grain. Getting the liquor temperature is the main thing but flow must also contribute to pulling those fermantable sugars away from the grain

[critch]

i was taught that a slower sparge equals better efficiency but obviously youd be extracting tannins the longer it goes, especially comercially where the sparge can take a few hours,however its not been too much of a problem for me. sounds interesting though what proportin of sparge did it knock off?

[norstar]

My sparges take about half an hour to collect 20L. Is that the norm as others find?

[duffname1969]

hi all,

i have just finished a all grain brew day for Tanglefoot , beer smith told me to use 9.1l for the mash, thats ok
then 8.7l and 14.2l for the Batch Sparge, but , found that hydrmometer levels were at 1.010 before finish sparging
so didn' get the 28l to boil more like20-22 then after dead space in boiler for the hops and proteins clump im left with adding 3l of boiling water just to make the fv vol to 21l.
used a filter in the boiler but after cooling wort in the fermenter ( in the bath) still got protein clumps now in bottom of fv it seems. why?
what should i do if there is not enough sparged water, add boiled water to add to the fv??til at voll needed?

thanks

[guypettigrew]

The clumps are the "cold break", stuff which drops out of solution as the wort cool. Nothing to worry about. The break may come to the top as the beer ferments out, then drop back to the bottom so it will be left behind when you syphon it off.

As to volume. Depends if you're brewing to a volume or a gravity. If you want 23 litres (say), then top up the FV with tap water. If you're looking to create a beer of a particular gravity, then take the SG of whatever you've got and either leave it alone or dilute down with tap water until the gravity is right.

Here's the calculation; Final volume = last two figures of SG x volume before dilution / desired SG.

So, if you have 20 litres of wort at an SG of 1.050, and you want to end up with a wort at 1.040, the calculation is; 50 x 20 / 40. Equals 25 litres. You'd have to add 5 litres of water to get your desired OG.

Hope this helps.

Guy

[BarnsleyBrewer]

I was told to sparge slow and steady, bit like wooing a sexy chick into bed..... take your time and you'll get a good result.

BB

[duffname1969]

Hi can i add cold water to the fv about 5 hrs after adding yeast??

[boingy]

Hi can i add cold water to the fv about 5 hrs after adding yeast??

Yes you can, but I'm not sure why you are asking in this thread....

[guypettigrew]

You can add water when it's in the barrel!

But perhaps you need to start another thread so people who know about these things can pick up on it and advise you.

Guy