Sparging?

[Pedler]

Gday, first time to the forum so here goes.

 

Adding a kilo of Weyermann pilsener malt to a coopers Bavarian Lager kit, have read all the instructions on the web about mashing and sparging. I understand the mashing, but sparging the grain after the mash doesnt gel. also adding light liquid malt and some saaz for taste.

 

Can anyone put the sparging side of things into laymans terms.

 

Thanks.

[Tipsy]

Sparging is just a term for rinsing the grains.

 

You do the mash and then you need to separate the malt from the grain.

 

There are a few of ways to do this;

 

Batch/Flood sparging, Fly/Continuous sparging and no sparge.

 

 

 

No sparge is just draining the liquid from the grain and throwing the grain out.

 

 

 

Batch is the same as no sparge except afterward you add more water to rinse the grains of more malt and drain again.

 

 

 

Continuous is adding water as you drain the malt out.

 

 

 

Continuous gets you the most malt from the grain but I prefer batch sparging as it is easier. (IMO)

[PB2]

Is the grain already cracked?

 

 

 

If you have a large pot and a sieve you can mash in the pot with about 3 litres of water then run it through the sieve to remove the solid material. No need to sparge (rinse) if you are also using other malt extract/brew kit.

 

 

 

As Tipsy alluded to, sparging is usefull if you are trying to get the most out of the grains but not neccessary if you are using it as an adjunct.

[Pedler]

Thanks guys, I assume the grains are cracked, if not will crack them

 

Cheers .

[Guest]

Hi guys.

 

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but it was relevant based on a brew I put down earlier today.

 

I had been reading various comments on the forum about using a coffee plunger as a means of straining off malt liquid away from the grains once they have been steeped/mashed correctly. I went through this process today & can honestly say I won't be doing it that way again. The plunger certainly separated the grains from the liquid etc. but it wasn't a quick method at all. It actually created more mess & more headaches than it was worth.

 

Two weeks ago I put down PB2's Nelson's Light recipe & strained the whole combined grain & hop mixture through a large, tight weaved strainer directly into the FV, & although I whinged a little about it at the time, it was far less messy & time consuming than the plunger intervention style.

 

I "Batch' sparged with approx. 1-2 litres of boiling water in each situation, & in today's brew, it was a must as the grain & hop cook had reduced to a very thick muddy looking slurry.

 

Live & learn. [pinched]

 

Beer.

[Muddy Waters]

How was it messy beer? You just steep the grains, plunge then pour off the liquid. Can't get much easier than that for small grain additions.

[Guest]

it was a must as the grain & hop cook had reduced to a very thick muddy looking slurry.

 

sounds odd.. never had that descriptor myself.

 

 

[Guest]

I was thinking more about yesterday's brew I put down.

 

I think the final consistency of the grain/hop cook can be put down to my own inexperience with grain type recipes. This one being only my second. I mean I did follow the recipe word for word, but didn't think outside of that in any practical sense.

 

The recipe asked that I mash/steep 250gms of grains in 2 litres of water for 15-30mins in 80\xb0C water. Which I did quite well at I might add. [happy]

 

It then stated to strain that off & use the resultant liquid for the hop boil, which I did word for word. At this point, as you can imagine, there wasn't much liquid there to start with before I began adding in the hops. A more experienced brewer would have known this well in advance & probably boiled up another 2+ litres of water to throw the strained grain liquid into before adding in the additional hops.

 

Ohh well, it's all about learning as you attempt to better your home brewed product...

 

...just some idiots like me, learn the hard way! [pinched]

 

I reckon I ended up tipping more F***ING solidified flavour into my tidy bin, than ended up in my brew yesterday! [tongue]

 

Beer.

 

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

Normally what you would do is steep the grains in your litre or two of water, strain that out into your hop boil pot, and then add a few extra litres of water and some malt extract to bring the gravity to about 1040, bring that to the boil and add hops as required. When I did it I used to bring the boil volume up to 7 litres, add the malt extract and boil.

[Guest]

Hiya Otto Man!

 

I'm already better for the experience. [joyful]

 

The final brew will still taste nice, it'll just lack the polish that was intended for it. [annoyed]

 

Beer.

[Guest]

I can't say that I would want to use a coffee plunger to steep any grain as a pot would be far easier and not as much to clean up.

 

I have only ever used a coffee plunger for any hop additions.

[Guest]

Hi BillK.

 

I can't say that I would want to use a coffee plunger to steep any grain as a pot would be far easier and not as much to clean up.

 

I have only ever used a coffee plunger for any hop additions.

+1

 

That's exactly what I learnt yesterday. [ninja]

 

Beer.