gbarker121
New Forum Member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2014
- Messages
- 1
- Reaction score
- 0
Howdy,
I seem to be having a hard time hitting either my gravity numbers or pre-boil volumes and I wonder if part of it isn't a fundamental misunderstanding about Fly Sparging technique. Typically, when I hit my volume, my runnings are still way above 2 degrees Plato and my pH is nowhere near 5.8 which is where I usually draw the line. So, I keep going, not wanting to give up those sugars. This weekend for example, I was making an 11 gallon batch, expecting a pre-boil volume of 17.3g and I stopped runnings at 20.5g with a Brix of 5 and a pH of 5.4. To correct my volume I boiled the wort down to 17.3 gallons (about 90 minutes) and then started the "real" 90 minute boil with it's hop schedule. The post boil volume was right but my gravity was off. Expecting 1.080 and got 1.090 (Obviously, I'm getting the sugars out so I don't *think* I'm sparging/lautering too fast... am I?). Not a big deal really. I added a gallon of top up water and my gravity is fine now; though I have a gallon more wort than I expected.
Clearly I'm missing something.
The only reason I'm posting this in the BS forum is this: In BS2, in the Mash tab of my recipes, I see "Fly sparge with x gallons" but in every other discussion on fly sparging I've always read the simple guidance: Always keep an inch or so of clear water over the grainbed".
So, my over-simplified question is, "Which one is right?". Should I "Always keep an inch of clear water over the grainbed" until my runnings tell me to stop? Or, do I "Fly sparge with X gallons" while keeping an inch of clear water over the grainbed until I run out of sparge water (while continuing the lauter)? A side question: If the answer is to just keep an inch of water over the grainbed, what is the value of the sparge water calculation in BS?
Note (in case it's helpful): My MT is a 40 gallon Stout MT with a diameter of 20 inches. I am lautering at 1 Qt per minute.
Thanks for any help,
G
I seem to be having a hard time hitting either my gravity numbers or pre-boil volumes and I wonder if part of it isn't a fundamental misunderstanding about Fly Sparging technique. Typically, when I hit my volume, my runnings are still way above 2 degrees Plato and my pH is nowhere near 5.8 which is where I usually draw the line. So, I keep going, not wanting to give up those sugars. This weekend for example, I was making an 11 gallon batch, expecting a pre-boil volume of 17.3g and I stopped runnings at 20.5g with a Brix of 5 and a pH of 5.4. To correct my volume I boiled the wort down to 17.3 gallons (about 90 minutes) and then started the "real" 90 minute boil with it's hop schedule. The post boil volume was right but my gravity was off. Expecting 1.080 and got 1.090 (Obviously, I'm getting the sugars out so I don't *think* I'm sparging/lautering too fast... am I?). Not a big deal really. I added a gallon of top up water and my gravity is fine now; though I have a gallon more wort than I expected.
Clearly I'm missing something.
The only reason I'm posting this in the BS forum is this: In BS2, in the Mash tab of my recipes, I see "Fly sparge with x gallons" but in every other discussion on fly sparging I've always read the simple guidance: Always keep an inch or so of clear water over the grainbed".
So, my over-simplified question is, "Which one is right?". Should I "Always keep an inch of clear water over the grainbed" until my runnings tell me to stop? Or, do I "Fly sparge with X gallons" while keeping an inch of clear water over the grainbed until I run out of sparge water (while continuing the lauter)? A side question: If the answer is to just keep an inch of water over the grainbed, what is the value of the sparge water calculation in BS?
Note (in case it's helpful): My MT is a 40 gallon Stout MT with a diameter of 20 inches. I am lautering at 1 Qt per minute.
Thanks for any help,
G