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Batch Sparge Steps - Changing From 2 to 1 Step?

J

Jiffster

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I want to change the batch spare steps in a recipe from 2 steps to 1. How do I do this?

Thanks!
 
It would help to see just what those steps are including, but here are some things to look at:

Open your mash profile. 
Look at the batch sparge section and make sure that the box for 'Drain mash tun before sparging' is checked.
Make sure that your 'Batch sparge using batches that fill' box reads 100%.

If this does not balance out to a single sparge, then in the infusion step increase the water you use for the step by adjusting the 'water to add' or the 'water/grain ratio' up to take some of the water from the sparge step into the initial mashing infusion. 

For most of the brews that I use a sparge step, I try to split the water to get approximately equal runnings from the initial mash and from the sparge steps.  This typically brings me down to one sparge step unless it is a particularly high gravity recipe.
 
I think that may have done it. It still says batch spare with 2 steps but it shows 1 volume of water. Kind of confusing though. Can I clean it up even more?

"Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 6.49gal) of 168.0 F water"



 

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Jiffster said:
I think that may have done it. It still says batch spare with 2 steps but it shows 1 volume of water. Kind of confusing though. Can I clean it up even more?

"Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 6.49gal) of 168.0 F water"


Click to expand...

Step 1: Drain your mash tun.  This isn't a sparge. It's just your first runnings.
Step 2: 6.49 gallons of 168F Water. This is your sparge.

The two steps together are your lauter process.
 
Explains it. Thank you.

However, I feel it would be easier to understand if it didn't state "Batch sparge with 2 steps...". To me, that sounds like 2 separate sparging steps.
 
I have the same problem, Beersmith in the Mash tab, "batch sparge with 2 steps (1.65 gal, 3.42 gals) of 168 degree water". Does this mean to empty mash into boil kettle and sparge with 1.65 gals of 168 degree water and drain again and repeat with 3.42 gals? Is this correct or did I mess up configuring Beersmith for my receipt?
Also, I don't have a Drain Mash Tun Before Sparging box to check mark.
 
waterwalker said:
I have the same problem, Beersmith in the Mash tab, "batch sparge with 2 steps (1.65 gal, 3.42 gals) of 168 degree water". Does this mean to empty mash into boil kettle and sparge with 1.65 gals of 168 degree water and drain again and repeat with 3.42 gals? Is this correct or did I mess up configuring Beersmith for my receipt?
Also, I don't have a Drain Mash Tun Before Sparging box to check mark.
Click to expand...
Your interpretation of what the software has given for directions is correct. The important question: Is this what you want to do?

The software does not know how to brew, it just knows how to calculate the steps based upon what you give it for information. If you wanted to configure it differently, then you can check the box to drain the mash tun before sparging to have it print to perform that action and the software will recalculate the water addition for the sparge step accordingly.
 
The last time I brewed with a Foundry Anvil (mash tun and boil kettle the same), I selected BIAB as my mash choice and mashed with the max water amount that Beersmith showed for Mashing in, (no sparge). I yielded the correct amount of wart but the efficiency was terrible. This time I'm planning to pull the mash pipe up slowly and slowly rinse the grains with the Beersmith recommended amount of sparge water. As the wart level rises, I'll slowly raise the mash pipe. I guess my plan is more like fly then batch sparging. And yes, I forgot to take a gravity reading.

The issue I’m having with Beersmith is that it recommends I,” batch sparge with 2 steps (1.65 gal, 3.42 gals) of 168 degree water". Adding these amounts with the mash in amount of water, 2.87gals totals water volume of 7.94 gals. Like you said, I need to check the drain mash tun, but I can’t find that choice in the mesh tab of Beersmith.
 

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I am an Anvil user. I get pretty good efficiency even with the pipe in place.

The main culprit for the efficiency loss is the water which gets trapped between the side of the unit and the mash pipe. This water does not figure in dissolving any starch and contains very little sugar content, as there is no means other than diffusion which is a slow process.

I do a full volume BIAB profile and add all the water up front. Then at regular intervals through the mash, I raise the malt pipe just enough to allow the water trapped on the sides to mix into the wort which is active in the conversion. This increased my efficiency from the mid 70's to the mid 80's on recipes with a target gravity of less than 1.065.

There is still a fall off for higher gravity recipes, but I have experienced that in every process set up I have used.
 
waterwalker said:
The last time I brewed with a Foundry Anvil (mash tun and boil kettle the same), I selected BIAB as my mash choice and mashed with the max water amount that Beersmith showed for Mashing in, (no sparge). I yielded the correct amount of wart but the efficiency was terrible. This time I'm planning to pull the mash pipe up slowly and slowly rinse the grains with the Beersmith recommended amount of sparge water. As the wart level rises, I'll slowly raise the mash pipe. I guess my plan is more like fly then batch sparging. And yes, I forgot to take a gravity reading.

The issue I’m having with Beersmith is that it recommends I,” batch sparge with 2 steps (1.65 gal, 3.42 gals) of 168 degree water". Adding these amounts with the mash in amount of water, 2.87gals totals water volume of 7.94 gals. Like you said, I need to check the drain mash tun, but I can’t find that choice in the mesh tab of Beersmith.
Click to expand...
I have made custom mash profiles for all of my systems. When I use my Anvil Foundry I treat it as a BIAB system... which it is. I found this tutorial for creating Beersmith mash profiles for BIAB long ago and go back to it every time I need to create a new set of profiles.


@Oginme is right and has done some testing on the Anvil systems. There is an inherent flaw in they Anvil Foundry (at least the 10.5 and 6.5) where the water between the malt pipe and kettle do not get mixed into the recirculation flow. Just lifting the basked about three times during the mash fixes that.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I'm still going to try and batch sparge tomorrow just see what happens. if it doesn't work I'll go back to BIAB and try your recommendations.
I'll post the results.
Thanks again
 
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