Sparge: strike versus actual temp

[brew]

Mash 4 gallons @ 146, Sparge 5 gallons @ 168.

So when folks here post "Sparge at 168" does that mean they strike the sparge water at 168, or the strike is higher to make the sparge temp 168?

Seems to me like a good opportunity to combine the mash out and sparge steps into one step if one just sparges so the actual temp of the grain is 168 - just like a mash out... seems also though, that most beer software doesn't give a strike temp for the sparge water, they just say "sparge at 168"...

[Richard]

Strike is closer to 185 in my system - that's the resulting sparge temperature (168).

[brew]

Ahh i see - so you don't use software to calculate the sparge strike temp, you just adjust up or down with hot or cold water?

[Richard]

I'm actually pretty good at guesstimating based on my system, and with the sparge I'm more forgiving of variation than with the mash. Generally speaking I shoot for 15-20F above my sparge temp of 168, depending on the temperature of the mash, ambient, etc.

[Chris Craig]

This is something I've been struggling with also. I didn't even realize that BeerSmith didn't give me the sparge "strike" temperature until a few weeks ago.

[brew]

Yeah I was looking at Beersmith 2 as well and noticed that...

So far, I've only found one piece of software that tells me the stike temp for my sparge and that's Brewtarget. I noticed that Strangebrew does give sparge strike temps, but only has options for fly sparge, two batch sparge and three batch sparge (wtf??) - not sure what happened to "one" batch sparge...

[Jake]

Yea I'm the same as Richard. I typically mash in the low 150's, and when aiming for 168, I typically bring it between 182 and 190, depending on size of grain bill. If I'm using 8 pounds of grain its around 182, and if I'm using 13 or 14 pounds of grain it's up towards 190.

It seems I can always get between 165 and 170. I've only overshot once by a couple degrees with no ill effects.

[Jake]

thats also assuming I'm sticking around my 1.25 qts/lb mash ratio

[brew]

Cool - I'm getting this now - thanks...

[Chris Craig]

Isn't your efficiency likely to suffer if you only sparge once?  I'd think you'd likely rinse more sugar off the grains if you split your sparge water into 2 batches.

[brew]

I have split into two batches before - but sometimes I am lazy and time is a factor for me - a lot of folks do only one sparge and results are still great...

[Richard]

You're right yes - single-sparge is less efficient, but I'm not exactly poor on grain.

Brew: My understanding is that "two batch sparge" is a single batch for saccharification and another bath for the actual sparge. Three-batch would be a double sparge, with the second sparge strike temp being the same as the sparge temp 'cause the mash tun would already be basically that temperature.

[Chris Craig]

brew: you can use the Mash Adjust tool in Beer Smith to figure out the infusion temp of your sparge water.  Just set your target temp at 168, feed it your current water and grain amount, set the current mash temp, and then just play with the water addition temp until you get a water volume that fits within your total sparge volume.

[Ian Grant]

Beertools does it for me.   pwnage

[brew]

Yeah - two batch sparge I would think as well, but in Strangebrew it keeps my alpha infusion rest, but then adds two batch sparges (so does Beersmith by the way) - so I end up with step directions:

alpha: Mash in with 12.6 litres of water at 169.0 F
Batch 1: add 4.4 litres. Collect: 11.8 litres
Batch 2: add 11.8 litres. Collect: 11.8 litres

Note I think the "Collect..." is a bug but I really have no idea. There's still no stike temp for the sparge water.

I'll just use the general 182 - 190 rule for now and verify with Beertarget...