in 20.9 quarts of water, i.e., a mash ratio of about 2 qts/lb. At this point we have a rather ordinary mash of 10.5 lbs. From the infusion equations in the sidebar, we can calculate the infusions for dough-in and conversion, based on the new grain bill of 10.5 lbs.ģ. We have determined that the scale-up factor for the Port O’ Palmer recipe is 1.2. Higher ratios only add the additional water volume.ġ. The volume of 1 pound of dry grain, mashed at 1 quart per pound, has a volume of 42 fluid ounces (1.3125 quarts). Calculate the total no-sparge mash volume (quarts). Calculate the volume of water you will use for mashout (quarts).Ĩ. Calculate the total no-sparge water volume (quarts).ħ. For this recipe, we’ll boil 6.5 gallons of wort.Ħ. Decide how many gallons of wort you need to boil to achieve your target recipe volume. Now I’ll walk you through a sample calculation for Port O’ Palmer.ġ. Vt: No-sparge total mash volume (quarts). Wn: No-sparge total water volume (quarts). Rn: No-sparge final mash ratio (quarts/lb.).
Rr: Standard recipe conversion rest mash ratio (e.g. K: Water-retention coefficient (0.125 gallon per pound) Gr: Standard recipe grain bill (total pounds). OG: Standard recipe original gravity (just the points, i.e. These calculations combine the scaling-up of the grain bill with a three-step infusion-mash that makes the whole process more manageable. The obvious difference is the size of the mash: 8.6 gallons for no-sparge versus 3.75 gallons for the continuous sparge. Here is a comparison of the standard recipe and the no-sparge recipe for a Sierra Nevada Porter clone that I call Port O’ Palmer:Įach recipe produces 6.5 gallons of wort with a specific gravity of 1.041. No-sparge uses more grain and doubles the size of the mash tun. So why doesn’t everyone use the no-sparge method? Because continuous sparging usually works just fine - and pound for pound, it extracts the highest yield from the grain. By using more grain and adding all the water during the mash, you can relax and not worry about mash pH, astringency and undershooting your gravity.
When you brew with the no-sparge method, this 3 to 5 gallons is added to the mash tun at the end of the mash, before recirculation, and allows the mash tun to be simply drained to achieve full boil volume. The amount of water used for continuous sparging (3 to 5 gallons) is typically 1.5 times as much for the mash. No-sparge brewing provides for a stable lautering pH that is not significantly different than the mash pH, due to the large buffering capacity of the malt. Batch sparging (in which first, second and even third runnings are combined to produce the wort) can exacerbate this effect because all of the wort is drained away, including the majority of the buffering capability, before adding the next sparge volume. This rise in mash pH tends to extract greater proportions of tannins, polyphenols and silicates into the wort that have a dulling effect on the taste. If the grain bed is oversparged and the gravity drops below that point, it is likely that harsh tannins and polyphenols will be extracted from the grain husks.Īt the end of the continuous sparging process, the mash pH typically rises to around 6 as the sugars are extracted and the buffering effect of the malt and wort is replaced by water. Sparging continues until the full boil volume is achieved or the gravity of the runnings gets down to 1.008. Typically, sparge water is added continuously as the wort is drained from the grain bed to rinse the remaining sugars from the grain. No-sparge brewing differs from conventional all-grain brewing by incorporating the full boil volume of water into the mash, instead of adding it afterwards during the lauter as a separate sparging (rinsing) step. This method produces a richer, smoother-tasting wort with the same gravity as a standard recipe, but with a mashing and lautering process that makes the wort more robust and pH-stable. This produces a larger mash that can simply be drained to achieve your full boil volume. The “no-sparge” technique uses 20-25 percent more grain than a standard recipe. Have you ever wanted to make an all-grain beer that practically brewed itself? A batch that didn’t require you to monitor everything - the mash pH, the sparge flow rate, the gravity of the runnings and more? Have you been searching for that perfect batch - a batch in which the malt flavors are clean, without any drying or dullness to the palate? There is a technique that can deliver these wishes, and it is simply this: “Don’t sparge.”