How to do sparging properly?

In order to achieve the ideal result, the sparging worker should pay attention to the questions as below:

Hold on tight to the sparging time

When the first wort is nearly the ending, the grain just to show out, the sparging should be start. If too earlier, the content of the extractum in spent grain will be higher; but if too later, the total spent time of lautering will be longer and the wort will be oxidized more easily.

Please note the temperature of the sparging water

In general the temperature should control between 75-78℃, not higher than 80℃, and not lower than 70℃. A mass of emplastic will be washed out with too higher temperature, then the αenzyme activity will be destroyed and the workt loose its light. If with too lower temperature, the residual sugar cannot be all removed, the lautering speed will be slow.

The PH of the sparging water

The ph of the sparging water should under 6.0, it is better to adjust the acidity with Phosphoric acid or lactic acid. With PH 5.8-6.0,not only can reduce the dissolution of the polyphenols in grain husk; but also help to coagulating protein during boiling and reduce the wort chromaticity.

The total sparging devided into two or three times

The first-time sparging with less water, nearly 25% of the total sparging water. The main role of it is help to discharge the first wort in spent grain; The second-time sparging with more water, about 45%. It will wash out the extractum residues in spent grain; The thirt sparging will use about 30% water, it makes the content of the extractum in grain much lower.

Mastery of the sparging strength and well control the concentration of raffinate.

Under excessively sparging, the polyphenol, pigment, silicate etc will be more wash out from the wheat husk, which will effect the beer quality. Besides, the concentration of the blending wort will be lower, it will spent more energy during boiling. So the concentrasion of the blending wort should be lower than the final wort 1.0-1.5 °P( For example for the 11°P beer, we can make the blending wort at 9.5-9.8), the raffinate concentration should control during 1.0-1.5°P.