[scrap iron]

I have been using some low oxygen methods for the past 2+ years. Some of the methods include boiling the total mash water, no sparge, underletting the mash with treated water and making a floating mash cap. These methods have improved the quality of the beer and extended their self life from previous methods I used. In making these changes my brewhouse efficiency has dropped from about 78-80% to about 64 to 66%. I was wondering what others are getting for no sparge methods? I am getting ph ranges from 5.3 to 5.4 checked with a Milwaukee 101 meter calibrated before every brew for lighter colored beers and 5.4 to 5.5 for dark ones at room temp reads.

I pressure can starters for future use and when I need more I sparge a gallon+ of RO water. I get enough wort at about 1.030 SG to can a gallon so this helps. I was also thinking about pari-gyle brewing but hadn't got that far yet. Thoughts?
   

[BrewBama]

One of the downsides of no sparge is a loss of efficiency. As with any technique, the pros have to outweigh the cons for you. It’s all a balancing compromise between benefits vs detriment.

About the only thing you can do is add grain and/or ensure your mill is closed down just shy of the point of a stuck lauter to hit your OG.

[erockrph]

I was getting 78-80% efficiency on my no sparge batches before switching to my Foundry a year ago, although I did use a grain bag and squeezed it a bit as the mash was draining, so YMMV.

Are you using the full volume of mash liquor, or are you targeting a specific mash thickness? If you're trying to mash at typical mash thicknesses that you'd use for fly or batch sparging, then you're definitely going to see a big efficiency hit. If you use the full volume, then you shouldn't see a huge decrease compared to batch sparging.

[scrap iron]

Thanks for the replies. I am using the full batch amount of water for the mash. When I calculate the water amounts I start with the amount needed in the BK , 6 gallons to boil down to final amount to 5-5.25 gallons. Then I figure water absorption for amount of grains, .5-.55 quarts per pound of grain and add that to the 6 gallons. For an average batch with around 11 pounds of grain that is, 11 x .55 equals about 1.5 gallons.  The 1.5 gallons plus 6 gallons equals  7.5 gallons of water needed for the full mash. So I think I'm alright there.
I tightened my mill setting down to  .028 from .030 and made a small difference, and I also wet the grains before milling. So I think I'm good there too.

Like I posted my ph reads are within the norms too so I think that there is just some sugar left behind after draining and not sparging anymore. My mash efficiency is good so I know conversion is ok. I like the beers I've made this way as they are of high quality and seem to last longer when packaged.
I guess it's a tradeoff like BrewBama said.

[dmtaylor]

I don't do low oxygen at all, but I've tried no-sparge many times (about a dozen).  This includes BIAB where I purposely did NOT squeeze the living daylights out of the bag.  My brewhouse efficiency with these batches ranged from 58-64% in most cases, with a couple of batches coming out lower or higher, but definitely averaging in this range.  My normal efficiency has averaged closer to about 83-84%.  So not sparging definitely results in a significant loss in efficiency, but this is fine as long as you know it and plan for it in advance.

[scrap iron]

Looks like my efficiency is in line with yours Dave. Thanks for the numbers. I have always liked math, it's good for the brain.

[PORTERHAUS]

I have been using some low oxygen methods for the past 2+ years. Some of the methods include boiling the total mash water, no sparge, underletting the mash with treated water and making a floating mash cap. These methods have improved the quality of the beer and extended their self life from previous methods I used. In making these changes my brewhouse efficiency has dropped from about 78-80% to about 64 to 66%. I was wondering what others are getting for no sparge methods? I am getting ph ranges from 5.3 to 5.4 checked with a Milwaukee 101 meter calibrated before every brew for lighter colored beers and 5.4 to 5.5 for dark ones at room temp reads.

I pressure can starters for future use and when I need more I sparge a gallon+ of RO water. I get enough wort at about 1.030 SG to can a gallon so this helps. I was also thinking about pari-gyle brewing but hadn't got that far yet. Thoughts?
 

I do full volume mashing no sparge in my RoboBrew and I average about 75% but that is with re-circulating with a pump the entire mash. Do you re-circulate? If not, others have mentioned doing a couple stirs through the mash can help get a few points. It was incorporating some of the low oxygen brewing practices that got me to no sparge and I haven't looked back, just makes sense for me and streamlines the process even more. I am brewing an Imperial Stout here soon and after draining off the first runnings, I  will be batch sparging the mash to get another batch out of it, should be closer to a Robust Porter. For that I am simply putting my efficiency at 25% and going on from there.

Edit, I just read you were mentioning Brewhouse efficiency...I responded with mash only if it matters.

[allenhuerta]

I was getting 78-80% efficiency on my no sparge batches before switching to my Foundry a year ago, although I did use a grain bag and squeezed it a bit as the mash was draining, so YMMV.

Are you using the full volume of mash liquor, or are you targeting a specific mash thickness? If you're trying to mash at typical mash thicknesses that you'd use for fly or batch sparging, then you're definitely going to see a big efficiency hit. If you use the full volume, then you shouldn't see a huge decrease compared to batch sparging.

@erockrph I was wondering if you use Brewfather.. if so, I'm curious what your equipment profile looks like for No Sparge. I was going to try it on my next few batches... This weekend.

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[erockrph]

I was getting 78-80% efficiency on my no sparge batches before switching to my Foundry a year ago, although I did use a grain bag and squeezed it a bit as the mash was draining, so YMMV.

Are you using the full volume of mash liquor, or are you targeting a specific mash thickness? If you're trying to mash at typical mash thicknesses that you'd use for fly or batch sparging, then you're definitely going to see a big efficiency hit. If you use the full volume, then you shouldn't see a huge decrease compared to batch sparging.

@erockrph I was wondering if you use Brewfather.. if so, I'm curious what your equipment profile looks like for No Sparge. I was going to try it on my next few batches... This weekend.

Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

I just used a 5 gallon beverage cooler lined with a BIAB bag. I replaced the spigot of the cooler with a ball valve. Pretty simple setup for brewing 2.5 gallon batches in the kitchen.

[purduekenn]

I get 68% efficiency using BIAB and I squeeze the bag.

[brian_welch]

I have been doing no-sparge (full volume) with my Anvil Foundry for about a year now and I have averaged 65% mash efficiency and that is the number I use in Beersmith when creating recipes and I usually hit my numbers pretty close. I do recirculate. And use a mesh bag. And crush finely. And condition the malt. Pretty much everything I can think of short of sparging. The beers are turning out really well so I'm not complaining. But I would like to have slightly better efficiency.

One thing that I have seen others doing is using the Foundry small batch adapter ring (https://www.anvilbrewing.com/product-p/anv-foundry-ba.htm) for all their brews and it seems to help with efficiency. I guess wort is channeling out the side rather than down through the grain bed. I just ordered the ring, so I will report back on how it affects my numbers. I just noticed that it says for small batches "or session beers." I mostly brew session beers, so hopefully it will help. If not, oh well. I think the no sparge method has benefits that outweigh the efficiency losses. See https://www.morebeer.com/articles/No_Sparge_Brewing

[BrewBama]

Brian — sounds like you are doing what you can to maximize your no-sparge batches. One thing I didn’t see that you may already being doing is paying close attention to mash pH.

One of my Brew Year resolutions is to be very intentional in what I am doing and why. I’ve decided that focusing on mash pH is one way to place those words into action. I’ve realized a gravity point or three simply by hitting 5.2 mash pH.

Calcium in the mash is said to also be important. From what I understand it is beneficial to have at least 50 ppm of Calcium in the mash. Leaning towards CaCl for malty beers or gypsum for bitter beers is what the brewing literature tells us.

Cheers!


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[brian_welch]

I plot out every beer on Bru'nwater and I adjust my water for profile and pH for every batch. I don't check my mash pH and I don't check my final pH (I don't have a meter!) but I don't think that is my issue. Pretty much everyone that does no sparge in the Foundry gets around 65% efficiency. I am happy with my process and the final product and it maybe costs me at most $4 per batch for extra grain so it isn't a big deal.

I also forgot to mention that I do decoctions for all my lagers. That doesn't help efficiency either. We'll see if this new piece of equipment helps.

Cheers!

[kgs]

With my no-sparge 3-gallon batches I don't aim for efficiency -- if anything I'm shooting for the opposite. I just want consistency and a sense of what I'm getting. With all the auxiliary costs of homebrewing, and how precious each brew day is due to my life's demands, a pound or two of grain is the least of my worries. I just did a rebrew of a batch that really pleased me (a Belgian golden) and from the pre-keg taste out of the hydrometer, I met my goal. For me, part of homebrewing is the luxury of going all-out at that scale.

[goose]

One of my Brew Year resolutions is to be very intentional in what I am doing and why. I’ve decided that focusing on mash pH is one way to place those words into action. I’ve realized a gravity point or three simply by hitting 5.2 mash pH.

Are you trying to adjust your mash pH 5.2 for all of your beers?  If I am between 5.2 and 5.6  I feel I have done a good job and I am always in that range.  My lighter ones come in at around 5.3-5.45 and my darker ones are down in the 5.2 range.  I set my brewhouse efficiency for 80% for lighter beers and normally hit it within a point or two.  The darker ones with more specialty grains are down around 73-75% (they are always in that range) and I just live with that.  In addition, I am usually spot on to what Bru'n Water predicts for the specific water profile I am using.

If I can learn something new here to increase efficiency, I am all for it.   BTW I only fly sparge and don't do BIAB.