No Sparge Advice/Exerperience?

Brewing Processes
1

Have a 55# sack of Maris Otter I’d like to use so what better way than a no-sparge RIS?  I’ve never done a no-sparge beer so looking for any input from those with experience.

I’ve looked at a lot of information both here on the AHA forum & elsewhere but still feel making calculations is harder than it needs to be.  Am I crazy to just plug numbers into brewing software & calculate for 50% efficiency?  I normally average 75 - 80% fly sparging.

Here’s the game plan for a 5gal batch:

20# Maris Otter (81.6%)
2.5# Roasted Barley (10.2%)
1# Chocolate (4.1%)
1# C-60 (4.1)

Strike with 10.5gallons water (6.5gal pre-boil volume + 3 gallons for grain absorption gallons + 1gal for mash tun deadspace)

If I overshoot my OG I’m not terribly concerned as it’s an Imperial Stout - but looking for any other input.  Thanks in advance.

2

http://seanterrill.com/batchsparge

I feel like I’m pimping this a lot lately, but it works, I promise!

Anyway, a big beer is exactly where you don’t want to no-sparge if you care about efficiency. Figuring out a way to reduce your dead space is going to be even more important with a no-sparge beer as well. Running those numbers through the calculator, you’ll be looking at ~55% efficiency.

I know you didn’t ask, but recipe-wise I’d suggest cutting the total roasted grains in half, maybe even more. 3-5% of each would be more than enough for me.

3

The whole no-sparge thing seems at its best on smaller beers where the extra malt character people find from this process helps keep a 3-4% beer from feeling thin. An 8-10% beer should have no problem with malt character if only due to the volume of grain employed.

4

I typically employ a modified no-sparge method simply b/c I prefer how my system handles it better.  I use Palmer’s How to Brew calculations on his No-sparge calcs “the long way” which really isn’t that complicated or long.

I still use a 1.5 qt/# mash ratio for the scaled up grains (this is also based on the size of the OG and my mash tun capability) after calculating the scale up factor using Palmers math.  Then I use his mash-out water calculation to determine the amount of water I need to add to the mash tun to reach a typical mash out temp of around 168-170F (usually heated to around 200F based on initial conversion temps used).  I add that water after 60-90 minutes of conversion rest based on my mash temps, then run the mash out for about 10-15 min.  After that, its on to vorlaufing and draining the whole wort amount into the kettle for boiling.

5

I’ve done a number of big (1.100ish) beers as no sparge simply out of pragmatism.  I used so much mash water that I had my boil volume without sparging.  It does have a serious impact on efficiency, but I partigyle and make another beer with what’s left in the tun.

6

Same here. I tend to get about 2/3’s of the sugars out of the first rubbings, and 1/3 in the second.

7

Yeah, the last time i brewed a RIS at 1.098 OG I think I had a 42% efficiency and about 40 # of grain in the mash tun.  Efficiency drops off big time, but man, the malt profile is superb.