I have a question mainly for BIAB and All-in-One brew system users (or others) using the ‘No Sparge’ method: Do you (A) use 100% of the brewhaus liquor to mash, lift the basket/bag, and start your boil? —OR— Do you (B) use a certain volume of strike liquor based on a certain grist:liquor ratio, mash, add the remaining liquor to reach full volume, then pull the basket/bag? —OR— Do you (C) use something not mentioned?
IOW, mash A would be a much thinner full volume mash while mash B would be a more ‘conventional’ mash then thinned out in conjunction with a vorlauf step.
Secondarily: Given that No Sparge will be used, are there Pros/Cons to either?
Well if you are limiting to no sparge, I recirc the full volume, but any more I use a BIAB, remove the bag after the initial mash and batch sparge into a bucket without any recirc during the mash and like my results best over other methods I have used. The only extra cleanup is the bag and the bucket… there truly is no wrong way here. No sparge just requires me to adjust to a little lower efficiency.
With large batches I go with a 20 gallon InfuSSion mash tun and 18 gallon boil Kettle, so clean up is two dedicated vessels. I have settled into a 2 qts/pound or less (1.5 often enough) initial strike water ratio and it helps my efficiencies.
I use option A most of the time because of its simplicity. Sometimes I will reserve 1/2 gallon of water to use for sparging the bag after it has been lifted out of the kettle. That gives me a few more percentage points of efficiency. If I am short on recovered volume I will sparge the grains in the (removed from the kettle) bag with a bit of tap water until I get what I want. That doesn’t happen very often.
I have been brewing lower ABV beers my last few batches because I like to drink beer but don’t need all the carbs. All the pee without all the buzz so to speak. Bitters, Milds, ….Session stuff. (Jennifer Talley has a great book on the subject)
This means that I use less grain in the mash. If I were to mash a full strength APA for example, for my system mashing with the full liquor volume would result in ~2.75 qt/lb. I have been brewing full volume mash no sparge about a year now with no problem. Some of the most enjoyable relaxing brewdays and best beers I’ve ever brewed. However, since I am using far less grain lately, the full volume would result in ~4 qt/lb. I am not sure if that is a problem or not.
I don’t think I have experienced any detrimental effects yet but I am only a few batches in to this type of Session brewing. A Mild turned out really well. A Bitter I brewed kinda not so great. I believe in part that was due to recipe but could also be due partly to technique. I have a Scottish 70/- that is conditioning that seems to be pretty good (so far). I am fermenting a revamped Bitter recipe now.
Anyway, I am considering withholding some strike liquor and add it after the main 60 min mash is complete, vorlauf ~30 min with the now full volume while increasing to mash out temp, then lauter. IDK.
I love to make small beers - I have had a Lichtbier Helles medal a few times and it goes pretty fast here at the house once friends discover it. I find it easier to make the batch by batch sparging (as you might have guessed), but if forced to no sparge, I would make the batch with around a 2.5 qts/lb ratio and simply add water to the boil to get it to the desired lower ABV…but I bet others will say to just make it with the higher ratio and not worry about it.
I’ve been no-sparge brewing for 10+ years, and the only thing I’ve noticed is that as I approached 3.5-4 qt/lb for session beers is that they would often need an extra 15-20 minutes to convert fully. I suspect this is due to more dilute enzyme concentration in the mash. I was using a lot of Crisp Floor-Malted MO at the time, so you may have less issues with a different base malt with a higher diastatic power.
I brewed a few batches where I limited my mash thickness to 3 qt/lb and added the rest of the brewing liquor after the mash. I didn’t notice a flavor or mouthfeel difference, so I stopped doing it and just make sure I’m mashing for long enough on those brews.
I use option A with my Anvil Foundry 10.5 unless my grain bill is a bit too large to comfortably fit it all. Then I will use less water for the mash and sparge with a gallon or two after. I really don’t pay much attention to ratio’s in that case… just whatever it takes for the mash so it fits the vessel.
Forgot to mention, I know a guy who loves English Milds and he intentionally mashes around 158F. I have just mashed a Licht Pilsner at 157 to see how the body turns out. Brewers Friend has it turning out around 3.6% based on my simple grain bill - 7 lbs Best Pils, .5 lb Weyermann Light Munich, and .25 lb Weyermann Acidulated malt. I have been messing with a lot of variables and am hoping this one hits the sweet spot. If not, I will try some flaked barley substitution for some base malt.
I realize this is a bit of a tangent from the intention of the OP, but…
For those that BIAB and sparge to hit volume:
Do you get better conversion by sparging the grains to hit volume as opposed to just mashing in at full volume?
I ask because I always get better efficiency with a higher water:grist ratio and it seems to me that while sparging may rinse some sugars, I can’t wrap my head around why I wouldn’t get that rinse by just mashing with more water to begin with. (Anecdotally, the bigger the beer, the worse the conversion efficiency. I think this is partly the reason for the advice to “adjust your efficiency down when brewing that Barleywine!”).
And while I’m diving in, does an ideal water:grist ratio for BIAB exist?
I am only sparging with 1/2 gallon of water, so the water:grist ratio in the mash is not really much different than a full volume mash. I noticed once that after I pulled the bag and drained it as usual, that when I sparged with tap water to get the volume I wanted the resulting wort was still pretty dark. That told me that there was still quite a bit of sugar in the grains that I hadn’t gotten out.
I was hoping you’d post your grain bill. My next Mild is scheduled for a 156°F mash and a dash of oat malt. That could easily be increased 2°. I too hope this hits a sweet spot.