no sparge

[whitedj]

I'm going to make a light pale ale (thinking 1.035-1.040 range, using Vienna and English malts) and wanted to try a no sparge technique to see if I can still get some malt backbone into a beer this low.

Questions:
Should I care about my mash thickness or should I top up the BK with water? I figure I'd be somewhere in the 2.2 qt/lb of grain
How much decrease in efficiency is to be expected? (~10-15% lower?)

[falsenorth]

If you acid adjust your mash, go thin. The point of no sparge mashing is to avoid the pH upswing towards the end. If you can adjust your mash to the pH you want, that's no issue. I would expect good efficiency at the greater dillution (there are compensating factors), and I can't think of other issues a mash that thin would cause.

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[DrPaulsen]

Mash thickness doesn't matter. I've run from 1.2 - 2.5 qts/lb with nearly identical conversion efficiencies. When I've done no-sparge brews, I assumed around 60% total efficiency.

[carrisr]

Lee's efficiency was in line with what I got. When I tried no sparge on four or five batches I didn't feel it made a noticeable difference in the end product. YMMV. I think other variables such as mash temperature and recipe make more of a difference.