lautering
Fly sparging
Rinse the grain bed continuously, adding sparge water at the same rate wort is drawn off so a shallow layer is maintained above the grain throughout.
Also called continuous sparging.
What is actually happening
A continuous rinse extracts more efficiently than a discrete one because fresh water always meets the most concentrated remaining wort, rather than being diluted into the whole volume at once.
It requires the inflow and outflow rates to be balanced, and it takes longer, which is why it is more common in commercial plants than in homebrewing.
Related steps and concepts
- Batch sparging — The simpler discrete alternative.
Also at the lautering stage
Batch sparging · Lautering · No-sparge brewing · Parti-gyle brewing · Sparging
See the whole process in order on how beer is made.
Last reviewed 2026-08-16.