Late edition method opinions.

stormtracker · 03-02-2008, 05:47 AM

Any thoughts or issues, pitfalls with this method?

Doing a partial mash

Boil 1 gallon of water with hops and 1 lb of LME for 60 minutes

I steep my grains @ 160 in 3 gallons of water for 30 minutes.

I then mix in my sugars, LME and add the 1 gallon hops and LME mix all together for about 15 minutes. Then I chill using 1 gallon of almost frozen spring water from walmart then I transfer to a carboy.

Again any issues that can occur that would be a problem with this method?

Thansk for any help

homebrewer_99 · 03-02-2008, 05:56 AM

Nothing wrong with that method except the LME.

You didn't mention anything about sparging your grains.

When I do steeping I'll use about 3/4 - 1 gal for the steep and sparge with the same amount of water. This starts me off with about 1 - 1.5 gals of water.

I place 4 gals of water in the freezer for 4-5 hours prior to brewing.

After I sparge I'll add 1 lb of DME and my bittering hops and boil for 45 mins. remove the pot from the heat and add 1 lb of DME at a time so it can dissolve easier until I use all the DME. Then I let it sit for 15 mins.

I'll strain the hops out of the wort on its way to the primary. Top off to 5.25 gals and stir. Take my temp and gravity readings before adding the yeast starter.

If you switch from LME to DME you will see your brews color go even lighter.

stormtracker · 03-02-2008, 06:12 AM

Im using about 4 lbs of grains in my partial mash.. I just steep them like a tea bag for 30 minutes in a 5 gallon pot with 3 gallons of water.

What should I do differently? By dipping the bag and draining it off a few times towards the end of my 30 min. steep would that not be a sparge?

If not how would you do it? 4 lbs of grains is a hefty amount to steep.

Benny Blanco · 03-02-2008, 06:13 AM

I'm no expert, but I don't think you'll get the best hop utilization boiling them in only 1 gallon of water.

bensyverson · 03-02-2008, 06:19 AM

I thought the hops needed at least a little malt to bring out the oils or something?

Benny Blanco · 03-02-2008, 06:37 AM

The only thing you want to avoid is boiling hops in plain water. Doing so is said to bring out "grassy" flavors. However, i did a recent 1 gallon experiment batch to test this and I didn't get any grassy flavors from boiling hops in plain water and adding DME at the last 5 min.

What I am trying to say is that you should raise up your boil volume. If you only boil your hops in 1 gallon of water, it will dilute quite a bit when you add the rest to make 5 or so gallons.

It's always best to boil as much as you can to get the most out of your hops.

stormtracker · 03-02-2008, 06:52 AM

I have found that 3 gallons is necessary to steep my 4 lbs of grains.

I dont want to boil my LME for 60 minutes. But I do have to steep my grains. This causes a problem.

So what I have been doing is 3 gallons for steeping and 1 gallon for hops. I do add 1 lb of LME in the 1 gallon.

Then I mix them together for 15 minutes.

I understand the issue I think with the 1 gallon only for the hops you mention BB. Im trying to think of a way around it.

otherwise my brewing has become alot easier than just boiling everything for an hour in 1 big pot.

Kai · 03-02-2008, 09:18 AM

The only other bug I see is that, at 160˚, you're not going to be getting a very fermentable wort from your PM grains. This may be desirable depending on the recipe, but for most beers something in the neighbourhood of 153-155 is the benchmark.

homebrewer_99 · 03-02-2008, 01:26 PM

OK, I understand now why you start off with that much water...4 lbs of grain in a bag.

From what I've read, steeping extraction is about 40% efficient. Multiply that by 4 lbs and it's equivilant to about 1.6 lbs of DME.

For boiling 3 gals you'll need to up the malt to about 3 lbs to keep it about a 1.040 gravity.

What you need to do with that second pot (that has the malt and hops in it) is to just add the malt and hops, but not the water to the 3 gal wort.

This will start you off with 3 gals and 3 lbs. Boil that for 1 hour (I would do it for 45 mins, but that's me) to extract the bitterness from the hops.

I would boil it for 45 mins and remove it from the heat then add the rest of the malt and steep for 15 mins...strain/remove hops then top off to your final volume.

stormtracker · 03-02-2008, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homebrewer_99

OK, I understand now why you start off with that much water...4 lbs of grain in a bag.

From what I've read, steeping extraction is about 40% efficient. Multiply that by 4 lbs and it's equivilant to about 1.6 lbs of DME.

For boiling 3 gals you'll need to up the malt to about 3 lbs to keep it about a 1.040 gravity.

What you need to do with that second pot (that has the malt and hops in it) is to just add the malt and hops, but not the water to the 3 gal wort.

This will start you off with 3 gals and 3 lbs. Boil that for 1 hour (I would do it for 45 mins, but that's me) to extract the bitterness from the hops.

I would boil it for 45 mins and remove it from the heat then add the rest of the malt and steep for 15 mins...strain/remove hops then top off to your final volume.

Understood I think,

Where do I steep my grains then? Can you please elaborate a little more?

If I understand you correctly your saying to do the hops in the 3 gallon with 3 lbs of malt extract and boil for 45 minutes then remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients.

Where does my 4lbs of partial grain steeping fit in?

Thanks