Awesome write up. I am trying to verify what I have read. I just purchased a few kits from AHB (mini-mash) and was going to follow your steps.
The Nut Brown I have only has 2.5lbs of grains to mash, so then would I only need 3.125 quarts of water? Sure doesn't seem like enough? And then how much do I boil in the sparge pot?
Another homemade recipe nut brown kit has 4.5lbs of grains, so I would need 5.625 quarts of water? And how much sparge water?
You can use anywhere between about 1.25-2 quarts of water per pound of grain, so keep it simple...
With 2.5 lbs of grain, I would use 4 quarts or 1 gal of water (1.6qt/lb.) Sparge with another 1 gallon, then add water for your boil.
With 4.5 lbs of grain, I would use 6 quarts or 1.5 gal of water (1.33qt/lb) and sparge with 2 gallons.
The only reason you don't want to use more water for your sparge is you don't want to "oversparge" your grains and extract tannins. I generally use only slightly more sparge water than I do mash water...then top off if I need to. If I can, I use the exact amount of sparge water I need to reach my boil volume, but again...that's only if I have enough grain that I won't oversparge.
You can use anywhere between about 1.25-2 quarts of water per pound of grain, so keep it simple...
With 2.5 lbs of grain, I would use 4 quarts or 1 gal of water (1.6qt/lb.) Sparge with another 1 gallon, then add water for your boil.
With 4.5 lbs of grain, I would use 6 quarts or 1.5 gal of water (1.33qt/lb) and sparge with 2 gallons.
The only reason you don't want to use more water for your sparge is you don't want to "oversparge" your grains and extract tannins. I generally use only slightly more sparge water than I do mash water...then top off if I need to. If I can, I use the exact amount of sparge water I need to reach my boil volume, but again...that's only if I have enough grain that I won't oversparge.
Thanks for the reply. We attempted the easy partial mash the other night using a higher ratio of 2qt/lb, so now we will knock it down. Everything went smoothly except I was unable to keep the mashing pot temperature stable. Once we hit 165*, I turned the temp to low added the grains, stirred, and waited. Next thing I know the temperature dropped only 3*. Once the temp was 155, I left it alone, checking every 5 minutes. After about 10, the temp was 145, well crap...turn the burner up and warm the pot. After warming for a few minutes and stirring, the thermometer shot up to 165. We continued this battle for the whole hour.
Any tips? We are on an electric stove with a 11q ss mash pot and a 5 gallon ss boil pot.
I am new to brewing and this site so please bear with me. I have not had the pleasure of a first brew yet, however I have read every comment on all 49 pages of this thread and I was hoping that someone could give me some guidance about the process of adding yeast before I begin. I have heard people on other threads talk about using a starter and seen some recipe using brown sugar/corn syrup added with the yeast.
Deathbrewer, could you please clarify the process about adding the yeast. Specifically the need for a starter or adding any sugars. I would love to brew your Dunkelweizen and Hefeweizens recipe that you listed but I dont want to miss some obviously simple step. Thanks!
As long as you have a fresh vial of yeast and you have a beer that is on the lighter side, you don't need a starter.
If you do make a starter, there is lots of information on this site, but basically you just boil up 1/2 cup of dry malt extract in 2 cups of water and cool it. Then place in a sanitary vessel, such as a 1L flask or large bottle, with another 2 cups of clean (bottled works best) water (total should be about 800mL when finished.) Add your yeast and cover with a piece of sanitized aluminum foil. Swirl it up every chance you get for 24-48 hours and then pitch directly into your fermentation vessel after your wort is ready.
If you are using dry yeast, you don't need a starter for a 5 gallon batch.
Thanks for the reply. We attempted the easy partial mash the other night using a higher ratio of 2qt/lb, so now we will knock it down. Everything went smoothly except I was unable to keep the mashing pot temperature stable. Once we hit 165*, I turned the temp to low added the grains, stirred, and waited. Next thing I know the temperature dropped only 3*. Once the temp was 155, I left it alone, checking every 5 minutes. After about 10, the temp was 145, well crap...turn the burner up and warm the pot. After warming for a few minutes and stirring, the thermometer shot up to 165. We continued this battle for the whole hour.
Any tips? We are on an electric stove with a 11q ss mash pot and a 5 gallon ss boil pot.
Use these calculators to find the right temps to start.
Your water need not be as warm when you are using a higher ratio of water.
After you add your grains, throw your thermometer in, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, and THEN check your temp...this will give you a more accurate reading, as the temp won't fluctuate from hot spots after everything settles.
After you have hit your temp, you can cover your pot with blankets to maintain heat. DO NOT check it every 10 minutes, as you will just lose heat every time you check it. Check once, if you'd like, half-way through and
Other than that, I wouldn't worry about it. If your temp drops to 145°F after 30 minutes...no big deal...you still got plenty of flavor and sugars from it.
I would NEVER use an electric burner to regulate temperature. If you really want to control it, keep 2 seperate pots of water on your stove, one that is kept boiling and then one that is cold, that way you can add small amounts of water to change your temp. Remember to let it sit in between additions and only add a very small amount at a time to correct temp...it's best to know your calculations.
Again, it's difficult to just read the temp from a thermometer until you let it sit for a while, so the best thing you can do is get your numbers right the first time...get your system down. Use those calculators, and don't worry about a few degrees difference with this system.
As long as you have a fresh vial of yeast and you have a beer that is on the lighter side, you don't need a starter.
If you do make a starter, there is lots of information on this site, but basically you just boil up 1/2 cup of dry malt extract in 2 cups of water and cool it. Then place in a sanitary vessel, such as a 1L flask or large bottle, with another 2 cups of clean (bottled works best) water (total should be about 800mL when finished.) Add your yeast and cover with a piece of sanitized aluminum foil. Swirl it up every chance you get for 24-48 hours and then pitch directly into your fermentation vessel after your wort is ready.
If you are using dry yeast, you don't need a starter for a 5 gallon batch.
Thanks for the reply. So after reading your comment, logic would tell me that if I am going to brew a dark beer then I need a starter unless I plan on using a dry yeast. Does this always hold true?
Please correct me if I am wrong but basically when you are pitching the yeast you are doing nothing more than opening the pack of yeast and adding it into the cooled wort, and stirring. Is that it? I am still curious about the use of priming sugar when adding yeast. Is this something that is done everyime or only when specifically called for by the recipe?
Not light in terms of color, but light in terms of gravity, to be specific. A starter is to make sure you have a high yeast cell count so that it won't get "tired out" before finishing fermentation of a strong beer. A milder stout or brown ale won't need a starter, but a light colored but strong IPA or tripel will.
Priming sugar generally means corn sugar, cane sugar, or malt extract added during bottling: its purpose is to cause enough fermentation to carbonate the beer in the bottles. Sugar added to a starter should be always malt extract, since its purpose is to let the yeast feed and reproduce in a well-aerated and nutrient-rich environment before being added to your main wort.
I brewed my first Partial Mash on Saturday in just my 5th batch, and your pictures really helped me out. I was a little worried, but, I relaxed, I drank a home brew, and I waited. I hit my targets perfectly, and the beer smells even better than my extract batches.
Thanks, DeathBrewer! If you're ever in Cleveland, I owe you a night you're likely to forget, thanks to all the homebrew!
__________________
Mars Brewing Ltd. -- Second Best Beers From Mars!
Primary: Red Planet ESB, Red Planet Cream Common, Red Planet RyePA Secondary: Double Chocolate Cherry Stout Kegged: Planned: Steamphony No. 3.; Red Planet Vanilla Porter. Bottled: Drink, drank, drunk!: Steamphony No. 2; Honey Ale, Ares Summer Wheat, Number Johnny Five!, Argyre Brown Ale, Red Planet OCPA
DB, I know this is probably a noober question but here i go.. In step 2 you insert all of your grain inside the mesh in pot 1. Step 3 you heat up second pot with 2gal of water. Step 4 Drain the grain with out squeezing. Then you tea bag the grain in the second pot for 10 min..... ok here is where i am lost.... you proceed to use the second pot to make the wart add everything else to it and so on... well what ever happened to the first pot that was used for the mash... i appologise if this has already been answered but there is 50 pages of questions.. i read 30 of them.. lol.. well thanks for the help..
you add the first pot into the second pot, and making one complete pot of your "wort". Just lightly pour it in before your "boil" with as little splashing as necessary
no worries...lots to read here...as I've said, I've learned a lot myself!
Linear Mode
