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ApothecaryBrewing · 11-29-2012, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheezydemon3

After making it to AG, I have actually settled back to PM..

If you don't mind me asking, what made you switch back to partial mashing? I have figured once I hit AG I will stick with it. Are there benefits to using extracts that I am unaware of?

**unionrdr** · 11-29-2012, 04:11 PM

Yeah,I think pm is the best of both worlds,cheap & easy. AG is cool I guess,but this pm stuff turned out to be easier than I originally surmised. Gunna go over to JW Dover tomorrow & hop their grain prices are better or compareable to midwest so I can save shipping towards another extract batch. Just to fill my fermenters.
Being a cheap a$$ has it's advantages! I soak my sack(s) in PBW in a sealed container after emptying & rinsing them off inside out. They soak till they're white again,rinse off,ring out,& hang from my clip on desk lamp till dry.
Coolers do seem to make it easier to maintain temps. My old GE elec burners held temps perfectly,but didn't heat up fast at all. These new aftermarket burners heat up fast & even,but are harder to maintain temps with. Gotta play around with BS2 & see what Can be done temp-wise with a cooler. It looks like it can figure out what temp to pre-heat the mash cooler with so the temp will go down to the right spot to mash with.

Enoch52 · 11-29-2012, 04:16 PM

I didn't realize that AG was much more work than PM. Is it mostly the time/effort to heat up more strike and sparge water, and the extra time to drain?

**cheezydemon3** · 11-29-2012, 04:22 PM

AG is the biggest PITA and requires the most equipment.

I have 3 small kids.

I eliminate the mashing of 12 lbs of grain and disposing of said HUGE bucket of wet grain. I dispense with worrying about efficiency and meticulous temp control. I dipense with the cooler mash tun, I can just heat on the stove top.

I can boil on the stove top and cool with sanitized ice.

I can even pre boil the hops while mashing the grains with a little DME.

Save a lot of time and trouble, and short of a couple of very obscure brews, I can make anything.

On tap now are a blacker than death stout, an over the top IPA and a tame pale ale.

**unionrdr** · 11-29-2012, 04:27 PM

Basically,yes. PH is more important with the greater water volumes involved. All the steps with recirculating wort to set the grain bed so wort comes out clear. Some kind of test along the way mashing to boil.
Besides the sheer volumes of grain & water involved,larger equipment is needed. I'll stick with everything I've done up to pm for now,thank you.
My life is better by making things as easy & fun as possible. I have little need to play mad alchemist all the time. Just make good ales & I'm happy.

Enoch52 · 12-01-2012, 12:05 AM

Uh...it turns out that the spigot opening on the Home Depot cooler is significantly larger than 3/8"...is there anything I can do, other than returning everything?

**cheezydemon3** · 12-01-2012, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enoch52

Uh...it turns out that the spigot opening on the Home Depot cooler is significantly larger than 3/8"...is there anything I can do, other than returning everything?

Wrong thread.

Enoch52 · 12-01-2012, 01:36 PM

No, actually, it's not. I started this thread asking whether a recipe I was making required doing a partial mash, and if so, what equipment I needed to do so. In the thread it was suggested I make a simple lauter tun from a cooler. I took that advice, but the instructions I was referred to apparently assumed the opening on the cooler was 3/8", not 1".

ssult1 · 12-01-2012, 02:07 PM

I would also recommend BIAB for partial mashes. I see no need to build a mash tun and do all that transferring when you can just mash in your brew pot, pull out the bag and let it drain, add your extract and boil. You can also do all grain 2.5 gallon batches on the stove with a 5 gallon brew pot and a bag. Do a search for BIAB here. There are a lot of threads.

**unionrdr** · 12-01-2012, 02:14 PM

Yup. That's what I did with my first pm ale on 10/9. BIAB pm in a partial boil. Mashed 5lb of grains in 1.5G of distilled water @ 156F for one hour. Drained bag in SS collander on top of BK,then sparged with another 1.5G of water to get 3 gallons boil volume in my 5G BK. Worked great & I hit my numbers.