question regarding partial mash & steeping

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

android

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Messages
3,058
Reaction score
55
Location
Ames, Iowa
i have a partial mash forthcoming in which i plan to include some wheat malt and carapils. i also intend on putting some chocolate malt into the recipe. my question is should I include the chocolate malt in the partial mash or still steep it as i would if it were all extract?
 
From noob to noob, I'd recommend putting it in the partial mash if you have the room. Certainly you can steep the chocolate malt, but doing it in the partial mash just makes for a much cleaner pot, and you don't lose precious wort when it gets soaked up. That's especially key for us partial boil folks. If you lose 1/2 a gallon of wort because it's sucked up in your grains and then you go to dilute with water to get up to 5 gallons, well now your gravity's all messed up.
 
cool, that's what i thought, but i just wanted to run it by the experts first. thanks!
 
i'm going to break down this partial mash into two pots so i can try a full boil. it will be a 5 gallon batch, what is the generally accepted amount that will be lost to evaporation?
 
Depends on surface area and burner output, relative humidity, and elevation. Usually about a gallon per hour
 
i know it's not the best way, but is it admissible to top off with water if i fall below 5 gal?
 
i didn't have to top off too much, maybe a quart or two. i did have an incredibly difficult time trying to keep the mash temps between 152-154 however. will it hurt it much if i was between 148 and 165 for some of the time? i kept having to rotate the pot to even out temps from my stove burner. i'm sure since i don't know the difference it will turn out just fine. it's happily bubbling away right now. i also put the pellet hops in a bag this time, which i highly recommend for other noobs and got to try out my homemade wort chiller, which worked like a champ. i've included a few pics of my brew just for fun.

IMG_3342.jpg


IMG_3347.jpg


IMG_3349.jpg


thanks again for everyone's help!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top