PM....worth it?

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big supper

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Hi,

Brew-partner and I would love to do AG, however it takes forever to boil even 3 gallons on his stove. Next spring we will go for it with a propane burner but for the winter we will be stuck inside:( .
The question is...Is PM-ing a lot better than extract/specialty? And is it feasable to do PM with only 3 gallon boils? We have done some really mini-mashes and are familiar with the processes. OR should we just wait intil we can go AG?

TYVM
 
I've never done it but I should expect you could make a 2 or 2.5 gallon AG brew and then top up with extract and water as required.

That way you can get your teqnique and theory sorted befor going full batch AG.
 
Two things:

First, you'd be better off getting a propane burner NOW. This is the perfect time of year. WalMart has the complete turkey fryer kits (including 30qt kettle) for $40 in the month preceding thanksgiving. I bought 2 last year, and it completely changed the face of my brewery. Even if you don't use it till spring, get one or two now, while Wally World has them.

Second, my beers improved IMMENSELY when I went PM. You'll be very surprised at how big the difference is.
 
I've been doing PMs with 5lbs of grain, 2.5 gallon boils, late extract additions, and top-up water and have really like the results. If you are happy with extract + steeping until you can go AG, then just wait it out. For me, I cannot go AG as I am limited to my stove so PM is about as good as it's going to get for a while.
 
I do all grain now, but the five PMs I did before I bit the bullet were better than my extract beers. Getting some fresh grain quality in there can only help.
 
My brew buddies and I have only done 1 PM, but it was noticeably better than any of the extract/steeped grains batches we've done. We're at the point where we want to do as many PM batches as we can, and only do extract batches when we're limited to brewing on an evening. We're limited in the number of weekends we can get together.

I definitely agree about getting a burner and using it before the spring! I don't think we'd brew as much as we have without a big burner.
 
I think PM makes a big difference in your beer. My first PM was a kit from AHS and it used a grain bag for mashing. It had three pounds of grain and directed you to put the grains in the bag and to steep at 155 (holding that temp) for 45 minutes. This was done in 2.5 gallons, and then the grainbag was removed. Then, you started the boil. It was almost exactly like steeping/extract. The only difference was the KINDS of grains- they needed to be mashed to convert.

Then, my next PM, I bought a humungous mesh bag (like for making wine) and lined by bottling bucket. I mashed in the bottling bucket, using the spigot to get the wort out. Sparging was done by adding water to the bottling bucket after I let the wort out, stirring and letting it sit for a few minutes. Then I opened it up, and started my boil. I did it with about a 2.5 or 3 gallon boil. I wrapped a sleeping bag around my bottling bucket to hold them temperature as best I could.

Now, that was easy and even though I'm sure that I didn't hold the correct temperature the entire time, my beer was improved remarkably! It tasted more like microbrew beer and less like extract beer.

Even if you can only do a 2.5 gallon boil, the beer will be better and your techniques will improve as you learn. Also, you can use grains that steepers can't use- grains that must be mashed. That will give you more richness, too.
 
PM makes a great difference. It allows you to make beers you can't with extract and it tastes better when 95% of the recipe isn't just extract.

The only reason I even make extract/steeping brews anymore is because, hey, i'm lazy sometimes :D
 
If you've done mini-mashes doing PM will be easy. They are worth it. If you get a large grain bag, you can do a PM in your 3 gallon kettle without even sparging, just tea-bag it.

I do AG too, but PM is my favorite method.
 
you can always AG brew and collect the runnings in two smaller pots, split hops between the pots, and then combine after the boil/cool-down into the fermenter.

its not as rough as it sounds.
 
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