I've only done a couple of all extract batches. They came out all right but it's kind of boring. I like IPA's, and I found these instructions for Instant Karma IPA partial grain. http://byo.com/stories/techniques/article/indices/48-partial-mashing/198-beer-the-partial-mash-way. The instructions seem simple, but muddled. I tried to un-muddle them. Also I changed the units to liters and degrees C because I live in a metric centric locale.
++++++++++++++++++++ recipe start +++++++++++++++++++++
1. Begin by bringing 3 liters of water up to a light boil in the saucepan. After a five-minute boil, remove the pot from the stove and allow the water to cool to around 160170° F (71.1 - 76.7C). It is not necessary to put the lid on while it cools.
2. While waiting for the water to cool, turn your oven to its lowest setting. Ideally, oven temp should be [160° F (71C)] 150 F, 65.5 C, which is just about perfect. As long as the temp inside your oven is between 140160° F (60 - 71.1C), you will be just fine.
3. Once your water is in the 160170° F (71-76.7C) range, transfer it to your Dutch oven and slowly mix in the crushed grains. Make certain you add the grains slowly enough to prevent dry clumps.
4. After your mash is thoroughly mixed, put the lid on your pot and put it in the oven. If the lowest setting on your oven leaves you a bit warm, turn the oven off just before you put the pot in it. The temperature of the oven and the mash will stay close enough to achieve the desired results.
Resist the urge to peek while the grain is working! If you let off too much heat and the temp drops below 145° F, you will have to get the temp back up and that risks getting the mash too hot. Best to just leave it to its own devices.
5. While the mash sits in the warm oven, bring 3.5 liters to a light boil in a large pot. After boiling for five minutes, take it off the heat and put a lid on it, allowing it to cool somewhat. You want the temperature of this water to be between 140170° F (60 - 76.7C) ; basically hot, but not boiling.
6. After your mash has been in the oven for 3045 minutes, pull it out.
7. Place the spaghetti colander over your brewing pot. You may need someone to hold it for you. Dump the grains into the colander, making certain any liquid runs off into your brew pot. I am not able to get a full 2.5 lbs. of mash into my colander. Dont worry, just put as much in as you comfortably can. Pull a few cups of hot tap water and slowly pour it over the mash. Repeat this until you have slowly poured roughly 3.5 liters.
8. If your colander is capable of sitting on the top of your brew pot without the help of an assistant, then you can slowly pour the water (from step 5) over the grains, allowing the liquid to collect in your brew pot. Otherwise, I recommend ladling the water over the grains to prevent possibly burning your brewing partner and being forced to drink alone. If you have not been able to get all the grain into your colander, then rinse the grain in shifts. Save enough water to finish rinsing any grain still in the Dutch oven. After you have rinsed the grains with all the water, you are finished with them.
????Add additional water to your brew pot to get up to the volume of water you traditionally use for your extract brewing. huh????
The Boil:
9. You will have approximately 3 to 6 liters of water in your pot from rinsing the grains. Add another 3.78 liters or so of water (remember, this is ballpark brewing) and two ounces of Columbus hops.
10. Now bring your wort to a nice light boil for thirty minutes. Your boil does not need to be too aggressive to extract the hop bitterness.
11. With fifteen minutes remaining in the boil, add the two ounces of Cascade hops.
12. With two minutes boil time left add the remaining ounce of Columbus hops.
13. After the thirty-minute boil, turn off the heat, wait for the wort to come down off its boil and then mix in the light malt extract and DME. Be sure all the extracts are thoroughly dissolved. Sanitation is still very important, so you do need to mix in the malt extracts while the wort in your pot is still over 160° F (71.1C).
14. Dump ice to make 19 liters.
15. Once the wort is cool, pitch your yeast and ferment.
++++++++++++++++++++ recipe end ++++++++++++++++++++++
Here are my questions:
Have I more or less correctly understood the original instructions?
Are not steps 7 and 8 the same step? You wouldn't want to use straight tap water, right? I'd want to be pouring the boiled water over the grains, no?
I also don't grok the "volume of water you traditionally use" sentence, especially because step 9 is adding 3.78 liters of water.
My conception is to use enough water for mixing in the extracts, then add about ice to make about a 19 liter batch. (I don't have a chiller and I understand that cooling is very important. My tests show that ice works fabulously. I plan to make the ice from boiled water and store it in the freezer in zip lock bags.)
++++++++++++++++++++ recipe start +++++++++++++++++++++
1. Begin by bringing 3 liters of water up to a light boil in the saucepan. After a five-minute boil, remove the pot from the stove and allow the water to cool to around 160170° F (71.1 - 76.7C). It is not necessary to put the lid on while it cools.
2. While waiting for the water to cool, turn your oven to its lowest setting. Ideally, oven temp should be [160° F (71C)] 150 F, 65.5 C, which is just about perfect. As long as the temp inside your oven is between 140160° F (60 - 71.1C), you will be just fine.
3. Once your water is in the 160170° F (71-76.7C) range, transfer it to your Dutch oven and slowly mix in the crushed grains. Make certain you add the grains slowly enough to prevent dry clumps.
4. After your mash is thoroughly mixed, put the lid on your pot and put it in the oven. If the lowest setting on your oven leaves you a bit warm, turn the oven off just before you put the pot in it. The temperature of the oven and the mash will stay close enough to achieve the desired results.
Resist the urge to peek while the grain is working! If you let off too much heat and the temp drops below 145° F, you will have to get the temp back up and that risks getting the mash too hot. Best to just leave it to its own devices.
5. While the mash sits in the warm oven, bring 3.5 liters to a light boil in a large pot. After boiling for five minutes, take it off the heat and put a lid on it, allowing it to cool somewhat. You want the temperature of this water to be between 140170° F (60 - 76.7C) ; basically hot, but not boiling.
6. After your mash has been in the oven for 3045 minutes, pull it out.
7. Place the spaghetti colander over your brewing pot. You may need someone to hold it for you. Dump the grains into the colander, making certain any liquid runs off into your brew pot. I am not able to get a full 2.5 lbs. of mash into my colander. Dont worry, just put as much in as you comfortably can. Pull a few cups of hot tap water and slowly pour it over the mash. Repeat this until you have slowly poured roughly 3.5 liters.
8. If your colander is capable of sitting on the top of your brew pot without the help of an assistant, then you can slowly pour the water (from step 5) over the grains, allowing the liquid to collect in your brew pot. Otherwise, I recommend ladling the water over the grains to prevent possibly burning your brewing partner and being forced to drink alone. If you have not been able to get all the grain into your colander, then rinse the grain in shifts. Save enough water to finish rinsing any grain still in the Dutch oven. After you have rinsed the grains with all the water, you are finished with them.
????Add additional water to your brew pot to get up to the volume of water you traditionally use for your extract brewing. huh????
The Boil:
9. You will have approximately 3 to 6 liters of water in your pot from rinsing the grains. Add another 3.78 liters or so of water (remember, this is ballpark brewing) and two ounces of Columbus hops.
10. Now bring your wort to a nice light boil for thirty minutes. Your boil does not need to be too aggressive to extract the hop bitterness.
11. With fifteen minutes remaining in the boil, add the two ounces of Cascade hops.
12. With two minutes boil time left add the remaining ounce of Columbus hops.
13. After the thirty-minute boil, turn off the heat, wait for the wort to come down off its boil and then mix in the light malt extract and DME. Be sure all the extracts are thoroughly dissolved. Sanitation is still very important, so you do need to mix in the malt extracts while the wort in your pot is still over 160° F (71.1C).
14. Dump ice to make 19 liters.
15. Once the wort is cool, pitch your yeast and ferment.
++++++++++++++++++++ recipe end ++++++++++++++++++++++
Here are my questions:
Have I more or less correctly understood the original instructions?
Are not steps 7 and 8 the same step? You wouldn't want to use straight tap water, right? I'd want to be pouring the boiled water over the grains, no?
I also don't grok the "volume of water you traditionally use" sentence, especially because step 9 is adding 3.78 liters of water.
My conception is to use enough water for mixing in the extracts, then add about ice to make about a 19 liter batch. (I don't have a chiller and I understand that cooling is very important. My tests show that ice works fabulously. I plan to make the ice from boiled water and store it in the freezer in zip lock bags.)
