Partial mash suggestions/clarifications

For such a simple concept I'm having a hard time understanding the mash procedure, everybody seems to have a different way of doing things. I'm willing to put in the work to get decent efficiency, but I'm limited to extract equipment. This is what I have:

12Q pot
22Q pot
extra bottling bucket

I've read Deathbrewer's tutorial on PM brewing, https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/

but I'm just wondering, with that technique wont you be left with "dirty" wort after the original mash, since it isn't filtered back through the grain bed at all? And if you start with a 2 gal mash, and a 2 gal sparge, how do you get up to a 5 gal volume?

Also what would be the best PM process with my limited equipment?

gtpro said:

but I'm just wondering, with that technique wont you be left with "dirty" wort after the original mash, since it isn't filtered back through the grain bed at all?

Click to expand...

Yes, the lack of a vorlauf is the downside to brew-in-a-bag.

BUT

It clears in your trub within the primary for most beers. I made a very clear lawnmower this way. Just added an extra bit of time in the fermenter and its good as gold.

To be on the safe side, I used pretty flocculant yeast with this method. I bet you could get away without it.

It is a great way to make all-grain and PM beer. Don't worry man!

Here is what I was thinking, and I know there must be something wrong with my logic, or others would be doing it.

1) Mash in my 20Q pot
2) pull my grain bag and drop it in the bottom of my bottling bucket
3) dump the mash wort through the grains and out the spigot a couple times
4) drain into brew kettle
5) dump the sparge water through the grain bed and catch that in the kettle

I used my bottling bucket a couple of times when I first started. It worked ok, except for being able to maintain temperature. Even preheated and wrapped with a sleeping bag, the bucket dropped about 10 degrees during the mash. Since you're still mashing on the stove top, though, that wouldn't be a problem for you.

The second issue is that unboiled wort and grain are LOADED with lactobacillus bacteria, and that may contaminate your bottling bucket for future finished batches. So, I ended up buying a new bottling bucket to make sure I don't contaminate future batches at bottling.

There are two "easy" ways to do partial mash, in my opinion. One is to convert a small cooler, to hold the temperatures in. You can use the drain for the spigot. The other way is to put the grains loosely in a bag and mash on the stovetop. That way, if the temperature drops, you can just turn the flame back on. Some people take their mashes and put them in the oven, too, at 150 degrees to hold the temperature. Since all you have to do is lift out the back, you don't need a spigot. Of course, to sparge you can either pour the water over the grain bag (put it in a colander over the brew pot), or stick the bag in a new pot of fresh 170 degree water and stir it around well to release the sugars and take it out. Then combine the resulting worts.

Right, so I'm thinking to mash in my big brew pot, get the temp then throw it in the oven at 150F, so temperature maintenance shouldnt be an issue. The bottling bucket is an extra that I dont care about contaminating. The reason I thought about the bottling bucket is because I like the idea of filtering the wort back through the grains.