slowbie
Well-Known Member
I appreciate the insight. I normally only boil about 3-3.5 gallons of wort and then just add cold water to bring down the temp enough before pitching and to bring the volume up to 5 gallons. That being said, is it possible to do the partial mash in about 2-3 gallons and then pour the water for the sparge up to around 4 gallons and save a gallon thats cold to help bring down the temp faster? Or is it required or highly recommended that I end up with all 5 gallons in the boiling pot?
Also, when I do the partial mash, do I just use the rye malt and then steep the other grains after or put it all in during the partial mash? (using the recipe above).
Thanks for any and all help!
If I were you, for this recipe (and any other probably) I would mash all non-base grains plus as much base grain as it takes to get up to 6 pounds. I usually mash with a thickness in the arena of 1.25 qts/lb. So that gives you about 7.5 qts of water to mash in, and you'll lose 1-2 qts to the grain. So you'll want to sparge with about 2 gallons (assuming 1.5 qts lost). You then have the option of adding your DME/LME or doing late addition, whatever you prefer. Then boil, do the whole hops thing, and top off with water.
So, to clarify (you'll need beersmith or similar to get exact amounts of hops and dme/lme but it sounds like you have something...I just gradually increase amount of ME until I get to the correct OG and increase hops proportionally until I get the right IBUs) Here is the recipe:
1.85# 2-row
1.25# rye malt
1.00# carapils
.75# Simpsons Dark Crystal
.75# Simpsons Medium Crystal
.40# Aromatic malt
DME/LME to OG of 1.063
Hops same IBUs
same yeast
Use DeathBrewer's partial mash thread to get a better idea of strike temp, procedure basics, etc. If you have a second pot to do the teabag sparge with I would use that for your sparge otherwise my strainer method has worked fine for me. Also, he says he turns the heat off, and with my stove I've had better results maintaining temps if the burner is on low. I have an electric stove FWIW.
So, to address your questions directly: mash in 2ish gallons of water, sparge to 3.5, and boil that. If I'm not mistaken, setting aside unboiled wort leaves you open to infection(because you can't sanitize the grain), possible DMS, and perhaps other problems as well. Also, as one last side note that's really obvious unless you don't know, these grains will all need to be crushed. I've heard that you can do it with a rolling pin, but I wouldn't recommend it. My LHBS has a mill in it, and yours might too, otherwise some online stores sell crushed grains or if you know a nearby AG brewer or can find one on here, they may be able to help you out.
Hope this helps, let me know if I missed anything.