benefits of partial mash

What's the benefit of partial mash compared to extract?

A wider range of beers you can make using various specialty grains. I also like that my beers get cheaper as I use more grain and less extract. I just got a 5 gallon cooler for my mini mash so I can use even less extract and have more control over my brews.

would it effect the quality of the beer?

Some folks talk about "extract flavor" or "extract twang". I don't really notice it, but I don't use canned extract. Doing your own mini mash gives you more control of the fermentability of your wort as well. I know that the more extract I use, the higher my FG usually ends up being, so I'll try to make the portion of the wort I get from my mash more fermentable.

my personal progression has been one extract brew, five PM and now two AG and each has its place.

I really felt like moving to PM gave me a better product, but more importantly, i felt like i was actually doing something. With extract i really felt like it was heat water, add extract and hops, pitch yeast and ferment. PM was move involved and not that much more difficult.

I think extract plus steeping grains can produce a quality beer (just like extract alone), but again, actually mashing the grains made it more of a craft. Like making macaroni and cheese from scratch vs. the blue box.

Having switched to AG i understand why people like it, but it is tougher. I'd say going to PM from extract only was very easy and didn't require much new equipment. As others have said, it is also cheaper, which is nice.

Why bother with PM vs. AG?

You have to full boil to do AG. I don't have anyplace I can do that right now. I can do PM in my apartment with it's little weenie electric stove.

ChshreCat said:

You have to full boil to do AG. I don't have anyplace I can do that right now. I can do PM in my apartment with it's little weenie electric stove.

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+1

before i got my burner and 10 gallon pot, i was stuck doing partial boils on the stove. Can't easily do AG batches that way. And besides, some people like the ease of PM since you can use a partial boil and extract.

Plus, if you aren't certain about how to do an AG batch or have never watched one, then a PM batch is a good test run with a manageable amount of grain to mash.

I think partial mash is great for stovetop brewing. You don't have to do a full boil because you'll add some DME. It takes less time and it's less prone to errors because you have the safety net of the DME. I like to do about half or more of all fermentables as grain. Some of my recipes are even 60% grains and 30% DME. But it is still easier than doing all grain since it's not a full boil. I add all the DME at the end of the boil and boil for about five minutes. Then I cool it and add top-up water to the fermenter. I found the flavor just was not as strong when doing extract with steeping grains. I have to steep anyway, so I'll add half an hour to the steep and mash for 60 minutes for a partial mash. The flavor is greatly improved this way, and the overall cost is a little lower when you use more grain in place of DME. I usually use Maris Otter as my base grain when doing partial mashes. Yummy!

Zombie thread awakens!

hoppheadIPA said:

What's the benefit of partial mash compared to extract?

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it is cheaper
you will get a fresher taste using fresh crushed grains
it is good practice for the move to all grain

Oh, I love zombie threads! Graaaaiiiins! :rockin:

Anywho, my progression has been 1 can brew, 2 extract brews, and now my next 2 brews will be partial mash.

Personally, I'm moving to PM because it saves a little money, and I don't have the capabilities to go AG yet, so this is the next step. Also, I just like the idea of using less extracts.

On a side note, i think an important distinction (and one I wasn't aware of till recently) is the difference between a can brew and an extract brew.

Can brews are really the simplest form, where you get a can of prehopped extract, and add either DME or Corn sugar. (plus yeast of course) And that's it.

Extract kits use DME and LME, but they also incorporate hops and specialty grains. Also, you're less likely to make it with a lot of corn sugar, as many coopers kits suggest.

I only mention this because when I first started, i thought "can kit" and "extract kit" were interchangeable, and that's not necessarily the case.