Time to add a little something to extract brewing.....

So today i woke up brewed up my second extract kit ( American Wheat) and everything i think went smoothly. I am waiting another week or so before i bottle my first batch which was an Amber Ale and then i was kind of hoping to move on to something with a little higher difficulty Obviously i would like to move to all grain, but i am trying to take it slow and make sure i get down basic brewing before i fill up my house with too much more equipment. So i was hoping some of you folks out there could recommend another recipe to try that will allow me to start edging me away from extracts,but without having to really add-on to my existing basic setup.

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Primary 1: Muntons Amber Ale
Primary 2: Muntons American Wheat
Bottle Conditioning: Not Yet !!
Drinking: Sierra Nevada Anniversary Ale (waiting on Amber Ale)
On Deck: undecided.

You can do a partial mash with everything you have right now. Read this thread and you'll know everything you need to know about partial mashing with extract/specialty grain equipment. For a starter recipe, here is my first PM recipe which turned out pretty good. It's a blonde, by the way.

3 lbs Extra Light DME
4 lbs Pale 2-row
.5 lbs Carapils
.5 lbs Munich
1 oz Willamette @ 60 minutes
.5 oz Fuggles @ 15 minutes
.5 oz Fuggles @ flameout
Wyeast British Ale (1098)

Thanks for the reply ... I guess all i really need is a Floating thermometer and a grain bag then i can start the partial mashing...

Yeah, partial mash all the way. It's easy and only takes about an hour longer.

I am also going partial mash for my next brew (4th batch). Thanks for the link above and I will read more on it, gotta figure out what I want and put some more thought into it.

I've actually never done full extract. I did a partial mash for my first batch and it turned out great. I'm an idiot, so I figure anyone should be able to do it.

At its core, the only fundamental difference is that you have to soak some grains in hot water for a little while before you add the extract and everything else.

alpo said:

At its core, the only fundamental difference is that you have to soak some grains in hot water for a little while before you add the extract and everything else.

Click to expand...

You could also say that about extract with specialty grains. Mashing is slightly more involved because you need to make sure you're in the right temperature range and you need to make sure you select the right temperature to mash at to get the flavor profile you're looking for. A couple degrees too high or low can have very noticeable effects on the flavor of your beer.

I am kind of in the same boat as the original poster, (ohill1981). I am going to brew my second batch ever this weekend. It is a brewers best kit, wiezenbier. I was going to spruce it up using some bitter orange and corriander, WLP 300 and some wheat, but I decided to leave the kit alone as is for the time being. Maybe next time.

Thanks for the information on partial mash

Buy a few kits from AHS, MW or NW and you'll be all set. Its hard for us newbs to establish a pipeline but after a few batches you will be all set.

It sounds like some folks are confusing steeping specialty grains with partial mash. I would recommend adding steeping grains to your process, it only adds about 20 minutes to your brew day and is quite simple. Most online shops have ingredient kits that come with these grains.

For partial mashing you will need to add some base malt to your specialty grains and mash at a set temperature in a set amount of water for a set period of time. The process is a little more involved than just steeping the grains in a grain bag. There is lots of info available on conducting a partial mash, I'd recommend doing a few batches with steeping grains while you research the partial mash process and then move to partial mash, but that's just me.