Mini Mash vs. Extract

I was looking at a Tommyknocker Maple Nut Brown Ale kit from AHS. I love that beer.

I have a choice between Extract and Mini-mash. Is there any advantage to choosing mini mash in a kit??

The advantage to the mini-mash kit would be to introduce a fresher malt flavor to the beer that you generally can't get from an all-extract kit.

Of course, this would mean you would need to conduct a small-scale mash (i.e. soak the grains in ~154 deg. F. water for a while, drain, then rinse them with ~170 deg. F. water to extract the majority of the sugars), so if you don't want to do that, then you should select the all-extract kit.

The point of the mini-mash is to allow you to get some of your fermentable sugars from fresh grain instead of relying only on malt extract.

-Steve

Well for a mni mash u probably will need a mash tun (or maybe need to steep...i have never done one) And if both of them taste the same then i say go for the extract cuz it will be easier

fat x nub said:

Well for a mni mash u probably will need a mash tun (or maybe need to steep...i have never done one) And if both of them taste the same then i say go for the extract cuz it will be easier

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You don't need a mash tun to mini-mash. You can do it right in the kettle if you want to. I personally use a small 2-gallon beverage cooler to help with temperature control, but it's certainly not a requirement.

As for taste, I have generally preferred my mini-mash batches over extract-only ones, but I also find that the process is simply more fun.

+1 on the 2 gallon cooler, its another step towards partial mashing then all grain. a 2 gallon cooler is pretty cheap. i'd get a reusable nylon bag and try a few partial mash recipes. my beer took a giant leap when i was partial mashing.

ArcaneXor said:

You don't need a mash tun to mini-mash. You can do it right in the kettle if you want to. I personally use a small 2-gallon beverage cooler to help with temperature control, but it's certainly not a requirement.

As for taste, I have generally preferred my mini-mash batches over extract-only ones, but I also find that the process is simply more fun.

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i have only seen a mini mash done once on youtube and they used a 2 gallon cooler also

I have done mini-mashes in the kettle with nothing more than a large grain bag. Mini-mashes will do a better job for darker beers, better extraction from the specialty grains is just the start. Find a mesh bag big enough to fit your kettle (some people use paint strainers, I have a 17x24 fruit bag). If you follow AHB's directions, you'll get good results.

What is the amount of water per pound you recommend for a mini-mash? I remember reading that it should be about 1.25 quarts for every lb. of grain (and the amount in the sparge should be the same). However, there was another thread on here where this was brought up, though I cannot locate it now, and someone said a good deal more water than that is needed...

For a mini-mash, I tend to use 2 quarts per pound, mash-in at 152F, and treat the water with pH 5.2. This results in a relatively fermentable wort, which is fine as extracts tend to have somewhat higher unfermentable levels.

Thanks - When I did my brew tonight (before getting a chance to check back here) I started with 1.23 qt. / pound but realized it wasnt quite enough and added more water to make it just less than 2 qt./pound. However I mashed in at 158 for 45 mins, did not treat the pH.

I don't think there's any reason that I'd vary from a typical all grain batch. 1.25 qts/lb is fine, then sparge with about .5 qts/lb.