Converting recipes to partial mash

I’ve decided to make the move to partial mash. I have a two gallon cooler and a big grain bag. I think I have the basics from researching, but I haven’t found much info for converting recipes to partial mash. Here is the all grain version of Young’s Special London Ale clone (5.5 gallons):

13.41 lbs Marris Otter pale malt
1.01 lbs Crystal 60
7 AAU fuggles (60 min)
2.5 AAU Goldings (15 min)
.5 oz Goldings (0)
.25 oz Target (dry hop)
.25 Goldings (dry Hop)
1 Tsp Irish Moss
Wyeast 1318 (London Ale III) yeast

How should I convert this to a Partial mash using DME.

A real simple rule of thumb is 3 parts DME = 4 parts 2-row. So, you could substitute 9 lbs of DME for 12 lbs of MO or 6 for 8.

A lot depends on how much grain you plan on mashing. Do you have any brewing software? I typically input the total amount of base grain + specialty grain I plan on mashing, then just add DME until I hit the right OG. Then I make any necessary adjustments to ensure that I still have the correct percentage of specialty grains in my grain bill and that I have a high enough ratio of base malt to specialty grains.

1 lb grain = .75 lb LME = .6 lb DME...

Here is what i came up with by manipulating the ingredients in beersmith to get the desired OG (OG:1.065, IBU:31 SRM: 12 FG: 1.014-1.017)

4.25 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract
2.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM) Dry Extract
2.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain
1.01 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
1.65 oz Fuggles [7.00%] (60 min) Hops 30.0 IBU
0.55 oz Goldings, East Kent [2.50%] (15 min) Hops 1.8 IBU
0.25 oz Target [11.00%] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.28 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
0.55 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (0 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep) Hops -
1.00 tsp Irish Moss
1 Pkgs London Ale III (Wyeast Labs #1318) Yeast-Ale

I have come across conversions of 0.6, 0.68, & 0.75 for going from grain to DME. Using beersmith it come to about 0.58. Any suggestions?

Proofman said:

but I haven’t found much info for converting recipes to partial mash.

Click to expand...

google search: "converting all grain to partial mash"

1st result: http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/extract/pres.pdf

This is Ken Schwartz's paper on converting all grain to partial mash...it's everything you need to know.

So I finally found Ken Schwartz' paper and while it is an excellent resource, I have a question. So I'm using a 5 gallon igloo, and when sparging he says to run the wort off into the kettle and once the liquid drops to the grain, to sparge with 170F water slowly over the top to keep just 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the grain. Is there a problem to just pour the entire 170F sparge water over the top and run all that off to the kettle? I only have one kettle (5 gal) that will hold that much water so can't sparge and drain into the same kettle at the same time. I plan on mashing 6 lb's, so that's 2 gallons of mash/sparge water.
Thanks,
confused

hinze57 said:

So I finally found Ken Schwartz' paper and while it is an excellent resource, I have a question. So I'm using a 5 gallon igloo, and when sparging he says to run the wort off into the kettle and once the liquid drops to the grain, to sparge with 170F water slowly over the top to keep just 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the grain. Is there a problem to just pour the entire 170F sparge water over the top and run all that off to the kettle? I only have one kettle (5 gal) that will hold that much water so can't sparge and drain into the same kettle at the same time. I plan on mashing 6 lb's, so that's 2 gallons of mash/sparge water.
Thanks,
confused

Click to expand...

Look up batch sparging, it's the easiest with cooler mash tuns. Sparge 2x with equal amounts of water for best efficiency. The temperature of your sparge water is not critical, but I like it to be at least 130F. It dissolves the sugars better. You can just hold it in a large pot or bucket while you're filling your kettle with fresh wort.

Sixbillionethans said:

google search: "converting all grain to partial mash"

1st result: http://home.elp.rr.com/brewbeer/extract/pres.pdf

This is Ken Schwartz's paper on converting all grain to partial mash...it's everything you need to know.

Click to expand...

Sorry, that link is not working anymore.

Thanks, I'll do some more googling. I was just trying to figure out if it's okay to pour all the spurge water in at one time vs a cup at a time.

hinze57 said:

So I finally found Ken Schwartz' paper ...

Click to expand...

Can you post the (updated) link to that paper?
TIA!

hinze57 said:

Thanks, I'll do some more googling. I was just trying to figure out if it's okay to pour all the spurge water in at one time vs a cup at a time.

Click to expand...

Palmer's book How to Brew is a wonderful resource. Here's an older, online version of it, a good start on how the mash works and what is involved.

Fly sparging is great for larger breweries, and those who want to (g)eek out the last drop of sugar. Batch is so much simpler and faster, good for (small) homebrew batches.

Thanks, excellent info.
And I'll locate the link to Ken's paper and provide it.

After a LOT of googling, here is the only active link I was able to locate for Ken Schwartz's paper: http://fliphtml5.com/uaxh/frwh
There's a link to download the pdf. Great paper, too bad HomeBrewTalk can't host it.
Kevin