Considering move from Extract to PM

Howdy

I'm thinking about making the next step to PM but have a few questions primarily about equipment.

I currently brew in a 10gal polar ware brew pot and i'm wondering what the next most logical/cost efficient move would be.

I'm thinking that I may go with the false bottom accressory for the polar ware but then I would have some procedural questions.

Would this mean I would mash and then sparge in the same vessel?

Any tips suggestions would be greatly appreciated

You could. You would probably want to get a huge fine mesh nylon grain bag. I would think though that you would want to have at least one other vessel with which to mash and sparge in. It will be very hard to get really good efficiency if you use the same pot to mash, sparge, and boil in.

I never saw the logic of PM. Seems like if you are going to go through all that trouble and get more equipment, you could just do AG.

For your first though, maybe do a no sparge. Add more grain to make up for the lost efficiency, and you'll be good. Beers brewed from only first runnings can be delicious.

If you have a 10 gallon brew pot, you can clearly handle full volume boils. The only time I ever did PM was when I was only capable of doing 3 gallon boils with the kettle I had at the time. Smaller grain bill means less strike/sparge water.

You may consider moving past PM and going with AG.

DeathBrewer has an excellent PM picture tutorial here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=75231

Yeah, I agree. The only reason for me to do PM was because I could not do a full boil. Big pot, big burner, chiller, etc... is what has held me back. If you got this, mashing a 10-12 pounds instead of 2-4 pounds is not much different.

I could have done a PM but I decided why not... and bought a cooler and will do an AG sometime soon. The cost into AG isnt that high unless you want to pay it for the top notch equipment and full computer automation.. which is cool as hell btw.

I bought a rectangle cooler for mashing in for $32 roughly... and then next just from what I read another $30 for making a manifold.... or you can buy a cylinder cooler and do a braided tube for less money.

The only way to mash and boil in the same pot is to use a very large grain bag. I've done many batches by heating 2.5 gallons of water to my strike temperature and placing the bag in the kettle to mash. After an hour, just teabag 5-6 times and you'll get most of the sugars. Because the mash is thin, you'll have a relatively fermentable wort. Also, because it is thin, you won't have trouble with sparging. My efficiency runs 65-70%, sometimes a bit more. Since most of your fermentables are from the extract, it isn't a problem.

This is good up to 5 pounds of grain. Any more than that, you should look into a dedicated mash tun.

(Austin Home Brew's PM kits use this method and I've always hit their OG or a bit better.)

Sounds like a dedicated mush tun and a jump to AG over PM might be the way to go.

One reason I was thinking about the PM 1st was so I wouldn't have to rely completely on the grain for fermentable sugars until I get a handle on it.

Have faith. It's not as hard or daunting as it seems. You will make beer. Your first time you might not hit all your numbers but you will still make beer. If you want, you can have a lb or two of dme on the side just in case to make you feel more comfortable.

I have the Polarware 10g pot with a false bottom. I wouldn't try using this set up for mashing for the following reasons:
1. The pot is not insulated, and it would be difficult to maintain temperature. Sure, you could apply heat, but:
2. There is about 1g dead space below the false bottom. If you apply heat, you will warm up the wort in this dead space, but not the mash
3. Having a gallon of dead space will make it difficult to calculate strike water volumes and temperatures.
4. The false bottom cost more than a good sized rectangular cooler and braid or manifold.

The false bottom is great for using whole hops and a CFC.

-a.

Thanks AJF...that's what I was looking to find out. I was figuring since they made a false bottom for it that I could utilize it for AG but that makes perfect sense.

Ok so I'll go pick up a cooler, i was thinking an igloo or one of those round rubbermaids....anybody have any suggestions as to which ones retain the heat really well?

next step is to pick up a spigot and quite possibley a portable thermometer.

How about good manifold to act as a false bottom...I saw this youtube vid where this guy used some pvc and just kinda press fit them together and added some slits in it which seem to work well

My home depot rubbermaid home depot 10 gallon cooler dropped at most 1 degree in 75 minutes. I got a can of the spray insulation foam and filled the top of the cooler with it and I haven't lost a degree in 10 mashes.

Skip the PM and go AG. Just make sure you keep a few pounds of DME around untill you gain some confidence in your system.

Here is the DIY for the rubbermaid cooler. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=23008


It works for both 5 and 10 gallon coolers. I use the 5 and it works like a champ. You can mash about 12lbs of grain which is usually plenty. But for bigger beers you will want the 10 if you can find one.
And I recommmend getting some software like beersmith or promash.

I'd also agree going AG is the way forward. I used to do beer kits years ago, got married, stuck that for 17 years, got divorced and thought what the hell! Bought all the kit I need to do an all grain brew and was fortunate enough to meet someone fairly local to me on another homebrewing forum who kindly invited me to a brewday.

What can I say, my first AG brew is almost ready to shove in the cornie and from running samples off to test SG readings it looks and tastes fantastic! I'll probably do exactly the same recipe for my next batch just to ensure consistency and fix a few failings I had with the first one (only minor things, the beer is going to be good) but I'm hooked!

Incidentally, my first brew was 5Kg M.O., 40Gm Progress at start, 30Gm Amarillo 30 mins left, 20Gm 1 min to flame out. It's still fermenting gently in the FV and I suspect it'll be ready to keg in a few days but the colour and taste is just sublime (if you like the 'lighter' coloured bitters as I do).

I will never again look back at doing kits now that I know that I can brew beer that tastes BETTER than the commercial breweries make!

Oh and apologies for the metric measures.

I agree with the "Go AG" sentiment. Partial Mash is just as hard as all-grain. You still have to mash, and crush and all that. The difference is that you measure out and pour in more grain and measure out and use less (as it... none) extract.

Partial Mash, as I see it, is ONLY useful when you have space limitations and mashing the larger amount of grains is difficult (i.e. Small studio apartment and a SWMBO that complains about an orange cooler in the closet). If you've got the space to do all-grain, there is no benefit to doing PM.

I DON"T. lol

I do PM's in a 3 gallon pot with no problems.

If you have 3 or 4 lbs of grain, you can make more of a soup to mash it. Labs get 97% efficiency by mashing in tons of water, not by sparging.

No false bottom needed, direct fired, (stove top actually)

No problems, great efficiency, great beer.

I have 3 kids and 2 jobs. Dointh the PM's is better for me than AG. If you have tons of time, by all means go AG.

I have done AG, and will again when my kids move out (in about 15 years).