Lazy Brewer

I have brewed two batches so far. The first has been in secondary for two weeks after primary for two. Second batch in Primary for two. Both IPA style kits one from brewers best second from True Brew.

I have been looking at the partial mash thread by DB and thinking that I might try one for my next brew day coming up next week. Just wondering how important the times are? If I let the grains soak a little longer, or don't hit my heat exactly (staying on the cooler side to avoid tannins), or any other things that are time dependent how poorly is the batch going to turn out? I know times are there for a reason and that they need to be followed but for me if a batch is a bit darker or my OG/FG are not exact I am alright with that for now. Am I setting myself up for future failure if I am a lazy brewer?

I do follow sanitation and cleaning meticulously but sometime I take the RDWHAHB (or in my case a micro until I get some aged in bottle) a little to far and not watch the clock as closely as I probably should.

Basically should I just stick to kits for now or if I do do a partial will I completely destroy it by being a lazy brewer?

Nah if you dream it, you can brew it. Look whenever I have used specialty grains for steeping I just throw the grains in cold water and heat it up slowly. I would heat it up to about 165 F and then take the steeping grains out. It will add complexity to your beers. I say go for it.

And I mean I am probably 10 times more lazy than yourself and I can do it.

For mashing you don't have to hit your temp exactly, but if you aren't close, you won't properly extract the sugars, and your mash will be less efficient (as well as alter the color and possibly the flavor).

I've done the partial mash instructions on that thread. It's really easy to do. I wouldn't stress about it.

Temperature controls how many fermentables you get. Higher (158F) fewer, lower (140F) more. Higher also means more chewy. Lower also means thinner.

The time required depends on temperature. Lower temp requires more time for full conversion. Higher temp requires less time for full conversion.

It sounds more complicated than it is. Jump in with both feet. You'll be fine.