Partial Mash Question

I have been doing some research on partial mash as I just put my first brew ever(wheat ale extract kit) into the primary a few days ago. Now I'm looking to get another kit to start the second one when I move the wheat to secondary.

I really want to do an oktoberfest, Pumpkin, or recently found Holiday ale(happy holiday ale from Midwest)

All of which appear to be partial mash.

But enough rambling. From doing some research it seems partial mash is simply adding another step to extract brew with minimal equipment. Just anther kettle and muslin bag.

Is this true or am I missing something? Id love to be able to make one of the three beers I stated without adding a ton of equipment. I dont think Im ready to go completely balls out with additions.

Thanks for any help.

You can do it that way if you want to keep it simple. If you want to go all out and make it easier to control your mash temp, you might consider converting a 3 or 5 gallon cooler to a mash tun.

Oh yeah? Is that expensive? Im all about easier but it seems this hobby isnt always cheap to add stuff.

The rumor is true. A grain bag (or strainer) and another kettle (or cooler) and you're in business. I use an old 20 qt. camping cooler so I only had to buy a grain bag. And that's all it took to see a nice increase in the quality in my beer. That said, I noticed an even bigger increase once I was able to control my ferment temps.

I use an extra pot, and 5 gallon paint straining bags (from Lowes or HD). Works great.

I also got a cheap Corona Mill for grain. Cost about $30, and has easily paid for itself in improved mash efficiency, and cheaper bulk grain costs.

Cool this is exactly what I wanted to hear. You guys have a link to a quality cooler? If it is that much better than a kettle than I will spend a little more

35se said:

Oh yeah? Is that expensive? Im all about easier but it seems this hobby isnt always cheap to add stuff.

Click to expand...

When I converted a 5 gallon cooler for a friend, the cooler was $20 and another $10-15 or so far the parts for conversion. There's also another upshot to converting a cooler for partial mash. When you're ready to go all grain, you know how much equipment you need to buy? None. Unless you currently only have one pot, then you'll need another for heating up sparge water.

I've done about a dozen brews total. 2 were partial mash and 2 were single vessel all-grain BIAB (Brew In A Bag). IMHO BIAB is way easier than partial mashing. For one partial mashing requires multiple pots; BIAB requires one: your brew pot. You do need some sort of fine mesh material to use as the bag & a large enough pot to hold your 10-15 lbs of grain PLUS 7+ gals of water. Don't have a big enough pot? Do a smaller batch (recipes are scalable)!

I'm on the HBT moblie app otherwise I'd link to the thread "Simple BIAB Calculator". Check it out!

When I did partial mashing, my costs were minimal.

I happened to have a huge mesh bag (I was a winemaker first) and I lined my bottling bucket with it and did my mash right in there, wrapped with a sleeping bag. Instant MLT!

You can do it very inexpensively also.

Hmm. I like both ideas. I have read that BIAB is an easy way to do alot more. But im also all for starting my way to all grain.

Thank you all for info on both sides. Will certainly help me in my decision. But whichever way I go im certainly going to partial mash. Opens up a ton more possibilities.

I did partial mashing, used a 3 gallon drink cooler and a large grain bag. Did the mash abd used the drink spout to drain into boil pot. Even able to sparge thst way.

Well digging threw the shed I found a 5 gallon orange cooler that made my day. Its super dirty but nothing some bleach cant clean.

I think it will be perfect for anything I plan on doing for now as I am only doing 5 gallon batches. Now I just need the hardware which should cost to much.

If you are making a mash tun, be careful of the braided hose at most home supply superstores. Most is alloy and not stainless steel. I actually had to buy a dishwasher install kit.

Im thinking of just getting a False bottom because now I dont have to spend the extra money on a cooler.

But I might just do a hose. You say dishwasher kit? I will have to keep that in mind. Thanks

I picked up a toilet supply line from Lowes and it stated specifically that it was stainless steel and it works perfect. They are much cheaper than the false bottom and do a much better job filtering. If you plan to fly sparge instead of batch sparge, then the false bottom would be the way to go to avoid channeling though.

So I am wondering how important are the mash temps? I have 2 different thermometers and one is giving me a 150-155 reading. and i tried the other and it gave me a Much higher reading. Around 165-170.

If it is infact closer to 165 will this mess things up?

Cool. Im not sure what original temp was at. Because I didnt think to use both therms until later (Still not sure why I did it anyways)

But can only wait and hope it tastes good!