Easy Partial Mash Brewing (with pics)

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DB (or anyone else), AWESOME STICKY!

I just got back into brewing after WAY too long of a layoff. First three batches were extract w\ specialty grains and jumped into PM on the fourth batch, which was this weekend. Using this sticky as a guide, looks like all went well!! I designed a nice ESB and hit my numbers for OG dead on (1.052).

I am looking for advice on strike temps. I use a 3 gallon stainless steel pot for my mash, which holds perfectly 6 pounds of grain at 1.5 quarts per pounds. So there is no head-space loss. The pot is a fairly thick one, the kind that has two strainers that come with it. One is fairly deep, the other is shorter and fits on top of the first.

According to a spreadsheet tool I use to formulate recipe's, my strike temp on the last batch needed to be at 176 degrees, with grain at 68 degrees and using 9 qts of water. I have little reason to doubt it, and other than some difficulty checking temps (lot's of cold and hot spots which I finally stirred out), it seems I hit my target 0f 153 degrees.

So........ the only reason I ask is that on this sticky, and elsewhere, the strike temp seems to be lower. I always plan on using as much grain in the PM as possible, so I almost always will use 6 pounds.

Thanks!!!!!!

P.S. Any feedback on this recipe would be great too!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/recipe-feedback-desired-minnesota-stout-111677/

Again, thanks for all the help in the posts!!! :mug: :rockin:
 
Although it does vary with different equipment, I have never experienced more than 14°F drop in temperature when mashing in.

Perhaps that grains aren't going fully into the water due to the strainers? That would be my only thought.

As long as you are hitting your mark, however, it sounds all good!
:mug:
 
DeathBrewer said:
It could be a poor mixture of DME or you could have ended in a little less than 5 gallons.

Or it could be right. I often get close to 90% efficiency when I do large scale brewing and it has happened before with this system (but not common.) Just make sure you mix very well when using extract. Particles aren't really a problem.
Click to expand...

I definitely ended with 5 gallons. In fact, I added water a bit over 5 gal in an effort to lower the gravity (my poor yeast!). So something probably went wrong with the DME... though I mixed it pretty well (this is my 6th batch), and didn't notice any "floaties" during the boil. Actually, if anything, wouldn't poorly mixed DME make for a lower gravity reading, since you'd have clumps of DME that didn't dissolve, and thus don't contribute to the average density of the wort?

Anyway, I didn't realize mashing could be so (relatively) easy on the stove top -- thanks a lot for the illustrated guide! I guess next time I should cool a sample of the pre-boil wort and read its gravity before adding the DME :)
 
Taking a pre-boil is nice. I use a refractometer. It's much faster (but much more expensive.)

It is possible for the gravity to read too high with a screwy mixture. In any case, it sounds like your beer went well.
 
I just put your numbers in BeerSmith and, with an assumed efficiency of 70%, you should get 1.076 (it says). Don't forget that the extract should be 100% efficiency, so it is just the grains you are looking at.
 
BioBeing said:
I just put your numbers in BeerSmith and, with an assumed efficiency of 70%, you should get 1.076 (it says). Don't forget that the extract should be 100% efficiency, so it is just the grains you are looking at.
Click to expand...

Very interesting! Maybe beer tools pro is a little off then, or I'm just not using it right... it's definitely treating the extract as 100% efficient (ie, changing the efficiency for an all-extract brew has no effect on predicted OG). Perhaps it's assuming the extract has a different potential than what I used (Munton's light). Anyway, thanks for pointing this out! 1.080ish does not seem so crazy anymore.

A krausen is forming nicely, btw, so many thanks to DeathBrewer for another apparently successful application of his method!
 
Hey DB, quick question:

When you tea-bag the grains in the sparge water, do you dunk the grains up and down during those ten minutes, or just let them soak?

Also, you say to make sure it mixes well in the sparge water. Do you stir it to mix it, or just make sure your grain bag is loose?
 
DB, how did you get 5 gallons out of this? It looks like you start with 2 gallons for the mash and then do another 2 gallons for the tea bag sparge. did you add water at the end to bring it up to 5 gallons? Or did I miss something?
 
My next brew will be an attempt at a dogfish head 90 minute IPA clone. My first partial mash and full boil. I am so excited, haha...

The clone recipe that is floating around online (most sites have the same one) calls for these grains:

16.5 lbs. Pilsner malt
1.66 lbs. amber malt (35 *L)

I am going to attempt a partial mash based off of this recipe with:
1.66 lbs amber malt => subbing with biscuit malt unless I can get around to toasting some of my own
7 lbs Pilsner malt
5.7 lbs Pilsner DME

Do those numbers sound right?
 
16.5 lbs pilsner + 1.66 lbs amber = 1.095 @ 70% efficiency in 5 gallons

7 lbs pilsner + 1.66 lbs amber + 5.7 lbs extract = 1.097 @ 70% eff

close enough...I'd suggest only adding half of your extract at brew time, leave it a half-gallon short, and boil and add the rest of the extract a few days later when fermentation is at it's peak. Stepping up brews always makes things cleaner and ensures full fermentation.
:mug:
 
DeathBrewer said:
16.5 lbs pilsner + 1.66 lbs amber = 1.095 @ 70% efficiency in 5 gallons

7 lbs pilsner + 1.66 lbs amber + 5.7 lbs extract = 1.097 @ 70% eff

close enough...I'd suggest only adding half of your extract at brew time, leave it a half-gallon short, and boil and add the rest of the extract a few days later when fermentation is at it's peak. Stepping up brews always makes things cleaner and ensures full fermentation.
:mug:
Click to expand...

Hmm interesting. I will be making a giant starter but I guess it can't hurt :) How concerned should I be with oxidizing the beer at this stage? Ok to carefully pour that 1/2 gal in or should I try to siphon it? Also, should I save some hops for the 1/2 gal boil or no need?
 
Boil for 10 minutes, cool, pour. No oxygen in your new wort and any introduced will get eaten up by the yeast anyway.

I wouldn't worry about changing the hops. The difference will be too small to taste.
 
Hello all, I used to brew a few years ago, then I got into exclusivly meads. I got onto this forum from the firearms forum and it appears to be a good, knowlegable group. It has made me want to get back into brewing beer again. Before,I used to use only kits w/ steeping grains. DeathBrewer makes the transition to partial mash look easy enough for anyone to do.
Thanks DB:tank:
 
dukech1 said:
Hello all, I used to brew a few years ago, then I got into exclusivly meads. I got onto this forum from the firearms forum and it appears to be a good, knowlegable group. It has made me want to get back into brewing beer again. Before,I used to use only kits w/ steeping grains. DeathBrewer makes the transition to partial mash look easy enough for anyone to do.
Thanks DB:tank:
Click to expand...

Get back in!!!!!!! I recently got back in after way too many years off. I completely forgot what I missed, and this forumn as been awesome to get back up to speed fast.

In all honesty, probably one of the best forums I have seen in terms of people helping and also being very kind and polite.

And....trust me, PM works fanstastic and you'll be thinking about AG too soon!

P.S. SWMBO want to kick Deathbrewer in the nuts, something about how that "sonmabitch" got me addicted again. :D
 
Just finished my first PM! Thanks for the great instructions, DeathBrewer!

Due to some shipping snafus, I ended up doing this without a grain bag, scooping grains out with a strainer. It's doable, but quite a pain in the *** - I won't try it again if I have a choice.

Could someone help me figure out my efficiency? I used 1.66 lbs amber and 7lbs pilsner malt, and after the mash / sparge I had 5.5 gal of 1.053 wort.
 
First off, thanks to you DeathBrewer, I will be trying my first PM as soon as I can (hopefully this weekend).

I have a question though regarding the mash / sparge water...

Once you are done mashing the grains, and "tea-bagging" them in the sparge water, you add the mash water into sparge water (which would be around 4 gallons) of water in the pot? Then boil the 4 gallons of wort as normal?

My concern is that I have a 5 gallon pot, and I'm afraid of boiling 4 gallons of water in case of over-flow during the boil. Any suggestions on preventing boil over and do I have the water process correct? I just don't want to 'eff up anything when I try this.

Again, thank you for the awesome instructions!
 
If you use 2 gallons for the mash, and 2 gallons for the sparge, 5 lbs of grain will absorb about ½ gallon. So you'll have roughly 3.5 gallons. Just keep an eye on that boil and don't add your extract until after the hot break. Remember, a watched pot never boils...over ;)

EDIT: There are some other tricks. Some people keep a spray bottle of water, so you can take care of that foam up quickly.

I personally just blow on the top while I adjust the heat. You may wish to even remove it from heat

Some people use Fermcap. Never used it myself, but I've never heard a bad word about it.

No matter what, you just gotta keep an eye on that boil and find a happy setting on your dial.
 
i did a kind of pm beer using tips from this thread. it came out pretty good.

also... whats this hot break everyone speaks of? is it just when the water starts to boil?

also also... if i were to convert my extract/kind of pm recipe into all grain...whats a good conversion from 1lb extract to grains? assuming a 70%ish efficiency?
 
Roughly: 1 lb of grain = 0.75 lb of LME = 0.6 of DME

Hot break is when the boil begins and you see the "break material" (proteins, grain crap, etc.) coagulate and separate from the liquid. You'll see little chunks swirling around. You can use a strainer to get some of these out if you'd like. I do it when it's really bad...same with foam on top of the boil. I rarely worry about it, tho.

Basically, you want a good hot break...you don't want your wort to cool before you boil. I always apply heat my first wort as I'm doing my sparge.
 
Thanks for this thread, Deathbrewer. It has realy got me wanting to go try pm after about 3 years of extract brewing. I have been useing beer smith to make a pm recipe or two for some beer I want ready for the July 4th (heh I like to think ahead). Going to have a small party :D Useing your process please tell me what you think of this blond ale...

5# pale malt 2 row
4oz cara-pils
4oz crystal malt 10L
3.3# pale malt extract (late boil)
0.75oz casecade 60min
1oz casecade 5min
Wyeast 1272

Still working on other recipes. I may even use some that were listed here. For now I was looking for a light beer.
 
If you want my opinion (and many will disagree with me), I don't like Cascade as a bittering hop. It's a bit harsh. I would go with Northern Brewer or a mild high-alpha hop.

I'm also not a fan of carapils. You're doing a partial mash, so you'll already getting body. If you need to add carapils in a future batch, you'll know, but I'd start off without it.

The crystal 10 is nice...I like a low crystal. My last blonde ale used caravienne (a belgian crystal malt) and honey malt. A nice sharp sweetness with a lingering honey taste. The honey came out more as it aged. I recommend a very small amount (2-3 ounces) of honey malt if you can get it.

I've never tried the 1272, but the description sounds nice. Swirl that sucker up a few times the first week or so and make sure it attenuates. And keep it in the mid 60s (°F) if at all possible.

Only other thing I would ask is the alpha acid content of your hops. That way I could properly calculate the IBUs for bitterness.

Let me know if you need anything else.
:mug:
 
Hey Deathbrewer thanks for the reply.

I picked Cascade because I know and like this hop. Although I'm always up on trying something different. I haven't realy got into experimenting much with hops. Maybe I'll try it both ways. The AA is 6.9.

To tell you the truth I have never used carapils. It just seems to be in alot of blond ale recipes that I find so I thought it needed it. I have no problems droping it.

The honey malt sounds nice and I do beleave my LMBS has it along with caravienne.

edit: forgot to ask, when I mash do I include the other grains like crystal or do I steep them seperate?
I have never used 1272 either. It sounded like something that would go well with this.

Thanks again for your time and hard work
 
Quick question.

Just wondering how long you typically hold the grain bag above the water to let it drip. I know you said "until your arms get tired", but I was just curious how long you usually let it drip. Like 2 minutes, 5 minutes?

Thanks in advance.
 
A few minutes. I use a colander now. I leave it longer on the sparge. I let it drip on the colander while I bring the wort to a boil. If you really want to maximize your efficiency, the best thing to do would be to pull a gallon or so of your sparge water before you transfer the grains and pour it over the grains after the sparge.
 
Just like to say thanks for the thread.

I ordered a PM recipe/ingredients from AHB and brewed on Sat but the info from this thread was very helpful on what to expect and took all the pressure out. I followed the AHB instructions and mashed for 45 min but I increased the amount of water to accommodate the 1.43 qt/lb. I have no idea if I achieved conversion but the OG was 1.054 which is what I expected.:mug:
 
Great thread DB!! Will be giving this a try real soon. It will be nice to get away from just extract. SWMBO, and some of our friends are wanting me to brew a wheat beer for them. I was curious if you have a recipe for an american style wheat for this method. Thanks again!!
 
hey DB, i gots another question..
step 4 says : After 30-60 minutes (or once you have conversion)

how do you know if conversion is complete? i will just shoot for 60 min no matter what to be sure....
 
Kronin said:
hey DB, i gots another question..
step 4 says : After 30-60 minutes (or once you have conversion)

how do you know if conversion is complete?
Click to expand...

You can do an iodine test with iodophor. Google or search the site, but basically you just add iodine and if it changes color, conversion is not yet complete.

Kronin said:
i will just shoot for 60 min no matter what to be sure....
Click to expand...

Good plan, I usually mash in and then go to dinner or something. 60 minutes minimum, sometimes up to 3 hours (when it's well insulated and I know I won't lose too much heat.)
 
Well DB I used this method today, just sat down and everything is cleaned up.

I went with 1.25 qrts per pound of grain for mashing, and .5 / lb for sparge... and did full AG.

12.25 lbs of grains (Heaaaavy!) and it went great! I nailed the 1.060 OG, and my efficiency was around 77%!

Thanks for all the tools and tips, I will be doing partial or full ag from now on methinks.
:mug:
 
First off, this is an amazing looking process. So simple.

I;m currently using an 8 gallon SS pot on my stove top doing full extract boils and I want to start doing these PM brews. Lets say I get a 2nd kettle around 16Q. What is the max amount of grain that I can mash assuming a 1.25Q/lb ratio in that pot. What about a 20Q pot. Also, how much liquid can I expect to recover from the mash. I need to know so I know how much water to sparge with to hit 6 gallons on the nose. Also, if I ever want to first wort hop, do you just add the hops into the bag?

I figured I would make a simple brown ale for my first try at PM. Any criticisms.

4lb 2 row American
.5lb crystal 60L
.5lb Chocolate malt
.25lb biscuit malt
4lb pale LME

1oz Kent Goldings 60min
.5oz Kent Goldings 15min

Nottingham dry yeast.

Thanks for all of this. It's like I have taken a first step into a new world of brewing.
 
mkorpal, these calculators have helped me a lot in the past:

Green Bay Rackers--Mash Calculators

It says you can mash 7.5 lbs @ 1.25qt/lb which will be a total mash volume of about 3 gallons. This will leave you a gallon to work with the bag and stirring. You could go 8 lbs for 3.14 gallons, but that's pushing it...you need that extra space.

FWH with this method, I would put the hops in a bag in the first pot just after your mash, then move the bag to your sparge water when you mix them together. Leave it there until your wort is close to boiling. Remove before boil.

That looks like a good brown ale to me.

Brown Ale

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

10-C American Ale, American Brown Ale

Min OG: 1.045 Max OG: 1.060
Min IBU: 20 Max IBU: 48
Min Clr: 18 Max Clr: 35 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 9.25
Anticipated OG: 1.054 Plato: 13.28
Anticipated SRM: 20.9
Anticipated IBU: 21.9
Brewhouse Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 5.88 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.046 SG 11.37 Plato


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
43.2 4.00 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) America 1.036 2
5.4 0.50 lbs. CaraMunich 60 France 1.034 60
5.4 0.50 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350
2.7 0.25 lbs. Biscuit Malt Belgium 1.035 24
43.2 4.00 lbs. Briess LME- Gold America 1.035 4

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Goldings (UK) Pellet Pellet 4.00 19.3 60 min.
0.50 oz. Goldings (UK) Pellet Pellet 4.00 2.6 15 min.


Yeast
-----

Danstar Nottingham


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 5.25
Water Qts: 8.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 2.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.52 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 152 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 0 Time: 0
Sparge Temp : 170 Time: 10


Total Mash Volume Gal: 2.42 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.
Click to expand...
:mug:
 
Perfect man! This is great timing. I am doing my first partial mash tomorrow (actually 2nd) and this saved me from asking 20 questions on this forum, and hours of research from my few brew books too. I'm just trying to get a good system and some good recipes. I tried a partial mash last week, but missed the need for 2 or 6 row pale malt. So I wasted my time by mashing only crystal malt with flaked rice, resulting in an hour and a half process just for flavor and mouth feel! I think I got it now. Thanks dude!
 
I have read through about 8 pages of this post, including the tutorial which was about 5 times and have brewed 2 batches using this method, it worked great so far, and can not wait to taste the sweet victory of my labor in a few short weeks, now the hard part, the waiting. Good thing someone invented alcohol to help eliminate that problem.
 

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