Easy Partial Mash Brewing (with pics)

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DeathBrewer said:
ok, let me know if the alpha acid levels are different.

you see how i redistributed the hops? that large addition at 60 minutes is what's really causing your bitterness. for some reason, orfys calculations come out differently...part of that might be he was assuming whole hops...maybe a partial boil, too.
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Yes, that makes sense. I'll go with your suggestion for my next batch.

This exchange has been very helpful for me as I try to settle on an reliable method with consistent results. Part of it is also that I'm still experimenting with custom recipes and challenging myself to learn more about the different aspects of the process.

In any event, I think we're closing in on a pretty nice beer. :mug:
 
DeathBrewer said:
let me know how it goes!
:mug:
Click to expand...

Perfect brew day. Never will I go back to extract brewing. I am a little nervous that I don't see any signs of fermentation (I pitched liquid hefe yeast 16 hours ago- at 72 degrees). My dry yeast had always started by now. But it'll start sometime soon I'm sure (I hope!).

Thanks again.
 
Damn, I just read this, thanks for the info. I didn't realize a partial could be so easy. I may have to try a partial next time (it'll be my 3rd brew).
 
No the work seems easy, boil a couple of times and then pretend it's an extract.

I'm still a little confused. Are the first two batches of water the parts you are using in the long run? Ie. nothing is thrown out but the grain at the end of the second boil right?:confused:

I think I just expected the mini mash to be so much harder.
 
yep, you mash with the water, and after you pull the grains out you have wort. sparge is just to get any last bit of sugars you can. combine the two and you've got all the water you need until you top off after your boil.
 
Has anyone using this method set up a Mash Profile in BeerSmith for it? If so, what settings did you use?
 
DeathBrewer, great guide. You've actually got me planning my first partial mash brew this weekend after 30+ extract batches.

If I had the ingredients, I'd do an all-grain, but that will have to wait until later in the week.

Thanks for the incentive, from one small brew-space guy to another. :mug:
 
so i did my third AG 3 gallon batch with this method yesterday. all went well, but in the boil there where some ginormous clumps of something. do you experience anything like this?
 
I used this method again over the weekend for a Dry Stout I've been working on and came closer to hitting the OG than I have on previous batches.

In fact, when I was ingredient shopping at the LHBS the guy helping me said that the beer looked too light for the style and there wasn't enough extract in the recipe for a PM. I explained that I was mashing the grains, not steeping them and he suggested getting a couple of pounds of DME as a back up plan.

I took his advice, but surprisingly enough I came out high on my OG for the 5.25 gal batch I made. I think this was probably because I did two sparges with this method than the one described and must have gotten a lot of sugars out of the grains.

I ended up topping the batch off to a little over 5.5 gal to hit my target OG of 1.043.

So, I'm thinking that going forward the recommended one sparge is fine and should get me pretty close to the target OG.

Anyways, thanks again DB, I'm looking forward to doing this again with the Scottish Pale Ale recipe this weekend.
 
Great threat DB! One thing that I kept thinking, as I was reading this, and I apologize if this has been addressed and I missed it, but couldn't you do a rinse at the end of the sparge?

What I was thinking, was use just slightly less water in the mash, or not if you plan to "top up"; then at step 4.5 just pull the bag out of the sparge water and have SWMBO, or a friend hit it with hot water from the tap (using the sprayer attachment) for 10-15 seconds. This would allow you to easily get all of the leftover sugars.

Of course this assumes your sink is right next to the stove (which it is in my case), or that you can move the pot to the sink at the end of the sparge, and that you have a friend handy. I can't think of a problem this would cause, but I don't know how much benefit it would be either.
 
it would also depend on the water you have. i no longer use my tap water. i may use it again once i get a report, but a few of my beers went bad this summer because of the water.

you could do this anyway, of course...just pour a gallon over the grains.

i used to do the "pour" sparge, where i would put the grains in a colander and pour hot water through the top. i didn't get very good efficiency this way.

let's say: i think it would help, but i don't know that it would make a really significant difference.
 
Hey, I'm new to the forum and brewing in general so I hope to be in here quite a bit in the future.

DeathBrewer, this thread is so helpful. Followed it to a T tonight and had a great session, nailed my times and temps and had fairly decent conversion. First time I felt like I had a good setup.

The only thing I might add, if you don't mind, is I found during the boil that my clamped bag would float to the top causing the hops to be out of the boil partially. To fix this, if it happens to anyone else reading the thread, I just placed a sanitized glass marble in with the clamped bag and hops.
Thanks again Death, really inspired me to Partial Mash on my rickety old stove.
 
YooperBrewer said:
The only thing I might add, if you don't mind, is I found during the boil that my clamped bag would float to the top causing the hops to be out of the boil partially. To fix this, if it happens to anyone else reading the thread, I just placed a sanitized glass marble in with the clamped bag and hops.
Click to expand...

Good advice. i usually use my paddle to help keep the hops down in the boil.

welcome to the forums! you may confuse some people with that name ;)
 
Damn fine write up! I am going to disect this like the Dead Sea Scrolls and give 'er a try myself. Thanks Again!
 
I am using this technique with 13.5 pounds of grain right now for a 6 gallon batch. Rather than holding it up with my arm to let the bag drain after mashing, I just put it in a colander under a baking pan to collect the goodies. I'm also sparging by dunking it in 3.5 gallons of hot water in a 6.5 gallon aluminum kettle. So far it seems to be working. The bag held the grain just fine, despite being reused four times. The wort is nice and sweet at 6 gallons. Let's see if I will hit my target gravity. It's supposed to come to 1.06 with all this grain, but really I just want 1.04-1.05. With up to 8 pounds of grain I've been able to stay above 70% efficiency.

edit: I ended up with 70% efficiency with using the bag, 13.5 pounds of grain, a cheap 35 quart tamale steamer and a few smaller pots. My first all-grain :)
 
Prionburger said:
I am using this technique with 13.5 pounds of grain right now for a 6 gallon batch. Rather than holding it up with my arm to let the bag drain after mashing, I just put it in a colander under a baking pan to collect the goodies. I'm also sparging by dunking it in 3.5 gallons of hot water in a 6.5 gallon aluminum kettle. So far it seems to be working. The bag held the grain just fine, despite being reused four times. The wort is nice and sweet at 6 gallons. Let's see if I will hit my target gravity. It's supposed to come to 1.06 with all this grain, but really I just want 1.04-1.05. With up to 8 pounds of grain I've been able to stay above 70% efficiency.

edit: I ended up with 70% efficiency with using the bag, 13.5 pounds of grain, a cheap 35 quart tamale steamer and a few smaller pots. My first all-grain :)
Click to expand...

excellent...this is taking it to the next level as i did with my stove-top all-grain thread.

i still need to buy a damn colander. i borrow my friends sometimes, but i hate doing that. i just want one that is abnormally large and i'm afraid it's going to be very expensive.
 
DeathBrewer said:
excellent...this is taking it to the next level as i did with my stove-top all-grain thread.

i still need to buy a damn colander. i borrow my friends sometimes, but i hate doing that. i just want one that is abnormally large and i'm afraid it's going to be very expensive.
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I have a restaurant supply store right down the street where I work <www.superprod.com> and i have been wanting a large one and at wholesale prices they are still a pretty penny but look real sturdy. Might be a little cheaper, but then again there is shipping!

I am trying your PM meathod this weekend on a holiday brown and I think it will go very easy...I have studied you process and can't wait!!

Thanks for putting something like this out there...it really helps!!

Cheers DB!!:rockin:
 
see? that's exactly what i need:

806387


Heavy Duty Double Mesh Strainer - Superior Products

and they're out of stock on the big ones :(

oh well, i'll find one eventually :)
 
DeathBrewer said:
see? that's exactly what i need:

806387


Heavy Duty Double Mesh Strainer - Superior Products

and they're out of stock on the big ones :(

oh well, i'll find one eventually :)
Click to expand...

I'm going down there this weekend...I'll take a gander...did you ask Santa??

I was actually thinking of the round SS ones...(there I go again thinking) Doh!

My LHBS has those hanging around (no pun) I wonder how much they want...probably too much!
 
The colander I used was way too small to hold 13 pounds of wet grain. It would kinda spill over on the sides.

The most effective way to drain it was to just rest it on a baking tray about 3" deep. Just drain the puddle of wort repeatedly while you set up the sparge water.

This is cool that you can do all-grain with just a $29 kettle, a $5 bag, and ingredients. It would make things much quicker to have another $29 kettle however.

:ban:
 
Prionburger said:
The colander I used was way too small to hold 13 pounds of wet grain. It would kinda spill over on the sides.

The most effective way to drain it was to just rest it on a baking tray about 3" deep. Just drain the puddle of wort repeatedly while you set up the sparge water.

This is cool that you can do all-grain with just a $29 kettle, a $5 bag, and ingredients. It would make things much quicker to have another $29 kettle however.

:ban:
Click to expand...

yeah, i often just set it in a small kettle after my sparge and let it drain, then add the little extra wort in there when i dump the grains.
 
DeathBrewer said:
awesome. you can't go wrong with that brew!
:mug:
Click to expand...

Just an update: I bottled the Dunkelweizen after about 16 days in the primary, carbonating it to about 3.2 volumes (according to BYO article weizens should have higher carbonation). Tasted it after 2 weeks in the bottle and it was damn good! Since then I brought some to a party and everyone loved it. :)
 
Great write up!

Question: How is it a five gallon batch when you used 2 gallons of water for mashing, then 2 gallons as sparge water. with evaporation and water lost to grains it seems like you would end up with more like 3 gallons of wort. Did I miss something?
 
Hoserama said:
Great write up!

Question: How is it a five gallon batch when you used 2 gallons of water for mashing, then 2 gallons as sparge water. with evaporation and water lost to grains it seems like you would end up with more like 3 gallons of wort. Did I miss something?
Click to expand...

yep, you missed this part:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/#post787505

where it says:

i split this 5 gallon batch into two 3 gallon fermenters and topped off with tap water. You may not be able to use your tap water to top off...you can either boil and cool some h20 or use bottled water if you'd like.
Click to expand...

i no longer recommend unfiltered tap water without testing. i always use bottled water now and i recently bought a new filter.
 
so essentially you put one and a half gallons of wort into each of the three gallon carboys (assuming 3 gallons of boiled wort) then top the carboys off with water?

That sure sounds like a 6 gallon batch to me (two three gallon fermenters). Still very confused how this is a five gallon batch.

???
 
i put 1.5 gallons into each container and topped off with 1 gallon each. thats 2 x 2.5 = 5 gallons

CARBOYS MUST ALWAYS HAVE HEADSPACE. i didn't top off all the way.

i've also used this method another way. i would boil down to about 2.5 gallons and put that in one 3 gallon carboy. then i would let that ferment as a strong ale. at kegging time, i would add 2 gallons of distilled water and dilute it down to a regular beer. it worked really well with some of the dark beers, not so well with my kolsch. it was a space-saving experiment :)

hope this helps let me know if you have any more questions.
 
im yet to start all grain brewing.. i do have a 10 gallon pot tho. would it be possible for me to start with 7 gal of water.. do the 154 deg mash.. then pull the grains and heat the pot to 185 and put the grains back in for the 170 deg? that should leave me with 6 gal to boil down to 5 or so right? if not then im not sure i yet understand.

sorry for my noobism
 
it would be best to use two pots.

your first pot is for your mash, where you will get the majority of your sugars.

your second pot is for the sparge, where you will extract FURTHER sugars from the grains.

if you leave it in the same pot, you will get worse efficiency.

BUT, if you wanted to start with 7 gallons of water and do a no-sparge BIAB (brew in a bag) it will work. just have extract on hand to make up for your effiency.

if you search "BIAB" or "no sparge" you may find some alternate methods. i call this my "tea-bag" method and it varies from most others i've seen.
 
Any tips for using the teabag method for a 2.5 gallon batch? 2 gallons in the Mash pot and 1 in the sparge pot and hop it boils down a bit?
 

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