Move to Partial Mash

[MSUCatBrewer]

Hi All,

I have bottled (2) standard extract kits, and I am brewing my 3rd on Saturday. I am hoping to make my move to All Grain by June, but I want to take my time, go through the strokes, and make sure my technique and knowledge are all sound before I take the plunge.

After Saturday's brew, I am going to make the move to partial mash. I am going to build a 10 gal mash tun prior to my move to All Grain, but I'm not there yet. As such, what would be a good partial mash tun? An unmodified 4-5 gallon cooler perhaps? A cheapy? Or something more sophisticated.

Also, when doing partial mash, should I sparge? If so, can somebody provide me some advice on that?

Thanks much!

 

[brewskiez]

That's about what I did... 3 extracts then right to all grain. I was going to make a mash tun but then I discovered Brew in a bag or BIAB. Probably the most expensive thing you need is the boil pot which you need for both BIAB and standard all grain brewing. I got a 62 qt bayou classic off Amazon for $100 and a Eagle brew bag 29"x29" $11 and it works well you just heat your water in the pot and mash in the pot. When the times up you pull the bad out and let it strain and squeeze the juices out then boil. Definetly get a wort chiller to if you don't have one already.

 

[RM-MN]

Hi All,

I have bottled (2) standard extract kits, and I am brewing my 3rd on Saturday. I am hoping to make my move to All Grain by June, but I want to take my time, go through the strokes, and make sure my technique and knowledge are all sound before I take the plunge.

After Saturday's brew, I am going to make the move to partial mash. I am going to build a 10 gal mash tun prior to my move to All Grain, but I'm not there yet. As such, what would be a good partial mash tun? An unmodified 4-5 gallon cooler perhaps? A cheapy? Or something more sophisticated.

Also, when doing partial mash, should I sparge? If so, can somebody provide me some advice on that?

Thanks much!

It's almost June already, are you ready for all grain?

Check out BIAB as it is so simple with great results and you probably have almost all you need already if you are willing to make a small batch. Just get a 5 gallon paint strainer bag from the local big box store and you can do a 2 1/2 gallon batch in your 5 gallon boil pot.

Then since you haven't spent a bunch of money converting a cooler that you have to buy you can decide if you want to continue with BIAB or go conventional.

 

[MSUCatBrewer]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll for sure look into BIAB.

I currently have a 10 gal boil kettle which will afford me a number of options...

Regarding whether or not I'll be ready for all grain by June...who knows!? I plan to do at least 3 partial mash kits in order to learn the ropes. If they aren't going well, I'll need more practice. I am doing a lot of reading and asking lots of questions. So as my comfort level and vocabulary increases, hopefully so too will my competency.

Another question...all of the partial mash kits on Northern Brewer call for staged partial mash (mash at temp A, then heat to temp B)...this eliminates the use of a mash tun...is staged mashing necessary?

Thanks! Please keep commenting!

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll for sure look into BIAB.

I currently have a 10 gal boil kettle which will afford me a number of options...

Regarding whether or not I'll be ready for all grain by June...who knows!? I plan to do at least 3 partial mash kits in order to learn the ropes. If they aren't going well, I'll need more practice. I am doing a lot of reading and asking lots of questions. So as my comfort level and vocabulary increases, hopefully so too will my competency.

Another question...all of the partial mash kits on Northern Brewer call for staged partial mash (mash at temp A, then heat to temp B)...this eliminates the use of a mash tun...is staged mashing necessary?

Thanks! Please keep commenting!

I'm trying my best to get you to skip partial mash kits. You could start out with an all grain recipe and just keep some dry malt extract to add in case you got poor efficiency and needed to boost your OG a bit. To me that would make it partial mash. I waited too long to start all grain because of all the equipment needed and the problems with hitting the OG but when I finally tried a small batch with BIAB and a really finely milled grain I exceeded the planned OG by quite a bit. I would suggest you put a mill in your budget. Without that you are at the mercy of the LHBS which often doesn't have the mill set tight enough for good efficiency and can change the setting at any time which will screw up your consistency which will make you wonder what you did wrong when it had nothing to do with your process.:rockin:

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

If your decide to stick with your partial mash plan, you don't have to break the bank. When I moved to partial mash I just used a small 16 qt cooler I already had. I actually did BIAB in that cooler.

I would preheat the cooler with hot water first. Then I heated my mash water in my BK a few degrees higher than strike temp and poured into the cooler. Once it dropped to strike temp, I put my grains in a mesh bag, lowered it into the cooler, mixed it a bit and put the lid on. Once the mash time was done, I lifted the bag out and placed it in some sparge water in my BK. After the batch sparge, I drained and disposed of the grains and added the wort from the cooler into the BK and started the boil.

Once I moved to AG BIAB, the only thing I didn't need anymore was the small cooler, which went back into service as my beach day beer cooler

 

[MSUCatBrewer]

I'm trying my best to get you to skip partial mash kits. You could start out with an all grain recipe and just keep some dry malt extract to add in case you got poor efficiency and needed to boost your OG a bit. To me that would make it partial mash. I waited too long to start all grain because of all the equipment needed and the problems with hitting the OG but when I finally tried a small batch with BIAB and a really finely milled grain I exceeded the planned OG by quite a bit. I would suggest you put a mill in your budget. Without that you are at the mercy of the LHBS which often doesn't have the mill set tight enough for good efficiency and can change the setting at any time which will screw up your consistency which will make you wonder what you did wrong when it had nothing to do with your process.:rockin:

I've been reading more about BIAB...it sounds like it is the much better entry point to AG brewing than partial mash. Does everybody agree? If so, I'll change my plan and make my first non-extract brew BIAB rather than Partial Mash. At some point I'll totally want to go conventional because of the challenge and such, but BIAB may be the best next step. Thoughts? And THANKS AGAIN!

 

[RM-MN]

Making the assumption you have a 5 gallon pot or larger you can make a 2 1/2 gallon batch very easily. It will be cheap to set up, and half the cost of the 5 gallon batch. If you really screw it up, you've only lost 2 1/2 gallons. Keep good records of what grains you use and the amount of water. Notes on the amount of wort collected and the gravity of it will be essential too as you need those to find the brewhouse efficiency. You'll need that to plan your next brews so you know how much base malt you need to "hit your numbers" and get the OG that you want. If your efficiency is lower than expected by the recipe you can add DME to bring this batch up to where it belongs and knowing the efficiency you can add (or subtract) the amount of base malt needed for the next batch.

 

[Kent88]

I do all-grain and partial-extract batches, switching back and forth based on batch volume, amount of grist, etc. I typically brew 1-3 gallon batches.

I use a 3-gallon igloo cooler and it seems to work pretty well. It holds the temperature nicely. My only issue with it is with stuck sparges, which I blame on my false bottom. Also, I can't really make a full 3-gallon batch of moderate strength beer without adding at least some extract, but I don't count that as a big problem because I still think it makes good beer. I feel good mashing in 5.5lbs of grain in my mash tun, because even if I add enough water to make a fairly dilute mash it can handle it.

I sparge my partial-extract batches. I always try to start with an all grain recipe and then modify it so that I have as much of the fermentable sugar as possible come from grain without stuffing my mash-tun. I usually plug in my grains into the BrewersFriend recipe calculator, note the starting gravity, and then I add the appropriate DME to the list of ingredients, and I start playing with numbers. I think along the lines of "If I want to reduce the amount of grain I'm mashing with to about 5lbs, how much base malt do I have to cut? How much DME do I have to use to get the gravity back to where it should be", keeping in mind that I want enough base malt for their enzymes. If you get desperate, keep in mind that some grains only need to be steeped and don't need to go in your mash-tun. So for me sparging is essential.

BIAB is simple enough, but if you go the cooler route get something you can use down the line with your all-grain setup. You could repurpose the cooler for a hot liquor tank (where you keep water you have warmed and treated for mashing/infusing/sparging). I wouldn't recommend my 3-gallon cooler if you are planning to make 10-gallon batches.

 

[MSUCatBrewer]

Calling another audible. After talking to some local home here we're, I think I'm going to take my chances with all grain and learn through study/failure. Worst that can happen is it tastes bad and I waste $50 bucks. I'm all about the challenge, learning, and getting better, so this approach is going to help me with that. Saturday I'll brew my final purchased extract kit and then I'll begin preparations. I'll be doing many more threads. I really appreciate all of your help!