Partial Mash Question.

[mhermetz]

Not sure the best way to describe this. I'll do my best though.

I'm trying to go partial mash but right now I only have one pot and a second is not likely to come until Christmas.

I can borrow my parents smaller 2-3 gallon pots though. So I'll have my 8 Gallon pot and a 2-3 Gallon pot for my Partial Mash.

My question. Is there any minimum size amount for a partial Mash? For example: Could I just mash 1-2lbs of vienna in the 3 gallon pot and use the small amount of wort from that to contribute to the boil with DME?

is it even worth it at that point?

 

[david_42]

No minimum and #2 of Vienna will certainly change the final product. With a large grain bag, you don't even need the second pot.

 

[mhermetz]

don't you need the second pot to sparge/rinse the grains?

 

[johnnyc]

You should look into doing a partial "Brew in a bag" or BIAB. Basically do a long steep with more grains in the bag then pull the bag out, top off to total boil volume, start your boil as usual and add extract to get your desired OG. No sparge and only one pot is needed.I'll look for a thread and edit this later.

 

[mhermetz]

You should look into doing a partial "Brew in a bag" or BIAB. Basically do a long steep with more grains in the bag then pull the bag out, top off to total boil volume, start your boil as usual and add extract to get your desired OG. No sparge and only one pot is needed.I'll look for a thread and edit this later.

I had no idea you can just use one pot... This is awesome. :rockin:

 

[RootsUltimate]

Do you have a cooler?

I've done several PM beers using one brew pot and a 3 gallon jug cooler.

Heat the mash water in your brew pot.
Transfer to cooler.
Add grains to a large grain bag. Drop in cooler and close it up. Stir every now and again during the mash.
Sparge by heating up sparge water in your brew pot. Then transfer the bag from the the cooler to the pot.
Sparge, remove bag, and combing wort in the pot.

It's not ideal, and I'm going to upgrade, but with a 5 gal pot and a small cooler I can do a PM with about 7-8 lbs of grain and get a post boil volume of about 4 gallons before top off.

 

[mhermetz]

Do you have a cooler?

I've done several PM beers using one brew pot and a 3 gallon jug cooler.

Heat the mash water in your brew pot.
Transfer to cooler.
Add grains to a large grain bag. Drop in cooler and close it up. Stir every now and again during the mash.
Sparge by heating up sparge water in your brew pot. Then transfer the bag from the the cooler to the pot.
Sparge, remove bag, and combing wort in the pot.

It's not ideal, and I'm going to upgrade, but with a 5 gal pot and a small cooler I can do a PM with about 7-8 lbs of grain and get a post boil volume of about 4 gallons before top off.

nice tip... seeing as I'm in Canada and leaving a mash outside in a pot for 60min won't be a good idea. I do have a cooler that would work for that but it's insanely dirty. Stains everywhere... I should see if it will clean up with some Starsan or some good boiling water.

 

[starrfish]

Just found this great link to partial mash.

Countertop Partial Mashing
Author: Chris Colby
Issue: October 2006
Online Date: Monday, 02 October 2006

http://***********/component/resource/article/511-countertop-partial-mashing

great info for up to 4lbs of grain.

 

[C4PNJ4ZZ]

You could do the brew in a bag method as mentioned, and do a sparge in a strainer.

Pull the grain bag, let it drain then put it in a strainer over the pot. Then ladle your sparge water over the grains. This should improve your efficiency somewhat.

I do 5.5lb stove-top partial mashes on all my batches and normally do a sparge in a second pot. On a recent batch it did it with a strainer and it worked. My efficiency wasn't as good, but it still made damn good beer. I do cheat a little by using a phenomenal 12 qt SS All-clad steamer pot as my mashtun. I found it in a closet at my folks house. It holds temps phenomenally well and the steamer basket works as a strainer. But a pasta strainer will work just fine.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000696J1/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[yetanothersteve]

Deathbrewer's two pot pictorial on partial mash

I did this and it worked very well. I have a 21.5 quart pot for boiling and a 4 gallon pot for the mashing. I could just have easily mashed in a 2 or 3 gallon pot but I was not sure how much space 4# of grains would take.

One pot would work as well, but you might want to find a way to rinse to get the last sugars off the grain.