gio
Well-Known Member
I've never brewed an AG recipe before because I lack the appropriate tools (mash tun, etc) but I found an AG recipe recently I wanted to try. Fortunately, I found a partial mash version of the same recipe that uses an extract but I have questions about how well it will actually work.
The partial mash recipe basically replaces some of the base grain with LME. It says to combine some of the remaining base grain with the speciality grains (some of which are mash-only) in a bag and heat it in water (first to 144 quickly then to 169 slowly) and to sparge by pouring 170 degree water over the grains in a strainer afterwards into the original container and then boil and proceed as normally.
This seems almost too simple and is pretty different from most of the other methods I've seen out there. I'm wondering if it will work and what are the potential disadvantages to this method.
First, is it a problem that I am boiling the wort in the same container I performed the mash in. Other partial mash directions usually have you prepare a separate container (such as a cooler with a spigot) with a bag of grain, then add hot water, wait, and then drain the wort in to the boiling pot.
I never really understood why you can't just use the boiling pot to mash and simply remove the bag of grain from the pot when you are done mashing. Is the problem due to issues with oxidation of the wort when the bag drips into the pot as it is sparged or removed? Or is a cooler preferred because it keeps a constant temperature without requiring it to sit on a stove?
The recipe also says to add the bag to the cool water, rapidly heat it to 144 then slowly (over 30 min) to 169. I assumed this is because the original AG recipe was a step mash with several rests between 144 to 169. Most of the partial mash recipes I've seen have you add hot water to the grain and let it sit. Is there an issue with mashing while adding heat on a stove?
Finally, it seems that this is truly a partial mash and not just steeping, although sometimes it is hard for me to tell when a recipe is mashing and when it is just steeping specialty grains. I've been told that steeping is very different from mashing since no enzyme activity actually takes place, but a simple partial mash like this both involve soaking a bag of grain in water at around 140-160 degrees for an extended period of time, so I'm wondering what the difference is?
The partial mash recipe basically replaces some of the base grain with LME. It says to combine some of the remaining base grain with the speciality grains (some of which are mash-only) in a bag and heat it in water (first to 144 quickly then to 169 slowly) and to sparge by pouring 170 degree water over the grains in a strainer afterwards into the original container and then boil and proceed as normally.
This seems almost too simple and is pretty different from most of the other methods I've seen out there. I'm wondering if it will work and what are the potential disadvantages to this method.
First, is it a problem that I am boiling the wort in the same container I performed the mash in. Other partial mash directions usually have you prepare a separate container (such as a cooler with a spigot) with a bag of grain, then add hot water, wait, and then drain the wort in to the boiling pot.
I never really understood why you can't just use the boiling pot to mash and simply remove the bag of grain from the pot when you are done mashing. Is the problem due to issues with oxidation of the wort when the bag drips into the pot as it is sparged or removed? Or is a cooler preferred because it keeps a constant temperature without requiring it to sit on a stove?
The recipe also says to add the bag to the cool water, rapidly heat it to 144 then slowly (over 30 min) to 169. I assumed this is because the original AG recipe was a step mash with several rests between 144 to 169. Most of the partial mash recipes I've seen have you add hot water to the grain and let it sit. Is there an issue with mashing while adding heat on a stove?
Finally, it seems that this is truly a partial mash and not just steeping, although sometimes it is hard for me to tell when a recipe is mashing and when it is just steeping specialty grains. I've been told that steeping is very different from mashing since no enzyme activity actually takes place, but a simple partial mash like this both involve soaking a bag of grain in water at around 140-160 degrees for an extended period of time, so I'm wondering what the difference is?