MrSmug
Well-Known Member
Whats the difference? Are they the same? Which one would come before the other in terms of difficulty?
Thanks
Thanks
Ok so BIAB < AG in terms of equipment/time. Where does partial mashes fit into this?
Ok so BIAB < AG in terms of equipment/time. Where does partial mashes fit into this? Also what equipment would be required to move from one to the next?
Thanks again
Ok so BIAB < AG in terms of equipment/time. Where does partial mashes fit into this? Also what equipment would be required to move from one to the next?
Thanks again
Partial is where is you are still using LME and DME with steeping grains (partial Mash). Some of the beer kits already have beginners making partial mash.
So I've been making extract beers and they all required steeping speciality grains for about 30 mins before mixing in LME/DME. This is considered partial mashing?
So I've been making extract beers and they all required steeping speciality grains for about 30 mins before mixing in LME/DME. This is considered partial mashing?
Ok so BIAB < AG in terms of equipment/time.
No, BIAB = AG. It's just not your traditional system that has HLT, MLT, and BK vessels but you're still doing all-grain in that it's a full mash, no extract necessary.
Extract with or without steeping grains-
this method is where all of the fermentable sugars come from the extract. the steeping grains give the beer flavors, aromas and body that the extract can not. this is the easiest way to get into brewing and requires only a brew pot and a way to heat it. generally you put your steeping grains in while you bring the pot up to a boil. taking the grains out before the water reaches 170. You continue onto a boil and add your extract and the add your hops at their respective times.
Partial mash-
partial mash is where a part of the fermentable sugars come from grains you mash yourself and part from extract. you most likely mash your specialty grains along with some base malt such as two row or pilsner. since you are only mashing part of the fermentables this method requires less equipment and investment. also if you mess up the mash and get a lower efficiency than expected you can correct this mistake by simply adding more extract. so it is a way to learn some of the basics before you go in hard to all grain. to do a partial mash you must have a way to hold a vessel at a temperature around 150 for about an hour. there are many temperatures and times but those are the basic ones. so you mill the grain and add the grain to water at a temperature that when mixed with the grain will yield a mash temp at around 150. you hold that temp for about an hour and then you remove the grain and sparge it by pouring water over it to reach your boil volume. from there you bring your wort up to a boil and add the remaining extract and proceed with your hopping schedule.
all grain-
all the fermentables and specialty grains are mashed and no extract is used. you mill the grain and add water to get the mash to around 150 and hold that temp for an hour. then you sparge to get your boil volume while also rinsing additional sugars from the grain. after you have your boil volume you begin to boil and proceed with your hopping schedule. this method requires a larger mashing vessel along with a system to keep the larger mash at the specific temperature. if you mess up the gravity you don't have extract to make up the difference.
Brew in a bag-
this is a method of all grain brewing or doing partial mashes. follow the directions for your type of brewing above but instead of simply putting the grain in the water you first put the grain in a mesh type bag and then putting the bag in the water. this method makes it easier to remove the grain from the water and allows you to skip having a system to separate the water from the grain. you still sparge to get your chosen boil volume and if you are partial mashing you can add your extract before you continue with your hopping schedule.
you could do a partial mash BIAB.
So do most amateur brewers use the BIAB approach or at least start off that way before investing in more equipment? Generally speaking is BIAB less efficient then the more traditional way?
In terms of equipment what would be the minimum needed for brewing 5 gallon batches for:
1) BIAB
2) More advanced method of AG
What are the required gallon sizes of the HLT, MLT and BK?
for a 5 gallons system I would suggest the brew kettle be 8-10 gallons to allow boil volume on various heating elements and potential boil overs. most people can get away with a 5 gallon mash tun but it might limit how high of a gravity you can reach. hot liquor tank only needs to be big enough to heat your biggest stike or sparge water volume.
Agree on BK, 8-10 gallons is best for a 5G system.
5G is too small for 5G batches, I have a 10G MLT and it gets completely filled for high gravity 5G batches. If you never want to brew with more than 10lbs of grain you'll do fine with a 5G mash tun, but that will get old quick.
I guess I didn't do the math. I had just seen lots of people suing those gatorade style coolers and assumed they were 5 gallons. Now that I think about it you would be correct.
I have one 11 gallon SS Bayou Classic kettle with their optional SS perferated basket.
Someone else actually recommended this exact kettle in another post I have. The only problem I have with this is I would like a ball valve and I really don't know how to install one myself. Was it easy?