Easy Partial Mash Brewing (with pics)

[Justibone]

One really easy way to maximize this is to take the grain bag after the sparge and to set it in a colander nested into a slightly smaller steel mixing bowl while the wort is getting back up to a boil. During the brewing process I periodically empty the bowl into the boil and I get back a lot of precious wort that way that would otherwise go into the trash.

I would recommend against grain in the boil at any point. Theoretically, this is causing tannin release, which will affect the flavor of your beer.

I'd rather lose 4% of the sugars than make my beer taste funny.

 

[el_caro]

I would recommend against grain in the boil at any point. Theoretically, this is causing tannin release, which will affect the flavor of your beer.

I do not think he means putting the actual grain bag in the boil but rather the drainings from the grain bag?

 

[CortexBomb]

I do not think he means putting the actual grain bag in the boil but rather the drainings from the grain bag?

Yes, exactly. I basically hold the bag as long as I can per the original post (which varies based on how many pounds of wet grain it contains ) and then set it in the colander over the steel bowl to let it drip drain while the wort is going to a boil. I don't ever put grain into the boil, just the extra drippings.

 

[Justibone]

Ah, okay! My bad.

 

[casperjah]

i find if i do this, i waste all my ice (i only use the 3 trays) and i end up having to drain the water several more times and it takes longer. the water i use to dilute is about 55°F. i would probably use boiled water and stick it in the freezer, if it wasn't full of hops

Could you place small bottles of water in the freezer,freeze for a few days and then use these along with the ice? they would be sterile from the freezer.... I use these as coolers with in my food bag when camping but I freeze juice and then drink them as they defrost.

I am putting this point in about 100 posts after the original post so I am sure its in there somewhere.

 

[Justibone]

Could you place small bottles of water in the freezer,freeze for a few days and then use these along with the ice? they would be sterile from the freezer.... I use these as coolers with in my food bag when camping but I freeze juice and then drink them as they defrost.

I am putting this point in about 100 posts after the original post so I am sure its in there somewhere.

Nothing is really "sterile" from a freezer, unfortunately. Living organisms die off in those temperatures, but they leave spores behind that can grow when conditions improve.

We really don't worry about "sterile" in brewing, though. "Sanitized" is good enough. Truly sterile requires control of airflow, etc. It's really annoying, actually.

You would probably be fine using frozen water bottles from the freezer. I just had to be a pedant for a moment there.

 

[agentEhrman]

What a great thread, thanks DB! I finished my first partial yesterday and I can't wait to try it out. By my calculations, I was only at about 55% efficiency, but it was fun and I felt like I was getting closer to brewing with the big dogs. I did have trouble controlling the temp on my electric stove, I was able to move the thermo around and find hot spots, which forced me to take the lid off and stir quite a bit. I was never able to turn off the burner. Next time I plan to use higher temps for strike water, hopefully this helps. Anyways, this may be the most useful thread I have found on HBT yet!

 

[DeathBrewer]

Heh. Those ribs are LONG gone.

Someone had mentioned using frozen water bottles. Your freezer is never a sterile environment. In fact, they are often rife with bacteria.

I would recommend using the frozen water bottles in your water to help cool the wort, but not in the wort itself. There is just no way to keep it sanitary.

I do know some people that use store-bought ice and open the bag just to pour in the wort. I suppose this could be more sanitary, depending on the manufacturing and packaging conditions.

 

[CnnmnSchnpps]

Heh. Those ribs are LONG gone.

Someone had mentioned using frozen water bottles. Your freezer is never a sterile environment. In fact, they are often rife with bacteria.

I would recommend using the frozen water bottles in your water to help cool the wort, but not in the wort itself. There is just no way to keep it sanitary.

I do know some people that use store-bought ice and open the bag just to pour in the wort. I suppose this could be more sanitary, depending on the manufacturing and packaging conditions.

Store-bought ice won't be sterile either. Before I made a pre-chiller for my immersion cooler, I used to freeze a bunch of small water bottles then dump them in starsan for a minute before using them to cool my wort - never had an infection but was always a bit worried. Now I use ice water for the pre-chiller and it's alot easier/less hassle.

 

[lowtones84]

First of all, thank you DB and everybody else for the amazing thread. It's taken me three days off and on to read it, but it's all so valuable!

This is a fairly specific recipe question. I want a pretty big oatmeal stout with some good roasted character. It is based off of "Ucklduckfay Oatmeal Stout" from the Papazian book with a few minor changes, partially inspired by other oatmeal stout recipes on this site. Can someone tell me if this seems plausible with the method this post describes?

1 lb. quick (cut and rolled) oats
4 lbs. 6-row pale malted barley
1/2 lb. crystal malt (perhaps black patent instead?)
1/2 lb. chocolate malt
1/2 lb. roasted barley
3.3 (or more like 4.3 or so) Dark DME
2 tsp. gypsum
2 oz. Williamette Hops (Bittering)
1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (flavor)
1/4 oz. Hallertauer hops (aroma)
1/4 tsp. Irish moss
American or Irish ale-type yeast.

Any help/suggestions would be great.
Thanks!

 

[dbsmith]

1 lb. quick (cut and rolled) oats
4 lbs. 6-row pale malted barley
1/2 lb. crystal malt (perhaps black patent instead?)
1/2 lb. chocolate malt
1/2 lb. roasted barley
3.3 (or more like 4.3 or so) Dark DME
2 tsp. gypsum
2 oz. Williamette Hops (Bittering)
1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (flavor)
1/4 oz. Hallertauer hops (aroma)
1/4 tsp. Irish moss
American or Irish ale-type yeast.

Any help/suggestions would be great.
Thanks!

I don't think you need any Irish Moss because stouts are so dark that clarity is not really an issue. Also, I think your hops may be a bit on the heavy side, but that is just a matter of preference. Good luck!

 

[Justibone]

First of all, thank you DB and everybody else for the amazing thread. It's taken me three days off and on to read it, but it's all so valuable!

This is a fairly specific recipe question. I want a pretty big oatmeal stout with some good roasted character. It is based off of "Ucklduckfay Oatmeal Stout" from the Papazian book with a few minor changes, partially inspired by other oatmeal stout recipes on this site. Can someone tell me if this seems plausible with the method this post describes?

1 lb. quick (cut and rolled) oats
4 lbs. 6-row pale malted barley
1/2 lb. crystal malt (perhaps black patent instead?)
1/2 lb. chocolate malt
1/2 lb. roasted barley
3.3 (or more like 4.3 or so) Dark DME
2 tsp. gypsum
2 oz. Williamette Hops (Bittering)
1/2 oz. Hallertauer hops (flavor)
1/4 oz. Hallertauer hops (aroma)
1/4 tsp. Irish moss
American or Irish ale-type yeast.

Any help/suggestions would be great.
Thanks!

Have you done your water profile to be certain you need the gypsum? Adding it in there when you don't need it is not necessarily a good thing.

Also, I calculate ~6.5 lbs of grain. When it gets wet, it will be a lot heavier. Don't underestimate how big a bag you need to hold that much grain, and also how big of a pot of water you'll need for sparging.

2 ounces of bittering hops is probably unnecessary. If you're doing a 60-minute boil it's my opinion that you don't need to use a low-alpha hop for that bittering. Save yourself a little cash and get less of a high-alpha hop. If you want to be a purist, or if you think that aroma persists in minute amounts after that long of a boil, then do what you feel is best.

Fuggles or EKG might be a more characteristic hop for stouts, IMO.

Irish moss is not necessary, I agree, but it won't hurt either.

Which crystal malt were you going to use? 60L is probably what you're thinking, and it adds a really nice caramel-toasted-marshmallow note to beers. Is that what you were going for? Black patent is VERY bitter and VERY dark... you barely need any at all. Add maybe an ounce if you want to darken the color up a lot. Use a calculator to find the best solution.

If you want the beer to be kinda sweet, mash at a higher temp (155F) and use the Irish yeast. American yeast will dry it out, so that would be good for a dry stout. If you don't have a lockdown on how you mash, you might consider adding a couple ounces of lactose to sweeten the beer a bit for a sweet stout, or just a few ounces of corn sugar to help dry it out if you are going for a dry stout.

The above is purely my opinion. I've brewed precisely *one* stout recipe, though... so take it for what it's worth.

Enjoy!

 

[lowtones84]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

The hops did seem a bit on the heavy side, I'll probably at least tone down the bittering hops. I'll considering changing the Hallertauer to Fuggles as well, I just wanted to try something a little different. As for the crystal I was definitely thinking of something on the darker side. I don't think I need the black patent or the Irish moss after your suggestions and thinking about it a bit more. I've only done two stout recipes, so it's still all a learning experience for sure!

I realize it's a lot of grain, but by my calculations a five gallon pot would be large enough, correct? After that it's mostly an issue of the bag, I feel.

Thanks again!

 

[Justibone]

If you're worried about bag-size, check out paint strainers. They work pretty darned well.

Also, you need to decide if you want dry or sweet stout. If you want dry then: don't use Crystal, use the American yeast, add the Black Patent for roastiness, and consider adding some roasted barley for the burnt coffee flavor. If you want a sweet stout, use Crystal 60 or 80, use the Irish yeast, skip the Black Patent (but keep the chocolate), and consider adding a smidgen (about 1 ounce) of lactose.

I read up on stouts last night, and that's the gist of what I picked up. Good luck to you!

 

[ImperialStout]

I am new to brewing but wanted to share my thoughts on using Irish Moss in a stout. Clarity is not an issue but I think using Irish Moss and letting the beer sit in the secondary a week can help reduce the amount of sludge in the bottom of the bottle. Just made a RIS and did not use Irish Moss or a secondary and have more sludge in the bottle than I like. Will try Irish Moss and secondary next time and see what happens.

Justibone, enjoyed your comments. Where did you "read up" on stouts? Have read Charlie Papazian's book "Joy of Home Brewing" and am reading John Palmer's book "How to Brew". Neither seem to have a section on stouts where adjusting the recipe for body, flavour etc is discussed. I am sure the info is there, just not in one easy to find chapter. Any thoughts?

 

[Justibone]

Justibone, enjoyed your comments. Where did you "read up" on stouts? Have read Charlie Papazian's book "Joy of Home Brewing" and am reading John Palmer's book "How to Brew". Neither seem to have a section on stouts where adjusting the recipe for body, flavour etc is discussed. I am sure the info is there, just not in one easy to find chapter. Any thoughts?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381926/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

That's where I read it. I also have

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381500/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

but I didn't read the stout section in there.

 

[ImperialStout]

Thanks. There is SOOOO much to learn about brewing. Sometimes I have to read a book and apply the advice before I really understand what the hell they were talking about. It is a long process but worth doing.

 

[Kronin]

Step 5:
Dispose of your grains and spray all the grains out of your bag. Hang it to dry for a bit...you'll be using it again soon.

[/QUOTE]

Save the grains if you know anyone with backyard chickens.... they love this sweet grain.

 

[Davious]

I am a pretty new brewer. I always do a partial mash just like this thread and my beer has always turned out good, but very dark. Every time my beers have turned out darker than they should, especially for the style I am making. Do you know what could be going wrong? I usually steep for 45 to an hour @ 150 degrees, sparge with a gallon of water, add water to 5 gal, bring to a boil, add the extract then boil for 1 hour.

Also. I am confused about your step 10...?

 

[JimTheHick]

. Every time my beers have turned out darker... bring to a boil, add the extract then boil for 1 hour.

Try adding the extract at 15 minutes. Boiling it for the full hour is often quoted as yielding a darker than intended color.

 

[Justibone]

When I switched to small all-grain batches (half-gallon, using this method), my beers got lighter and beautiful. Except for the ones that are supposed to be dark, of course.

I think extract just makes darker beers. *shrug*

 

[Justibone]

Step 10:
Ferment...i split this 5 gallon batch into two 3 gallon fermenters and topped off with bottled water. Be sure the top-off water is sanitary...either boil and cool some h20 or use bottled water, if you'd like.

With this beer, I used two different yeasts (nottingham and windsor) and eventually blended them back together into one keg.

As for target gravity, i usually shoot for the middle of the style at 65% efficiency. i've experienced as low as 55%, but it's usually in the 65-70 range. as this is meant to be an enjoyable brew day, i don't take a sample until the beer is finished, poured and topped off.

So, this step is pretty easy. Just pour the beer into your fermentor. What he did with this batch was ferment it in two separate carboys, using two different yeasts. He didn't have to do it that way -- he was just experimenting or something. One fermentor and one yeast is the usual way to do things.

As for gravity, that's the content of the sugar in the wort, if that's what is confusing you. Since no process is 100% efficient, he comments here that he tends to only get about 65% (70% with a longer sparge, he mentions) of the sugars from grains as he would from extract. If you are doing partial mash to get some of your fermentables, you have to know the percentage so that your hops are in balance and your ABV% isn't too low. To calculate your gravity, use a hydrometer towards the end of the boil (cool your sample; hydrometers can be adjusted for temperature but boiling is a bit too hot for accurate measurements). I like to do it at the end of the boil (and I use a refractometer instead of a hydrometer) because my volume is about right... you can do it at the beginning of the boil but it takes a bit more math to account for the boil-off volume.

Did you have a more specific question, or did I answer it?

 

[Davious]

He said that he eventually blended them back together into one keg, that's what I'm confused on. Also, when he splits the 5 gal into (2) 2.5 gallons in two 3 gal carboys, does he "top off" to reach 3 gallons in each carboy then?

 

[Justibone]

He said that he eventually blended them back together into one keg, that's what I'm confused on.

Yeast are probably the third largest contributor to flavor. It's not too crazy that an experienced brewer would wonder what would happen if you blended them.

Also, when he splits the 5 gal into (2) 2.5 gallons in two 3 gal carboys, does he "top off" to reach 3 gallons in each carboy then?

No, you generally don't "top-off" beer. The CO2 blanket created by fermentation is usually protection enough. If you make wine, you know that you don't top off the primary or even the secondary fermentation with wine, either, but rather you top off after the first racking.

Topping off is done to reduce surface area for gas exchange. That's not a problem for most beers, unless you plan to bulk-age it (as in barleywine, Tripels, doppelbocks, etc.).

 

[brewpoint0]

I'm sure this is in here somewhere, but I can't find it. I want to do a full boil via partial mash for a 5 gallon batch. I only have 6.25lbs of grain, so I'd have about 2.5 gallons of strike water. If I only sparge with 2 gallons, can you just top off with an extra 1.5 gallons of water before boiling to get to 6 or so gallons or should I wait until after I've added the extract (about 4-5 lbs of it) to see where I'm at? I also thought about just boiling with the 4.5 gallons and topping off in the fermenter like I usually do. Any suggestions?

 

[BostonBrewins]

I used the standard 24X24 grain bag recommended, and there was a large amount of grain husks in the boil. Has anyone else noticed this as well and if so, did you have any tannin issues?

 

[yemag]

I haven't brewed for a few years. Getting back into hb with a hefe. Thanks dude!:rockin:

 

[pinback]

I used the standard 24X24 grain bag recommended, and there was a large amount of grain husks in the boil. Has anyone else noticed this as well and if so, did you have any tannin issues?

were your grains double crushed?

is this the 24x24 "medium" grain bag? i was thinking of purchasing that one myself..

 

[Justibone]

I'm sure this is in here somewhere, but I can't find it. I want to do a full boil via partial mash for a 5 gallon batch. I only have 6.25lbs of grain, so I'd have about 2.5 gallons of strike water.

You can do 1-2 quarts of water per lb of grain, generally. More water means a maltier beer, so style matters for how much water you use. You could use 6.25 quarts (1.5+ gallons) or up to 12.5 quarts (3+ gallons). Your number of 2.5 gallons is a middle number.

If I only sparge with 2 gallons, can you just top off with an extra 1.5 gallons of water before boiling to get to 6 or so gallons or should I wait until after I've added the extract (about 4-5 lbs of it) to see where I'm at?

You should top up with your sparge water, of course, but if you use more than that is a matter of preference. The question is, why use only 2 gallons for the sparge? I often do two sparges, once with my calculated sparge water that is warmed to the proper temperature (to better dissolve the sugars), and then I sparge again with my room-temperature top-off water. Does it increase my efficiency? I think so... but not by much.

I'd say, don't boil your extract too much. Boiling your extract, or not boiling, does change hop utilization slightly, but software can account for that. So long as your concentration of sugar in the boil is the same, it doesn't matter what the volume is if you just care about hop utilization. So should you add your extract to get to your sugar concentration for hop utilization? I don't think so. I'd just kinda go with it... most people don't notice that small of a difference in IBUs. That's my opinion. It depends on the recipe, though.

I also thought about just boiling with the 4.5 gallons and topping off in the fermenter like I usually do. Any suggestions?

I personally prefer topping off in the fermenter with cold water, it helps get those last few degrees down (from 100F down to 80F).

That's just my opinion.

 

[brewpoint0]

Thanks for the tip. I just realized that my largest stockpot is only 5 gallons anyways. Means I'll be cutting it darn close when I add 5lbs of DME....