Easy Partial Mash Brewing (with pics)

[Hoptimistic]

Step 5.5 (EDIT)
Pour the wort from your original mash into the pot with the sparge water (now wort as well) or vice-versa. Try to minimize splashing, but don't worry about it. Put your heat to high and proceed to Step 6.

Step 6:
As the water heats up, i add my extract. Some people wait until it boils, then remove from heat and add, but i find my method makes it quicker with no undesirable effects...just be sure to stir well. I add all my extract at the beginning of the boil.

Step 7:
Start your boil as usual! I reuse the grain bag for the hops...less to clean overall and it keeps me cleaning as i go. I'll clean the rest of the pots at this point too...i need the sink free. I use the binder clips again (be sure if you have a gas burner that you keep that nylon bag from going over the side and setting on fire.)

I use a partial boil, and adjust my hops accordingly, shooting for the middle or top of the style.

Step 8:
Cooling...i use a water bath in the apartment. i change the water out 3 times over about a half-hour period...the last time i will add ice to speed it up.

Step 9:
Sanitization...I use iodophor or star-san. I sanitize anything that could possibly touch the yeast or the wort, in this case my two 2.5 gallon carboys, my airlocks, my sampler, my funnel and i even throw the yeast packets in there.

NOTE: This solution is a little heavy...your iodine water does not need to be this dark. Use the manufacturer's recommended dosage.

that looks about right to me aint gonna hurt anything.

 

[cramar]

Read this a few times and decided to go for it, brewed everything up last weekend and it's sitting in the fermentor, looking forward to tasting it asap.

Great instructions, thanks!!

 

[StoatFloat]

Using this method now. Thank you!

 

[petey401]

Can't wait to graduate from extract brewing but I've been plugging in most of these recipes and All the numbers are off,especially low abv.i am using both biab and partial mash in my program. What am I missing? Or should I just try one of the recipe and go with it

 

[dstranger99]

Whatever happened to death brewer, the OP ?

 

[702marine]

Where do you get your grain?

 

[702marine]

and do you grind it?

 

[dstranger99]

^

You get the grain with any PM or AG recipe, or at your local HBS. And yes, you should have them to mill it.

 

[jimmyjjohn]

Nice write up and the pictures are great. This should be helpful to a lot of folks.

 

[TxBigHops]

Thanks Deathbrewer! Really awesome thread. I just used this to make my first PM, after doing two extracts with steeping grains. I had to make some adjustments for different equipment. I have a 9 gallon kettle and the 5 gallon paint strainer was too small (duh), so I just let it sit at the bottom of the kettle and lifted it up a bit when I needed to stir the grain. Worked ok, I guess, but I don't think I had very good efficiency, so I'll be looking to put together a mash tun soon. Temps were down to 140 by the time I was done with the mash. I was hoping this method would allow me to do a few more PMs before investing in more equipment, but oh well, all grain here I come!

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Thanks Deathbrewer! Really awesome thread. I just used this to make my first PM, after doing two extracts with steeping grains. I had to make some adjustments for different equipment. I have a 9 gallon kettle and the 5 gallon paint strainer was too small (duh), so I just let it sit at the bottom of the kettle and lifted it up a bit when I needed to stir the grain. Worked ok, I guess, but I don't think I had very good efficiency, so I'll be looking to put together a mash tun soon. Temps were down to 140 by the time I was done with the mash. I was hoping this method would allow me to do a few more PMs before investing in more equipment, but oh well, all grain here I come!

Check out BIAB. Much cheaper to pick up a bigger bag than build/ buy a cooler MLT! Don't get me wrong, I have a 5 & 10gal igloo and love em, but if you're looking to buy a little time...

 

[TxBigHops]

Check out BIAB. Much cheaper to pick up a bigger bag than build/ buy a cooler MLT! Don't get me wrong, I have a 5 & 10gal igloo and love em, but if you're looking to buy a little time...

Not sure what you mean by check out BIAB. I thought that's what this thread was about. Anyway, my main problem was heat loss, not the size of the bag which was just an inconvenience. There's a guy in my brew club who wrapped some kind of insulation and metallic duck tape around his kettle. Maybe that would help, then I could look for a bigger bag.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Well, there's a difference between PM and BIAB. If you go all grain and drop the extract you will have more thermal mass holding those temps. Most of the time what's holding people back is the size of their kettle which isn't an issue for you. You can also monitor the temp and add heat as necessary so you don't lose so much. Or you can insulate better. I was just saying that their are bigger bags out there for less money than a cooler MLT that might keep you using this technique for a while if you can overcome the heat loss and PITA of using a bag that's too small. Betcha a bigger grain bill's the key. Cheers!

 

[RM-MN]

Not sure what you mean by check out BIAB. I thought that's what this thread was about. Anyway, my main problem was heat loss, not the size of the bag which was just an inconvenience. There's a guy in my brew club who wrapped some kind of insulation and metallic duck tape around his kettle. Maybe that would help, then I could look for a bigger bag.

Things I have done to keep the heat in for the mash period is to use a bag that fits the pot I have (Wilserbrewer makes custom bags, good reputation), use a large volume of water for thermal mass, wrap some insulation around the pot and on the lid(I use a bath towel but a sleeping bag might be even better), and mill the grains finer so i don't need a 60 minute or longer mash. With the grains milled fine, I'm finding that I don't even need a 30 minute mash.

Here's a thread about Wilserbrewer's custom bags. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f244/wilserbrewer-biab-bags-441854/

 

[dobe12]

I BIAB in a 10 gallon pot using a 24"x24" grain sack and reflective insulation from home depot. Over a 60 min mash I lose no more than 2-3 degrees even in below freezing temps. On a warm day, I won't lose more than 1 degree. It's cheap and easy. You can pick up a roll for $25-$30.

 

[unionrdr]

I do pb/pm biab. I've found that it's the amount of head space that governs thermal efficiency. Too much head space,& you loose more temp then the other way around. If I mash 5-6 pounds of grain in 2 gallons of water I get about the right amount of head space in my 5 gallon kettle. I wrap it up in my quilted winter hunting coat tightly to hold the heat in. In warm weather,I actualy gain 1 degree.

 

[TxBigHops]

Thanks guys! Really, REALLY appreciate all the suggestions. Much as I love this new hobby (lifestyle?) it would be a disaster without this forum. Hardest part is pulling myself away from here to do life. Ha! Wish I had a buck for every time my wife has said "you're on that forum again?"

Every time I brew, I learn from the mistakes I made, or just from experiencing a new situation. This time, being my first PM, I now know that I need to fine tune the heat loss issue, work on efficiency (related?) and do a better job dialing in my volumes. Both OG and volume after boil were lower than I expected. I sat down after the brew and wrote out a bunch of detailed notes, so next brew I will make some adjustments and hopefully continue to improve.

 

[Norwaybrewer]

Are those pots really five gallons? i have 3 pots, four, three and three gallons, and they look just as big.

Anyway, will i be able to use this as in your recipe?

At least on a 3/4 scale comparwd to five gallons maybe?


Sent from my HUAWEI P6-U06 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[beergolf]

In warm weather,I actualy gain 1 degree

Obviously flunked science class. It is impossible to gain temp without some sort of heat source. If your temps rise then you should contact the goverment because you have found a new source of energy.

 

[702marine]

Its called carry over heat...

 

[beergolf]

Its called carry over heat...

It is just a mash that was not fully mixed and the temp was taken at an area that was not equalized.

 

[freisste]

Obviously flunked science class. It is impossible to gain temp without some sort of heat source. If your temps rise then you should contact the goverment because you have found a new source of energy.

Adiabatic heating - temp change without heat flow. It is how diesel engines ignite fuel without spark plugs.

Obviously not at work here...

 

[BrewerE]

where'd the pictures go???

 

[connolcj]

where'd the pictures go???

I second that....where are the pictures?

 

[Frilock]

where'd the pictures go???

I too am wondering.

 

[dstranger99]

This post is what got me into all grain, I always wondered whatever happened to deathbrewer ? Anyone know ??

 

[radiogorillaz]

Maybe a PM might raise him?

 

[steviebNY444]

I didn't really have time to read all 150 pages of this thread but does anyone know or has seen someone do this all grain instead of partial? Is it as simple as just more grain or is the brew bag constrained to not hold that much grain for say, an imperial stout.

 

[BrettV]

I didn't really have time to read all 150 pages of this thread but does anyone know or has seen someone do this all grain instead of partial? Is it as simple as just more grain or is the brew bag constrained to not hold that much grain for say, an imperial stout.

I've done 2 all-grain BIAB recipes. It is as simple as increasing the grain bill, but be forewarned that the more grain you use, the heavier and heavier that bag gets when saturated. My last batch used about 12 pounds of grain, and I'll bet it weighed 45-50 pounds soaking wet. An imperial stout will have even more, so keep that in mind, and make sure you have a friend around to help lift.

 

[BrewerE]

I didn't really have time to read all 150 pages of this thread but does anyone know or has seen someone do this all grain instead of partial? Is it as simple as just more grain or is the brew bag constrained to not hold that much grain for say, an imperial stout.

Isn't that called BAIB???

there's a thread for that...