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Easy Partial Mash Brewing (with pics)

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I'm planning my first mini mash using this method and a Belgian Pale ale mini mash kit from AHB. The kit has 2 1/2 lbss of Belgian pale ale malt and 1/2 lb of Caravienne.

I am going to the LHBS later and was wondering if i could add another pound or so of additional grains. Is this a good idea or not. This is my fisrt venture away from extract brewing.

What do you guys/gals recommend?
 
I'm planning my first mini mash using this method and a Belgian Pale ale mini mash kit from AHB. The kit has 2 1/2 lbss of Belgian pale ale malt and 1/2 lb of Caravienne.

I am going to the LHBS later and was wondering if i could add another pound or so of additional grains. Is this a good idea or not. This is my fisrt venture away from extract brewing.

What do you guys/gals recommend?

For a Belgian Pale throw in .25# of Biscuit malt into the minimash, it'll rock your world. :rockin:
 
here is my belgian pale. it tasted JUST like a dekonick, albeit a little more alcoholic :D

Belgian Pale

A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

16-B Belgian & French Ale, Belgian Pale Ale

Min OG: 1.048 Max OG: 1.054
Min IBU: 20 Max IBU: 30
Min Clr: 8 Max Clr: 14 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 12.75
Anticipated OG: 1.060 Plato: 14.73
Anticipated SRM: 8.7
Anticipated IBU: 22.7
Brewhouse Efficiency: 71 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.47 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.051 SG 12.61 Plato


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
78.4 10.00 lbs. Pilsener Belgium 1.037 2
7.8 1.00 lbs. CaraVienne Malt Belgium 1.034 22
7.8 1.00 lbs. Biscuit Malt Belgium 1.035 24
3.9 0.50 lbs. Flaked Oats America 1.033 2
2.0 0.25 lbs. Aromatic Malt Belgium 1.036 25

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.70 oz. Fuggle Pellet 4.25 12.7 60 min.
0.50 oz. Goldings - E.K. Whole 5.20 6.3 35 min.
0.30 oz. Saazer Pellet 3.25 2.6 35 min.
0.30 oz. Saazer Pellet 3.25 1.1 15 min.


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP550 Belgian Ale


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 12.75
Water Qts: 16.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 4.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.25 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 154 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 151 Time: 0
Sparge Temp : 170 Time: 10


Total Mash Volume Gal: 5.02 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.

it took a while for the caravienne to mellow out, though, because a pound was a bit much ;)

you could add:
0.25 biscuit, 0.5 lb flaked outs, 0.25 aromatic malt

something like that, no matter what start off with small quantities. all of these malts can be overpowering if too much is used.

let us know how it turns out!
:mug:
 
Deathbrewer, I have to say that you have a great thread here and all the questions make it better yet. You have done your homework well as evidenced by your answers and that is what makes you a good brewer. I look at brewing as an art and in order to be good at it you need to study what works for others who brew well and you have done that.
 
I'm glad people are finding this thread helpful!

i've only been brewing for four years, but i treat it like everything else...there's ALWAYS something to learn. no perfect style to brewing and definitely no one way to do it :D

I've done a ton of reading on brewing but I discover something new on these forums almost every day. HBT brought me into a new realm of brewing and i'm happy to give something back. i've got more experiments on the way and will have some new threads soon :)

this weekend i'm using this method to brew my little red hen ale and another beer at a friends house. it makes everything so easy, quick, and clean.

don't be afraid of the mini mash! keep the questions coming!
:mug:
 
Ok, so me & a buddy have JUST started brewing from extract, with a basic

paint-by-numbers kit. We're going to step it up next time because I'm sure

this won't taste great like a beer could with a little more effort. So.... when

you speak of diastatic power..this is the potential of the grain to create

sugars when boiled which then ferment into alcohol? And when you speak of

"efficiency", this is the maximum % of sugars that could be produced from

said grain? And the lower the DP, the more grain you'd need? I'm just trying

to clarify what I suspect I understand already. Thanks DB.
 
this is the potential of the grain to create

sugars when boiled which then ferment into alcohol?

Grain should NEVER be boiled because it will release unwanted tannins, resulting in mouth-puckering astringent beer

And when you speak of "efficiency", this is the maximum % of sugars that could be produced from said grain?

True, many things affect efficiency such as crush, temperatures, lautering techniques, etc.

And the lower the DP, the more grain you'd need?

Some specialty grains need to be mashed to convert their starches to fermentable sugars. One way to do that in a PM is to use a %age of base malts: 2-row, vienna, pilsner, munich, etc.

Any "seasoned" brewers feel free to edit some of my material, but i believe its correct.
 
diastatic power is the amount of enzymes the grains have that are able to convert starches into sugars. basically, the enzymes break them down into simple sugars that the yeast can eat.

after conversion is complete, you remove the grains and start your boil. never boil grains.

mashing is basically "steeping" at a specific temperature with a specific amount of water/grain ratio.

efficiency is the amount of sugars extracted from the grains (converted from straches)...good efficiency rates are generally higher than 70%

So grains with a higher diastatic power can convert the starches in other grains. grains like munich and vienna can't convert much else other than themselves. you generally would only need a small amount of 2-row to convert the other grains in a partial mash recipe.

more on Diastatic Power
 
Great thread! I have a brown ale bottled and am waiting for a free night to brew my octoberfest kit, but after that I am DEFINITELY going to try this! Can we please get this stickied?:ban:
 
lol, much call for this to be stickied! i'm all for that and appreciate it, although i'm not sure it's necessary. i will be directing people here often enough and keeping the thread alive. i'm going to make improvements to the original posts soon...some clarification is needed judging by the comments and messages i've been receiving.

oh, and i've been using the 10 min sparge instead of just doing a quick "teabag" :D

it has increased my efficiency...i've been at a steady 70% the last few batches.
 
weak...tell me it didn't go back in the wort!!!

i've always had a couple of gallons available when i use my 5 gallon pot.

i think i could do my little red hen all-grain 5 gallons with this recipe, which should be about the same quantity. i'm going to give it a shot soon, maybe this weekend...
 
weak...tell me it didn't go back in the wort!!!

i've always had a couple of gallons available when i use my 5 gallon pot.

i think i could do my little red hen all-grain 5 gallons with this recipe, which should be about the same quantity. i'm going to give it a shot soon, maybe this weekend...

The seam busted RIGHT after I got done sparging in my other pot. I had just picked up the bag and was letting it drain. No grain in the wort!
 
sweet...glad to hear that. sounds like you need a stronger bag now! :D

btw, anyone that notices my pics are down it is because my web host is down. i'm sure they're working on the problem...i can't contact them at the moment.
 
Is that a common occurance? I think I will need to also purchase a stronger bag if this is prone to happening. Needless to say, if the grains fell into my wort, I would not be a happy camper... :mad:
 
DB -- or anyone skilled in partial mashing -- is there an upper limit to how much grain can go in the partial? Like, is 7 pounds grain and 3 pounds DME in the last 15 minutes for a 5-gallon batch out of the question? And if so, is there any reason not to use the same partial mash methods for an all-grain beer?
 
good question...i just made an all-grain 5 gallon breakfast stout with 9 lbs of grain using this method. it filled my 5 gallon stockpot (mash pot) almost to the top, which was great because i had zero temperature loss with the lack of head space.

the only limits would be what your container can hold and how much you want to lift (that 9 lbs was quite a bit heavier with absorption ;) still no big deal, tho. you could always use a hoist for a big beer.) make sure your bag can handle it, too.

also, remember you should use more water with more grain, so you have to have pots that are big enough. a proper amount of water to the mash and sparge will help increase efficiency. i usually put enough water in the 2nd pot so that i can do a full boil (as an example: 5 gallons of water + 2 gallons mash water - absorption = 6+ gallons preboil)
 
you should be able to get quite a bit more with a thicker mash.

this calculator works pretty well: Green Bay Rackers--Mash Calculators

at 1.25 quarts/lb of grain (my usual minimum), i can fit 12 lbs of grain for a total mash volume of 4.71 gallons (leaving a small amount of space)

i probably wouldn't do more than 10 lbs in my 5 gallon, tho. might get messy.
 
DeathBrewer,

Did my first PM this weekend and just wanted to say 'thanks' for this great post. I referenced it throughout the entire process. More than that, it somehow took a lot of the mystery/intimidation away.

:mug:
 
Great thread DeathBrewer, I'm on my 2nd batch of extract brewing right now and will probably do a few more until I jump to mini-mash. This will make a great reference tool. thanks.
 
Awesome thread DeathBrewer! Cant wait to try it, Could not be explained in any easier to understand terms. I need all the easy explanations I can get. Just a tip! Dont ever listen to old bald guys when it comes to hair fashion tips.
 
lol, thanks everyone!

i'm glad to see how helpful this thread has been. still need to make those edits in the beginning. i'm trying to make everything crystal clear so that jump to partial mashes (and all-grain for that matter) doesn't seem like such a feat. work is hell, i'll get it done as soon as i can.

in the meantime, keep posting those questions! it only helps people more and the feedback i have received as of yet has already helped me improve this process and gain 5%+ efficiency!
:mug:
 
I've gotta thank you as well DB, your write-up answered a lot of questions for me and I'm trying my first PM tomorrow as well. Keep up the good work!
 
You might set a large colander on top of the pot, rather than be left holding the bag. Given the bag, a canning rack (which has rather big spaces) might even work, and that has hooked handles to hold it up in place.

This might be enough to get me to give PM or even AG a try - I already have a 10 gallon brewpot and a canning element on the stove (if you don't have one, and you brew on an electric stove, I recommend them highly. You can put the original element back in and take the canning element with you when you move out). Any appliance store should be able to order one if they don't have one in stock.

I've been wary of the fuss and time of getting into AG and mashing and lauter tuns and RIMS and HERMS (which seem to have replaced RIMS as the acronym of choice, but I'm carefully avoiding finding out too much about them - trying to make beer, not equipment). But I already do a full-volume boil for 5 gallon batches and steep pounds of chocolate malt, so mashing may not really be much more work/time with this method.

:mug:
 

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