First partial extract

[ReaperOnefour]

Hello all. Just got my Northern Brewer go pro one gallon kit. This Saturday will be my first time doing a partial extract recipe, so naturally I'm a little nervous. Prior to this I was brewing all extract from a can. The beer I'll be making is the Chinook IPA. Does anyone have any advice that will help me on my brew day?

 

[RM-MN]

First advice is to relax. You're making beer, not a pharmaceutical. If you do it right you get beer. If you do it slightly wrong you still get beer.

If your kit contains grains that need to be mashed you need to put them into water that is withing the correct temperature range and keep it there for the mash period so the starches in the grain are converted to sugar. No big deal, the temperature needs to be between 148 and 158 F. If you miss this you still may get part of the sugar and since the bulk of the fermentable sugar will come from the extract you still get beer.

 

[kh54s10]

Use your oven for the mash. Set the oven for 150 degrees. Stir in the mash and get the right temperature. Your water needs to be hotter than the mash temperature since the grains will cool it. Once stable put the pot in the oven. The warmth will keep the mash temperature from dropping too much. Turn the oven off so it doesn't get the mash hotter.

 

[chickypad]

Looks like those kits are extract with steeping grains not partial mash. You don't have to worry so much about grain temp so you can pretty much follow their steeping instructions (though 10 min seems a little short, most do 20-30 min I think).

 

[ReaperOnefour]

Thanks guys for all the great tips. Yes, the kits are extract kits. So you think 10 mins is to short for steeping?

 

[chickypad]

It's been a long time since I've steeped grains so maybe I should defer. It just sounded short to me. You could see how it looks color wise, it won't hurt to go longer.

 

[Waidan]

I usually do a 20 minute steep as that's what all my initial instructions from kits had said. And usually seems to be part of all the other recipes I have tried as well

 

[shoengine]

Thanks guys for all the great tips. Yes, the kits are extract kits. So you think 10 mins is to short for steeping?

Depends on the kit. The two Brewers Best kits (a red and an IPA) asked me to steep for 30 minutes. The Rogue branded one was 10 minutes. Seem short to me, but it tasted alright

 

[marjen]

As long as you are organized its no big deal. I just started this hobby too last month. I have had 3 brew days. The first 2 extract with steeped grains and also had 3-4 hop additions. The last I did all grain BIAB. As long is you know your steps, use a timer and dont get distracted its really not hard. Good luck.

 

[Dee]

I mostly do extract kits, myself, and the Northern Brewer kits are top notch.

The Chinook IPA kit uses steeping grains. The five-gallon kits steep for 20 minutes, so it won't hurt anything to steep that long if you'd like.

The best advice I ever found on this forum was, "It's not rocket science. It's grains in hot water."

As long as everything is sanitized, you'll be fine.

 

[ReaperOnefour]

Thanks again guys. The recipe says to steep for 10 mins. I'll see how the color is though.