mashing a small amount of grain in a large amount of water.

[fluketamer]

i want to use up some ingredients lying around before they get close to expiration date. i want to mash only a pound of grain in a 5 gallon batch and fill in the rest of the points with dme (partial mash) .

my kettle is 7.5 gallons but if i mash only a pound in there it would have to be with a siginificant amoutn of water. ( def more than the reccomended. 1.3 qts / lb - off the top of my head)

i know dilute mash is not good.

i think im seeing a brewday with a small pot to mash a pound of grain on the stove in addition to my kettle doing the full boil extract after i add the small amount of wort that i plan to mash. id rather do everything in the big kettle. am i over thinking this? will doing a very dilute mash with only a pound of grain in a partial extract recipe be that big of a problem . or is it just a matter of losing a few points gracvity to the dilute mash. should i stick with the two pot idea or can i throw everything in my kettle and go from there?

thanks

 

[PCABrewing]

i want to use up some ingredients lying around before they get close to expiration date. i want to mash only a pound of grain in a 5 gallon batch and fill in the rest of the points with dme (partial mash) .

my kettle is 7.5 gallons but if i mash only a pound in there it would have to be with a siginificant amoutn of water. ( def more than the reccomended. 1.3 qts / lb - off the top of my head)

i know dilute mash is not good.

i think im seeing a brewday with a small pot to mash a pound of grain on the stove in addition to my kettle doing the full boil extract after i add the small amount of wort that i plan to mash. id rather do everything in the big kettle. am i over thinking this? will doing a very dilute mash with only a pound of grain in a partial extract recipe be that big of a problem . or is it just a matter of losing a few points gracvity to the dilute mash. should i stick with the two pot idea or can i throw everything in my kettle and go from there?

thanks

Are you doing a BIAB mash for the 1 lb?
Why do you feel that you need a large amount of water, just because the kettle is large?
Temp control of the small amount in the large kettle seems to be the biggest hurdle.

 

[day_trippr]

I would mash in an appropriately sized vessel, then lauter the resulting wort into the 7.5 gallon kettle first. Measure the volume of the extract, subtract that from the intended recipe requirements, and add the difference in water to the big kettle. Then stir in the DME and bring to a boil...

Cheers!

 

[fluketamer]

pca - yes stove top biab for the pound.

its a aio kettle with a minimum volume which i think is 3 gallons. (although ive seen on reddit people do 2 gallons. ) it would be easiest to mash the 1 pound in there in a brew bag then just add dme hops and boil. but it would be like a ton of water for that little pound of grain,.

day tripper - yes thats what i think i have to do. i already subtracted for the recipe, its just a pita to have to have a second pot going on the stove when i have the AIO i was hoping to kind of do everythjing in.

i figure i will bring water to strike in the all in one then drain 1.5 qts into a small pot for the biab on the stove to mash the pound of grain maybe throw it in the oven to keep the temp of the small mash stable. while that mashes i can bring the strike to boil then proceed after sparging the grain .

just a lot of juggling but i think if i am doing a partial mash i might as well get what i can out of the grain if able. i imagine theres a more complicated way to have the extract going in the aio while the grain mashes on the stove then combine both at the end but im getting dizzy just thinking about it.


thanks

 

[doug293cz]

Thin mashes are not a problem per se, at least up to about 4 qt/lb. BIAB brewers can go this thin for a 1.040 OG beer. According to Kai Troester (Braukaiser) thinner mashes actually convert faster than thicker mashes. The conventional wisdom of 1.25 - 1.3 qt/lb being optimal really only makes sense if fly sparging. It balances high lauter efficiency vs. mash stirrability. For batch sparge or no-sparge processes the 1.25 - 1.3 recommendation is nonsense.

Your situation stretches the envelope on mash thinness. 1 lb in 2 gal would be 8 qt/lb, and I don't think there is a body of experience with mashes that thin. I would recommend a mini-mash in a sauce pan. You can put the sauce pan in a warm oven to better maintain mash temp with the small thermal mass.

Brew on

 

[dbsmith]

Are you trying to get rid of all the DME or all of the grain? If you just want to get rid of all the grain, could you just buy a little more so that you can have a mash that would be easier to control?

 

[VikeMan]

Depending on the water you are starting with, a thin mash may increase tannin extraction (and resulting astringency) due to a higher mash pH. In other words, if you're not taking steps to control mash pH, you may find yourself in "trouble" with a thin mash as compared to a more typical mash thickness that may have allowed you to "get away" with ignoring mash pH.

 

[fluketamer]

thanks . yeah i descided to just buy more grain so i can mash in the aio at a reasonable volume and avoid using the stove.

 

[fluketamer]

i think this is a good discussion currently going on mash thickness.
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...hick-mash-give-higher-mash-efficiency.104060/
i thought others may be interested.