Next batch is my first partial mash

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kyle6286

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I'm planning on ordering an oatmeal stout (mmm) from Midwest. This will be my first partial mash. I've been reading a decent amount to get familiarized with the process. In addition to my 5 gallon SS pot I currently use, I also have a 2.5 gallon sauce pot for the sparge water. Is this pot sufficient since I'll just be heating the sparge water, or do I need to get another SS pot? Also, I'm planning to use my bottling bucket as my mash tun and wrap a towel around it. The guy at my LHBS said I can use this as an alternative to getting one of the rubbermaid coolers. Is this bucket ok to use since the temp will probably be around 160 degrees? Just wondering if anyone recommends anything else. I'd like to not have to get anymore equipment now since I just finished my kegerator setup. Thanks for the help.
 
Congrats! I've been doing PM for the last 10 batches or so and my beers are a lot better IMO. I also enjoy it a lot more, as I have more control.

The pot doesn't matter as long as it can hold enough water to sparge with. I sparge with about 6 quarts so you would be fine. As far as the mash tun...I use a 2 gal cooler. You can pick them up really cheaply at walmart I think (I already had mine). I can't really use the BIAB because my stove sucks and will scorch ANYTHING even a little while after I've turned it off. It would just be a pain I feel like. I'm not sure how well the bucket and towel option will work because I've never tried, but it never hurts to try. If it loses too much heat, you can always buy a cooler later.
 
I have basically the same equipment as you. I was just going to mash in the 5 gallon pot with the BIAB method (I got two 5 gallon paint strainer bags for $4 at Home Depot).

I'm not sure which way is more effective for insulation, but I'll either wrap a towel around the pot, or I'll put the pot in a preheated, warm oven.

For the sparge I'm going to pour the mash into my bucket to hold, then add the preheated sparge water to my 5 gallon pot along with the grain and mix. (My other pot is only 2 gallons and won't hold all the grain and water). After the sparge I'll just pour the mash water back in.

That's my plan, maybe it'll work for you.
 
Glad to see I'm not the only one taking the leap on my next batch. I'm planning on doing the BIAB, very similar to what DeathBrewer shows in his sticky. Using a 4 gal stockpot to mash ~5# of grain and my regular 5.5 gal for the boil. Will probably use a warm oven to hold temps. 5.5 qt pot to heat sparge water. DB's sticky makes it look pretty straight forward. And from what I've heard, you can make noticably better beer when mashing. It's exciting. Good luck!!!
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I'm excited to make the leap. I'm hoping to get great results. I'm looking to get just a small 3 gallon rubbermaid cooler for my mash tun. I think this will probably hold the temp a little better than just wrapping a towel around my pot. I might try the pot for the first time and if I have a difficult time, I'll get the cooler. I read about the oven method. Do you know what temp, approximately, you will use to keep the temp steady?
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I'm excited to make the leap. I'm hoping to get great results. I'm looking to get just a small 3 gallon rubbermaid cooler for my mash tun. I think this will probably hold the temp a little better than just wrapping a towel around my pot. I might try the pot for the first time and if I have a difficult time, I'll get the cooler. I read about the oven method. Do you know what temp, approximately, you will use to keep the temp steady?

Yeah, coolers definitely hold the temp better.

My plan was to preheat the over at its lowest setting (about 170 degrees), and then when I'm ready to put the pot in, shut the oven off. Over the hour mash the oven will cool down, but stay warm enough to hopefully hold the pot at a good temp.

This will be my first partial mash as well. :mug:
 
I just did my first mini-mash, and after heating the water in the pot to 170, it only cooled to 150 after the 45 min time required (the recipe said keep at ~155, start at 160 and finished at 150 - seems good to me). After the 45 min, the receipt had me lift the grain bag out of the wort into a colindar above the pot, over which I poured 170 degree water (1 to 1.5 qt per pound of grain) over the grain bag, let it drip, and away I went with adding the extract and bringing to a boil.

Seems like an easy way of performing the process without needing a second pot larger than what you need to brew the hot water for the sparge.
 
I just did my first mini-mash, and after heating the water in the pot to 170, it only cooled to 150 after the 45 min time required (the recipe said keep at ~155, start at 160 and finished at 150 - seems good to me). After the 45 min, the receipt had me lift the grain bag out of the wort into a colindar above the pot, over which I poured 170 degree water (1 to 1.5 qt per pound of grain) over the grain bag, let it drip, and away I went with adding the extract and bringing to a boil.

Seems like an easy way of performing the process without needing a second pot larger than what you need to brew the hot water for the sparge.

Did you just use your pot as your mash tun? If so, did you insulate it with anything (towel)? Also, after you're done mashing and you lift the grains out, you keep the wort in that pot, strain the grains in a colander, and pour the sparge water slowly on the grains so it goes back into the pot with the wort? Then, resume as you would with an extract batch?
 
I just did my first mini-mash, and after heating the water in the pot to 170, it only cooled to 150 after the 45 min time required (the recipe said keep at ~155, start at 160 and finished at 150 - seems good to me). After the 45 min, the receipt had me lift the grain bag out of the wort into a colindar above the pot, over which I poured 170 degree water (1 to 1.5 qt per pound of grain) over the grain bag, let it drip, and away I went with adding the extract and bringing to a boil.

Seems like an easy way of performing the process without needing a second pot larger than what you need to brew the hot water for the sparge.

I'm sure you'll get conversion this way, but you really want to maintain tighter temperature control when you mash if you're looking to control the fermentability of your wort, etc.
 
Did you just use your pot as your mash tun? If so, did you insulate it with anything (towel)? Also, after you're done mashing and you lift the grains out, you keep the wort in that pot, strain the grains in a colander, and pour the sparge water slowly on the grains so it goes back into the pot with the wort? Then, resume as you would with an extract batch?

That's how the AHS recipe had me do it. I did not insulate the pot with anything, I was expecting to need to keep a very low burn and lightly stir, but as I said, it only lost 10 degrees over the 45 min (160 to 150) with the recipe calling for ~155. I would say 35-40 min it was sitting between the 152-158 mark, 3 degrees outside of 155. Not sure if the 3 degree swing either way will make a massive difference, next time I will probably use the oven idea, seems like a good one (get to 170, then turn off - should keep a tighter temp range)

But what you explained is 100% accurate, starts as 2-3 gallons of water, steep the grains, pour the sparge to steep (didn't squeeze the bag), and from there continued to add extract and move forward. Maybe I am missing the purpose of how this is meant to work, but swapping water from one bucket to another, to pour more water just seems to achieve the same end goal? I am a huge fan of limiting buckets / coolers to clean (and post boil, to sanitize). The less that touches my beer the better (mostly because I hate clean up :D)

Apart from keeping a more consistent 155 degree (or whatever the recipe says), not sure I need to change any of the process?
 
Maybe I am missing the purpose of how this is meant to work, but swapping water from one bucket to another, to pour more water just seems to achieve the same end goal?

Apart from keeping a more consistent 155 degree (or whatever the recipe says), not sure I need to change any of the process?

Just to follow up, the reason I have to pour my wort into the bucket so i can sparge in the 5 gallon pot is because I don't have a colander, and my second pot is way too small. So basically I'm forced to do it this way due to equipment constraints.

If you have the proper equipment, yeah, there are much better ways to go than what I'm doing. :cross:
 
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