Not prepared for all grain

[mximus11]

I bought an all grain Dunkelweissen kit and am not prepared to make the step to all grain (equipment not ready). Can I buy some malt extract and use that to brew the beer and steep some of the grains with it? I have about 11lbs of grain I know that I won't need all of that.

 

[MeatyPortion]

What's the recipe specifics?

 

[mximus11]

6lbs German Wheat Malt
3.75 lbs Dark German Munich
.5lbs German Pils Malt
.25lbs German Crystal Malt
.12 lbs Carafa Malt
.25lbs Melanoidin Malt

1 oz Hallertau Hops

anticipated sg 1.054

Is that enough info?

 

[BioBeing]

You might be able to do a partial mash. Check out DeathBrewers stove top thread.

The thing to watch for with a partial mash is to get enough diastatic power to convert the starches, which means you need enough 2-row. Wheat has no diastatic power, so you need to add enough 2-row to be able to convert itself plus the wheat. If you have a mixed bag of grain, then you should have the correct proportions in there. Just mix it all up very well, and mash as much of it as you can handle. Add extract for the rest (maybe some wheat extract too?) to get your desired gravity. This way, you will get two or more batches from your one kit.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I think you should be able to buy an extract to replace much of that. Take a look in the recipe database or on Brewmasters Warehouse.

 

[MeatyPortion]

Or what Bio said.

 

[arturo7]

What is holding you back equipment wise? You would be amazed at what you can accomplish with a little ingenuity.

 

[TipsyDragon]

question. are the grains all mixed together? if so i'm not sure how your going to the base grains out of the mix to substitute it with the extract.

 

[Scimmia]

I don't see any easy way to convert that to either extract or partial mash. The wheat extracts are only ~60% wheat, the rest being pale barley, so that throws it off completely. I know there are 100% Munich extracts out there, but I haven't seen them on the homebrew market, so the Munich extract would have pale in it as well.

 

[Synovia]

There are dark wheat extracts.


Why not just do a brew-in-a-bag or something like that. OR, throw the kit in the freezer and wait until your equipment is ready.

 

[mximus11]

Most of my equipment is done, but another factor is time. I am so busy and SWMBO loves to fill the calendar! Yes the Grains are mixed together. Anyway... So, you think that I am screwed? I would hate to waste the ingredients.

 

[dwarven_stout]

Just as another option, you could check out https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/more-brew-bag-biab-success-88486/

I did 4 BIAB batches before I got a cooler mash tun. It's more work, but the beer tastes good. I used a 30qt pot and a 5 gallon paint strainer bag, and successfully mashed up to 15 pounds of grain .

 

[Scimmia]

Most of my equipment is done, but another factor is time. I am so busy and SWMBO loves to fill the calendar! Yes the Grains are mixed together. Anyway... So, you think that I am screwed? I would hate to waste the ingredients.

Yeah, if they're combined together, you're screwed for sure. Set it aside until you get everything ready to brew all grain.

 

[mximus11]

I think that I will try the BIAB method. It sounds interesting. And should work with the equpiment that I have. I really appreciate the help.

 

[mximus11]

Ok same subject, new idea. What if I split the batch up (1/2, or 1/3, or whatever) and did smaller batches to gain some experience in all grain brewing. I would probably also be able to do it on the stove top as well since the batch would be significantly smaller. Any thoughts?

 

[McGarnigle]

Yeah, do a half batch all grain. Buy a big grain bag, use your stove top or a cooler. You could buy a bit of DME too to add to offset poor efficiency (seeing as you haven't done this before).

 

[mximus11]

How much DME and what kind (exlight light etc.) I would be really excited to get this going so I can get the experience.

 

[philrose]

Ok same subject, new idea. What if I split the batch up (1/2, or 1/3, or whatever) and did smaller batches to gain some experience in all grain brewing. I would probably also be able to do it on the stove top as well since the batch would be significantly smaller. Any thoughts?

That might be ok but don't be surprised if one of the beers is darker/fuller bodied than the other. It might be hard to pin down a homogeneous mixture of ingredients prior to divvying up the grist. you might get more specialty grain in one batch than the other.

It will still be beer. Might make the biab process easier for your equipment too.

 

[McGarnigle]

How much DME and what kind (exlight light etc.) I would be really excited to get this going so I can get the experience.

Light or extra light or pale...nothing amber or dark. I'm thinking even a pound (1/2 pound per half batch) would suffice. If you want to be dligent, measure the gravity after mashing and do the required math.

As philrose says, it may be hard to perfectly split the grains in half, but no big deal. You just won't have the recipe exactly as intended.

 

[david_42]

Wheat has no diastatic power

Not true. Flaked wheat, doesn't. Wheat malt (which is what is in the kit) is as good as 2-row barley.

Mix the grain up as well as you can, then split it into two piles. Freeze half and make a 2.5 gallon batch using BIAB. It will be very close. And don't forget to split the hops up.