Parti-gyle and mash volume questions

[dawn_kiebawls]

I'm about to brew a Rodenbach 'clone' and want to do a parti-gyle so I can get 2 batches from the same mash. I do 6 gallon batches with a 10 gallon igloo MT and batch sparge 3 gallons at a time because other than my Kettle I only have a 3 gallon pot I can use for sparge water.

My questions are:

(i) To save a little time on brew day, can I do a full volume mash without impacting my efficiency too badly? Basically, just collecting a large volume of 1st runnings and then do a 'full volume batch sparge' to collect the 2nd runnings? (But, the more I think about it I will probably brew batch 1 as normal so I dont skew my numbers too badly)

(ii) If not doing a full volume mash, would mashing out negatively affect the 2nd batch (Petite Irish Red)? I'm thinking not since the conversions would have already taken place.

(iii) For the first runnings, is it still necessary to do the recommended 90 minute boil?

(iv) Is there anything wrong with the grains sitting in the MT for 2 hours while I boil, chill and rack the first batch until I can get to the 2nd?


Thanks for any and all help, this is new territory for me and I dont want to make any fateful mistakes. Cheers!

Edit: I don't think I can physically even hold the grain and a full volume mash in my MT. It may just have to be a REALLY thin mash if I dont brew as normal.

 

[TurnipGreen]

I’m a little unclear what your asking in your first question. So I’ll describe what I do. I mash with as much water as I can get in my tun. The first running yields me about 4 gallons. I set a gallon of that first running aside for the second batch, then start sparging with hot water.
(ii) nope. At that point you just rinsing sugars out of the grain bed so it doesn’t matter.
(iii) a linger boil will increase your gravity and caramelize some of the sugars to add body. Not needed but it will help make a fuller second beer.
(iv) not that I’ve noticed. The wort will chill and you need more time to print it back to a boil.

good luck partygyles are fun but it’s an all day event.

 

[doug293cz]

I'm about to brew a Rodenbach 'clone' and want to do a parti-gyle so I can get 2 batches from the same mash. I do 6 gallon batches with a 10 gallon igloo MT and batch sparge 3 gallons at a time because other than my Kettle I only have a 3 gallon pot I can use for sparge water.

My questions are:

(i) To save a little time on brew day, can I do a full volume mash without impacting my efficiency too badly? Basically, just collecting a large volume of 1st runnings and then do a 'full volume batch sparge' to collect the 2nd runnings? (But, the more I think about it I will probably brew batch 1 as normal so I dont skew my numbers too badly)

(ii) If not doing a full volume mash, would mashing out negatively affect the 2nd batch (Petite Irish Red)? I'm thinking not since the conversions would have already taken place.

(iii) For the first runnings, is it still necessary to do the recommended 90 minute boil?

(iv) Is there anything wrong with the grains sitting in the MT for 2 hours while I boil, chill and rack the first batch until I can get to the 2nd?


Thanks for any and all help, this is new territory for me and I dont want to make any fateful mistakes. Cheers!

Edit: I don't think I can physically even hold the grain and a full volume mash in my MT. It may just have to be a REALLY thin mash if I dont brew as normal.

Need to know more about your process to give advice. What is your grain bill, what are your OG and volume targets for the first runnings "big" beer? Information on boil off rates would also be helpful.

When batch sparging, it is not necessary to use hot water, if your conversion is actually complete at the end of your mash time (you can check this using the method here.) So, your small second pot isn't really a limitation. On the other hand, a 2X batch sparge will extract a little more sugar from the mash than a single batch sparge, and therefore result in a little higher lauter efficiency.

Given the data in the first paragraph it is possible to simulate fairly accurately the first runnings SG, and the combined sparge runnings SG. It can be done with this spreadsheet.

Brew on

 

[cmac62]

If you are doing a straight parti-gyle with one beer it would be best not to sparge for the first runnings beer because it will make the second runnings so small as not to be worth the yeast. I used to brew three in a day, one big beer, one medium beer and then I'd sparge all the grain together for a third small beer. They always turned out great. I would mash both of the first two beers, but there was often 25-30 lbs of grain to rinse so I got enough sugar to make it worth my time. Good luck

 

[dawn_kiebawls]

If you are doing a straight parti-gyle with one beer it would be best not to sparge for the first runnings beer because it will make the second runnings so small as not to be worth the yeast. I used to brew three in a day, one big beer, one medium beer and then I'd sparge all the grain together for a third small beer. They always turned out great. I would mash both of the first two beers, but there was often 25-30 lbs of grain to rinse so I got enough sugar to make it worth my time. Good luck

My target OG is 1.060 from ~15lb grain bill so I'm also concerned with getting 5 gallons of 1.020 wort like you referenced. @TurnipGreen has a good idea of reserving a gallon of the 1st runnings at the expense of some OG points, or I could add in some DME but the parti-gyle may be best for a Wee Heavy/Imperial Oud Bruin hybrid I've got in the works. Thanks for the help though, I'll keep you posted with how this ends up going!

I’m a little unclear what your asking in your first question. So I’ll describe what I do. I mash with as much water as I can get in my tun. The first running yields me about 4 gallons. I set a gallon of that first running aside for the second batch, then start sparging with hot water.
(ii) nope. At that point you just rinsing sugars out of the grain bed so it doesn’t matter.
(iii) a linger boil will increase your gravity and caramelize some of the sugars to add body. Not needed but it will help make a fuller second beer.
(iv) not that I’ve noticed. The wort will chill and you need more time to print it back to a boil.

good luck partygyles are fun but it’s an all day event.

Thanks for the help! Reserving the gallon from the 1st runnings is a smart idea, and if I go through with this marathon of a brew day I will end up doing that for some 'insurance' on the second batch. Cheers!