partial grain practical question

[Monk]

no real brewer 'steeps'...i dont even 'steep' my tea anymore, i use a single-step infusion mash of 1/2 cup 210F h2o for 5 minutes, i then sparge the tea bag with a thimble full of 168F water...( i get 72.3 percent 'tea' utilization this way)

What do "real brewers" do, then? (I'm not trying to be a smart-ass, this is a non-rhetorical question.) I'm confused.

 

[Janx]

Ivan was joking around...giving those of us who were taking this debate too seriously a hard time...

Is 1PM too early to have a homebrew on a workday?

 

[Monk]

Considering you're "killing time till you can go home", I take it you're on the east coast. It's only 1:15 where I am I'm not even half done. Boo.

 

[Walker]

I think Ivan was just trying to inject some humor into what was becoming a venomous thread.

I don't like the term "Real Brewer" because that is certainly going to offend anyone who brews with a different style.

We are all real brewers, from the Mr.Beer beginner to the 10 barrel , 4-tier HERMS All Grain Mash Master.

The fact that we are here, we love beer, and we make it ourselves makes us Real Brewers.

-walker

 

[Walker]

Oh.. and my beer is better than yours.

I'm willing to change this opinion, but you're going to have to send me some of your beer for that to happen.

-walker

 

[Kaiser]

And BTW, when I was at a tour of a local brewery last weekend, a Real Brewer said that they steep the grains to get the sugars out of them.

To his defence, the audience was mostly college kids and he wanted to keep it simple, I guess.

Kai

 

[jeffg]

heh....i believe you mean muslin.....

Damn, now that was funny.
typing a little too fast today.
I have to admit i was somewhat surprised to see this thread at 5 pages! I will let sleeping dogs lie.

 

[Walker]

And BTW, when I was at a tour of a local brewery last weekend, a Real Brewer said that they steep the grains to get the sugars out of them.

To his defence, the audience was mostly college kids and he wanted to keep it simple, I guess.

Kai

Yup.. and this same Real Brewer said he used bleach to clean bottles.

What would usmcruz say!?

-walker

 

[Kaiser]

Yup.. and this same Real Brewer said he used bleach to clean bottles.

Oh no, you said the B-word.
Let's get ready for another 5 pages.

Kai

 

[Ivan Lendl]

im a surreal brewer actually...

come on guys one more post and it will be 50!

i thought the 'dude' was gonna have to knock some heads untill you guys got all nicey nice...

 

[Monk]

Oh no, you said the B-word.
Let's get ready for another 5 pages.

Kai

what's the deal with "bleach"?

 

[Janx]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/search.php?searchid=73017

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I always abandon the good threads before they get good. sigh

 

[Rhoobarb]

I thought the 'real Brewers' played in Milwaukee beginning in the Spring?

 

[El Pistolero]

We are all real brewers

Actually I'm an imaginary brewer, having been struck on the head with the square root of minus one as a child.

 

[Mr_Turtlehead]

I thought the 'real Brewers' played in Milwaukee beginning in the Spring?

Why is it I stop and ponder all of Rhoobarb's posts?

Damn I love that avatar.

 

[uglygoat]

good thread, discussion, disagreement/misunderstand and then conclusion.

cheers to this board guys/gals, i've learned tons, prolly ten years worth of brewing experience in one plus year here.



and janx, how do you know you are getting any conversion without a hydrometer?

 

[Janx]

and janx, how do you know you are getting any conversion without a hydrometer?

The hangovers...

 

[Brewsmith]

How did I miss this thread all day? Oh wait, I was at work!

 

[Kaiser]

what's the deal with "bleach"?

Some time ago we had a similar discussion, but about using bleach as a sanitizer. It got ugly, I mean really ugly. But unfortunately I missed when it happened and now there is not much left of the offening posts.

One if the things said was "You're not a real brewer if you use bleach", hence the reference.

The use of bleach as a sanitizer seems to be the #1 hot topic.

Kai

 

[Walker]

yeah, I missed that one because I was out of town for work, so I never got to see the pre-edited version. it must have been spectacular.

-walker

 

[Rhoobarb]

The hangovers...

Now that's the best laugh I've had this morning!

 

[Darth Konvel]

Man, I somehow managed to miss another exciting thread.

To maybe clarify the steep vs. mash thing for those wondering, from the best that I can tell, no enzymes = steep, enzymes = mash. A mash is more sensitive to temperature since it influences the enzymes. However, since it's often recommended to steep in the same general temp range as mashing is performed, it's not considered a huge step up in complexity. Beyond that, it's all a matter of best practices and techniques to maximize efficiencies, etc.

That a fair assessment?

 

[Walker]

That a fair assessment?

I plead the 5th. I'm not touching this subject again on these forums.

 

[todd_k]

ok, after reading this entire thread and banging my head on my desk a few times, I still have a couple questions.

1. Can I steep (oh no!) the grains like a tea bag or do I need a mash tun for a partial mash?
If I need a mash tun:
2. Do I have to buy/make one or can I use a spaghetti strainer? I guess this would depend on the size of the strainer.

I'm a little confused about which method I've done for my 1st two batches. I used the grain bag and steeped the grains and after 30 minutes or so dumped in the LME/DME and hop pellets.

I read some of the directions through the bag of my next batch which I am positive is partial mash and part of the directions specifically refers to the mash. I don't believe either of my previous recipes used the word mash.

 

[ESPY]

I'm a little confused about which method I've done for my 1st two batches. I used the grain bag and steeped the grains and after 30 minutes or so dumped in the LME/DME and hop pellets.

Unless a significant portion of the grain you used was 2-row base malt then you did a steep. Even if you did have a good % of 2-row, if you didn't sparge (rinse the grain and collect the runnoff), then you would not have gotten a very effective mash.

1. Can I steep (oh no!) the grains like a tea bag or do I need a mash tun for a partial mash?
If I need a mash tun:
2. Do I have to buy/make one or can I use a spaghetti strainer? I guess this would depend on the size of the strainer.

Yes you can use a grain bag, and no, you don't have to buy/make a mash tun. You can use a spaghetti strainer. More advanced setups just provide more accuracy, efficiency and repeatability.

SP

 

[Ivan Lendl]

FYI:K-mart has a sweet bowl collander made by Martha Stewert Living, thats like 15 qt. (huge), stainless steel, and less then 20 bucks (its a good thing...)

 

[todd_k]

question regarding my instructions from More Beer. The directions state:
"After 45 min of mashing time has elapsed and the sparge water is at 175 deg uncover your bucket and using an insualted cup of Pyrex measuring cup scoop the 175 deg water out of the pot and gently pour it on the top of the grain bed. Repeat this process until you have 2" or so of water on top of the grain bed in the bucket."

1. If the grain bag or collander are pourous, have can it maintain 2" of water on top of the grain bed?
2. How far into the bucket do the grains need to sit? I plan on using my bottling bucket which is 6.5 gal. Also, how are the grains secured into this position if I use a grain bag? (The insructions call for a 24"x24" grain bag.)
3. The grain bags I have are 1 gal bags and are not 24"x24". Should I use multiple bags (which I can see being a big pain in the butt)? Also, the collander I have are too small and it looks like the grain would fall through the wholes anyway.

Edit: Should this have bee posted under a new topic?

 

[todd_k]

Sooooooo.... hey, how's it going? I, um, need help.....please. sorry to be a bumper but I'm dumb and need information. Ever see the movie Marathon Man? Please don't let it get to that point.

 

[homebrewer_99]

S'alright. We can kick each other in the nuts if we ever meet and then share a homebrew. -walker

I GET IT!!!That's a MASH!!! Definitely, NOT a steep!!

 

[Sir Sudster]

Rothfflmao!

 

[budbo]

I guess that does mean he's in the wrong forum tho...should we shoot him?

Public Flogging might be a better choice here.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Public Flogging might be a better choice here.

OK, I just wanted to make sure you said "public flogging"....phew, that was close...