Partial Grain quantities

[user 155074]

I have brewed 5 batches of different ales. With each one the amount of grain that the recipes called for steeping was about one pound or a little more. The results have been excellent with the first two batches that are conditioned and ready to drink.

I am not ready to move to all grain but I am working on getting/making a mash tun and getting set up to do all grain eventually. In the meantime I'm just thinking that if one pound of grain is good, wouldn't using more grain be even better. (I only have a 5 gallon pot for brewing so I boil 3 gallons and top off with cold water.)

I could easily steep 4 pounds of grain with the same set up I have been using to steep one pound with a correspondingly smaller quantity of extract. Is that a good idea to alter a recipe that way? (I could not find any discussion of this idea in this forum.)

 

[hopmonster2189]

Typically you only want to use around a pound of malts like caramel/crystal in a 5 gal batch, more than 2 lbs is overkill for most moderate beers. If you were to steep more grains you'd want to use a base malt like 2-row or Marris otter along with the specialty malts, and reduce the amount of extract you use. This is a typical "partial mash" method

 

[phuff7129]

Basically steeping specialty grains in an extract brew just adds a little color and a little flavor. It may add a little bit of fermentable sugars but very little.

If you want to take the next step then you want to learn about partial mash brewing. This is where you substitute some of the malt extract for the fermentable sugars that you gathered by mashing some base malt and your specialty grains. Mashing is a lot different than steeping. You will find a lot of information on this site about partial mashing. I started partial mashing in a 5 gallon igloo cooler that I converted to a mashtun for about $20 worth of parts.

There is no advantage to steeping more grains than you are currently using.

 

[user 155074]

Basically steeping specialty grains in an extract brew just adds a little color and a little flavor. It may add a little bit of fermentable sugars but very little.

If you want to take the next step then you want to learn about partial mash brewing. This is where you substitute some of the malt extract for the fermentable sugars that you gathered by mashing some base malt and your specialty grains. Mashing is a lot different than steeping. You will find a lot of information on this site about partial mashing. I started partial mashing in a 5 gallon igloo cooler that I converted to a mashtun for about $20 worth of parts.

There is no advantage to steeping more grains than you are currently using.

Thank you. That was a spot-on, concise answer to my question. I will, of course, be investigating further.

 

[dabeez]

Something to think about...with a 5 gallon pot 3 gallon all grain batches are possible. A simple way to get started is boil in a bag (BIAB). No mash tun required. Your stove top can probably do the boil, so no propane burner system required. Cut a 5 gallon recipe in half for a 2.5 gallon batch.

BIAB may be easier to execute than modifying partial mash recipes for a new brewer.

Once I made the jump to all grain I never looked back. After a few batches I converted a cooler to a mash tun, but this was not required to make great beer.

 

[unionrdr]

I also have a 5 gallon brew kettle,polished stainless steel. I do partial boil/partial mash brew in a bag. I mash 2lbs of grains in 2 gallons of water in a 5G paint strainer bag with a cake cooling rack in the bottom of the kettle so it doesn't burn the bag/grains. I can roll the top of the strainer bag over the lip of the kettle so as to be able to stir the grains to elliminate dough balls & evenly wet them. I add the grains to the water at 150F,stir,etc till it gets to 152-155F depending on whether it's light or dark beer,malty,etc.
When it reaches the desired temp,I wrap it up in my winter hunting coat for the 1 hour mash. Holds temp really well. I then use a smaller kettle to heat 1.5 gallons of sparge water to 165-168F. After the mash,I pull & drain the grain bag,& place it in a collander on top of the BK/MT to drain more. Then slowly pour the sparge water over the grains to extract more sugars,etc.
Alow it to drain well,then remove to a bowl big enough to hold it.
This gives a boil volume of 3.5 gallons of wort,which is easy enough in a 5 gallon kettle if you watch for the hot break & deal with it promptly. Heat to boiling & proceed as normal.