Partial Mash Advantages?

[mosquitocontrol]

So I'm relatively new brewer (~6 months) on my 16th extract batch as we speak. I live in an apartment with maxed out storage space. I'm pretty confident with my brewing procedure and haven't had to dump a batch yet. So I guess you can say I've "mastered" extract brewing. I love all the beers I've done, although I'm sure they could improve by moving up the complexity ladder.

That being said, I don't plan on moving to all-grain for a year or two until I will be able to move outside, have more space, or have more time. I've read the post on apartment all-grain so I know it can be done.. but I'm trying to keep the peace in the house.

I don't have the patience or time to order ingredients for recipes so I've been buying extract kits from AHS. What I'm wondering is if there are any advantages to moving up to partial mash. I know it gives flexibilities in creating recipes, but I buy the kit. Kits for extract and partial mash are the same price also.

So are there any taste advantages to moving to partial mash? Any other reasons I could consider the switch? How much extra time is involved for brew day? As typically, with setup and cleanup I am already pushing 3-4 hours.

 

[BigEd]

If as you say you don't have patience and time to spare right now then it's probably best to stick with the extract kits you are using. Going PM will take more time, maybe 1 to 2 hours extra beyond basic extract brewing. As for advantages you've already said it. With PM you gain added flexibility over extract brewing in being able to utilize ingredients that are difficult or impossible to find as extracts. All things being equal you would get a boost in the flavor and freshness of the beers because you would be getting a portion of your fermentables from freshly mashed grains. You are able to gain more control over the color of the beer as well as the attenuation compared to extract.

 

[oguss0311]

What BigEd said is true- but a PM is a good transition to AG- and you will get lots of experience mashing grains- and all you really need is a 5gal cooler. There is a link some where on here on how to make one- I used it- and it rocks. Also- five gal coolers can handle enough grain to do some lighter OG AG five gal batches.
No desire to play with recipes? Try it out anyway- you may find the experience reinforcing enough to change your mind. I think that the LHBS where I am had a hard time moving a lot of their extracts, and so I was not getting fresh stuff- and I Really noticed the Extract Twang. Big PM brews were such a difference!
I still love to mash 4+lbs of grain, supplement with a little DME, keep the boil size down, and use ice cold water to get to pitching temps, etc. You get amazing flavor. And Mashing IMO is when your really take ownership of your brewing. You'll feel like you were just assembling ingredients in a pot beforehand. (not to knock extract brewing- 95% of us started that way).
Try it out- worse thing that could happen is that you reassemble a five gal cooler and use it in the summer.

 

[FullDraw]

MosCon- I'm in the same position as you. Maybe looking at the transition to AG though, but haven't got the time for that yet. I made the 5 gallon MLT quickly and easily. I'm going to brew this weekend if things go well. It'll be my first PM, and I'm doing it for the fresh flavor angle. I'm not doing anything fancy, a nice Nut Brown. I'm not ready for full boils and chillers yet, but at least I've got a grain mill. Hopefully, good things to come.

 

[BrewinInPA]

I've done quite a few extract kits that include steeping grains. I don't know if that counts as "partial mash" but now that I have a big enough kettle for full volume boils, I have been making my extract beers that way, including holding the steeping grains at 152F for 30 mins and they seem to be better than when I was doing partial boil batches. YMMV.

 

[JimRausch]

I feel that a Partial mash is the perfect transition from a simple extract to All grain. It also adds extra flavor and complexity to a simple extract recipe.
But then, this is what I did, although my transition to PM was after 2-3 batches. Transition from PM to AG was about 1 year. And I'll still occasionally go back to a PM or extract recipe if I feel like it. For example, for me the Northern Brewer Caribou Slobber recipe is better as an extract plus steeping grains than AG.
And extra time? PM, with ingredients supplied by your LHBS, might add 1 hour to your brewtime. With good time management, you can still finish in 3 hours. Extra equipment? A 5 gal. water cooler plus a braid, or even cheaper, a paint strainer bag for BIAB.

 

[BrewinInPA]

I second your opinion on the Slobber .. best beer I have made thus far! My profile pic is a pint of Slobber.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I've done quite a few extract kits that include steeping grains. I don't know if that counts as "partial mash" but

Steeping and partial mashing have "soak the grains in water for 30 minutes at 150F" in common [1]. They are different in that 1) steeping extracts existing colors, flavors, and sugars, 2) mashing involves converting starches to sugars using enzymes in the base malts.

That being said, some kit recipes will "steep" for 30 minutes at 150F using "2 row malt" in addition to the crystal / caramel / roasted malts. Maybe it's a "typo" in the instructions, maybe "steeping" is less intimidating than "mashing". Starting out, the words might be interchangeable, but longer term, using the more precise terms can help the thought process.

[1] although one can also steep by adding appropriate grains at flame-on and remove them when the wort reaches 160F.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

now that I have a big enough kettle for full volume boils, I have been making my extract beers that way, including holding the steeping grains at 152F for 30 mins and they seem to be better than when I was doing partial boil batches. YMMV.

I'm curious as to how you did your partial boil process. What is it that you taste that seems to be different?

I've read that "full volume" boils are preferred over partial boils (e. g. stove top brewing); but a lot of people also seem to get good results with stove top brewing (1/2 extract / water at start of boil, rest of extract / water at flame-out).

 

[BrewinInPA]

I think it might be the hop profile that is better with the full volume boil. Also seems to be less darkening of the wort. I used to boil about 3 gallons on the stove using a hop spider, then sink ice-bath chilling and finally diluting with 2-3 gallons of spring water. Now I do a full 6 gallon boil and use an immersion chiller.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Did you add all the extract at the start of the boil (or half at the start, half at flame-out)?

 

[BrewinInPA]

I've done both, depending on kit instructions

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Thanks!

 

[Golddiggie]

IME, all grain not only gives you complete recipe control but can also give you better, cleaner, flavors in your beer. I did one "partial mash" batch (#3) that was really all grain with some extract added to get the OG due to limited kettle space (I was doing BIAB at the time).

Over the years I've been brewing I've changed gear several times (many home brewers do) until I got to the hardware I currently use. I have the brew stand setup in the garage so that IDGAF what the weather is outside (as long as it's not hot as hell out, aka, this week). If you have the $$ there's ways to do pretty much anything you want for brewing.

One piece of advise I would give someone looking to go either to partial mash, or all grain, is invest in a solid malt mill/crusher. Depending on a store to properly crush the grains for your setup is probably a pipe dream. Sure, you could get decent efficiency numbers, but with your own mill you can dial it in more precisely. Even changing out how your mash tun strains the grains can dictate changing the crush gap (had that happen when I switched from a keggle MT with a JayBird false bottom to a Spike+ MT). Being able to adjust on brew day is not a minor item (IMO).

It's been said untold number of times here, but ask a dozen different brewers a question and you'll get at least a dozen different answers (or versions on similar answers). You need to find the way that works best for you and the space you have to work with. I would just say that PM/AG brewing is well worth the extra time it takes. Not just in the cost savings over buying the extract kits. Especially if you buy grain a sack at a time.

 

[BrewinInPA]

just got shipped my first three all-grain kits from Northern Brewer and I was kind of surprised that they just came as big plastic sacks of grain .. was expecting boxes of some kind. Fortunately I have a couple of Rubbermaid Roughnecks kicking around to put them in.

 

[BrewinInPA]

 

[Golddiggie]

IMO/IME, any beer recipe that has instructions that include time "in secondary" can be tossed out. Or rather, SHOULD be tossed out. The myth of needing to rack to another vessel after fermentation has been busted so many times you can't even find the pieces.

Keep the brewing steps, but pretty much ignore anything after you pitch the yeast (for fermentation at least).

 

[bracconiere]

not sure but....just an observation....

 

[BQ&W]

not sure but....just an observation....

View attachment 734010

Pardon my ignorance, but what am I supposed to be noticing?

 

[BrewinInPA]

Crush too large?

 

[BQ&W]

Crush too large?

Thanks

 

[bracconiere]

yeah, i was off-topic

 

[Golddiggie]

Crush too large?

Exactly why I buy all my grain "whole" and crush it on brew day. Having a malt mill/crusher means you get to set the gap that's optimal for YOUR setup. Not what some store/seller THINKS will work well "for most" since they sure as hell won't adjust the gap if you tell them the system you use, or ask for a different crush level setting.

 

[BrewinInPA]

Roger that, I fully intend to get my own mill. I just haven't got there yet. I want to make sure I am comfortable with the whole grain BIAB process before I go investing a ton of money into more gear.

 

[Golddiggie]

Love the two roller Monster Mill I bought back in 2011. Hardened steel rollers FTW!! 2" diameter also helps. I added their motor kit to mine which is really designed for their three roller mills. But I have a milling machine as well, so I made it work.

 

[dwhite60]

If you have the gear to do partial mash extract batches most likely you can use the same gear to do Brew-in-a-Bag. It's easy, fast, and takes less gear than a mash/lauter system. Less gear means less storage space.

I gave up mash / lauter after a few BIAB experiments. I lost nothing flavor wise. I picked up my efficiency quite a bit.

No lauter saves me at least thirty minutes on a brew day too. Give it a try. I do twelve liter batches in a five gallon kettle. Smaller batches means I brew more often, the FUN part.