Partial Mash First Timer

[EamusCatuli]

Hey all,

So I went to wal-mart today and bought a cooler to try and use the partial mash method. I bought a 5-gallon Igloo cooler (looks like the gatorade ones). Should work well. Anyway, I have a few questions.

On this BYO article on how to PM, http://byo.com/feature/1536.html, Im confused on the part where he says

"To begin your brewing session, heat 5.5 qts. (5.2 L) of water to 11 °F (6.1 °C) over your target mash temperature."

What temperature should that really be??? Def. cant be 11F. What should I be shooting for here???

Also, in that same BYO article, it states I should I only use 4 lbs. of grain every time I PM. If i use more or less does the entire process change? How can I figure that out?

Other than that and not being completely clear on the temperatures of the mash/sparge water, this is pretty simple correct? Any advice/hints?

Thanks

 

[Yooper]

Yes, it is really pretty simple. Your mash temperature is the temperature that you want to have your grains mashed at- you choose that. Usually, it's around 152-154 or so, depending on the recipe. For a PM, that would be a good temperature. So, you want your strike temperature to be approx 11 degrees OVER that- so that it equalizes at your desired temperature. For example, in my big cooler, I mashed yesterday at 156 for my recipe. My strike water was 174, because that's what my equipment needs to bring 70 degree grains up to 156. (Beersmith helps me with these calculations- I'm really not that smart!). But for a smaller amount of grain, in a preheated cooler, 11 degrees over is a good place to start.

What I'm saying is that your equipment may vary, so the first time you might just want to follow the BYO instructions. Now, as far as amount of grain you can mash, you can certainly mash more than 4 pounds. You can mash however much can fit in your cooler. A good ratio is to use 1.25 quarts of water per pound of grain- and you should have extra hot and cold water available in case you miss your temperature. Again, with practice, you can hit it every time- but the first couple of times you may need to adjust it.

You know, when you're ready, you can always post your recipe here, and we can help you figure out how to mash it. It really gets easy with practice.

 

[EamusCatuli]

That sounds like a great idea! haha, well I want to make a hefewiezen of sorts, not really hoegaarden but similar. Here is what I drew up.

Stats
OG 1.051
FG 1.013
IBU 15
ABV 4.9 %
SRM 8

Specifics
Boil Volume 3 gallon
Batch Size 5 gallons
Yeast 75% AA

Fermentables:
Mashed -
1.00 American Two-row Pale
1.00 Crystal 20L
1.00 Flaked Wheat
1.00 Belgian Carapils
1.00 American Wheat (its actually White Wheat, but was told American Wheat is the same)
Extract -
3.30 Wheat Liquid Malt Extract (Late addition, @15)

1

Hops:
0.50 Glacier @30
1.00 Liberty @10
- 1/2 tsp Coriander
- 1/2 oz Bitter Orange Peel
0.50 Glacier @5
- 1/2 tsp Coriander
- 1/2 oz Bitter Orange Peel

Yeast - WLP320

There it is!

As you can see I have 5 lbs of grains ( I only have one can of LME, and I dont want to buy another one, haha)

I also do not have a good brew program cuz I cant spend $25 on BeerAlchemy (im a mac user). So im using tastybrew.com, not the best but it works. This is why my amounts are so even and simple.

Let me know what you think i should do/ change. Critiques and reccomendations are welcome!

Thanks alot!

 

[Jonnio]

I will let the pros tell you what a good mash procedure would be for that recipe, I just wanted to add that you can mash however much will fit in the cooler, but you have to make sure that you can boil all the runoff.

I have a 5 gal pot and can only safely boil about 4 gal of water, so I am limited to 6 lbs of grain.

 

[Yooper]

Well, I'm not good with wheat beers so I'm not a good judge of that mash schedule. The only thing that comes to mind for me is that you won't need the carapils with the wheat. And I have never seen flaked wheat and white wheat before together- it doesn't mean it's wrong- I just never saw it. But again, I have never made a wheat beer (I hate them) so I'm no judge!

Maybe post your recipe in a new thread in the recipes forum, and ask the more experienced wheat beer makers to weigh in on it?