Partial Mash Flaked Barley

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TAK

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I'm going to brew an extract Irish stout and I'm planning on throwning a pound or so of flaked barley into the recipe for head retention. I know that I need to do a partial mash with some base malt but I'm very unclear on how much base malt to use. So...

How much base malt (say 2-row) is required to partial mash 1 lb of flaked barley?
 
A good rule of thumb is to have 1 pound base malt (two-row or six-row) for every pound of specialty grains. That will ensure adequate diastatic power for conversion.
 
I'm also going to be adding about a 1/2 pound each of roasted barley and black patent. If it weren't for the flaked barley, I'd just be steeping these. But since I'm going to be mashing, do I need another lb of 2-row for these to keep the diatastic power up? Or is 1 lb 2-row enough for 1 lb flaked barley and 1 lb of the other specialty grains?
 
I'm also going to be adding about a 1/2 pound each of roasted barley and black patent. If it weren't for the flaked barley, I'd just be steeping these. But since I'm going to be mashing, do I need another lb of 2-row for these to keep the diatastic power up? Or is 1 lb 2-row enough for 1 lb flaked barley and 1 lb of the other specialty grains?

I'd use two pounds base grain for the two pounds specialty grains. You may have enough diastatic power to convert, but I like to be sure. If you can't mash more than three pounds total, you could try using 6-row instead of two-row, as it's higher in diastatic power than two-row.
 
4 lbs grain is more than I've ever used before, but if it's worth it, that's all that matters. The 2-row is going to throw more sugars into the game though so I assume I need to adjust accordingly.

I don't have any brewing software, so I'm just guessing here. I WAS going to use a 3.3lb can of LME and 2lbs of DME. I'll be happy as long as my OG is below 1.050. How much do you suppose I should reduce my extract to maintain my OG?
 
4 lbs grain is more than I've ever used before, but if it's worth it, that's all that matters. The 2-row is going to throw more sugars into the game though so I assume I need to adjust accordingly.

I don't have any brewing software, so I'm just guessing here. I WAS going to use a 3.3lb can of LME and 2lbs of DME. I'll be happy as long as my OG is below 1.050. How much do you suppose I should reduce my extract to maintain my OG?

Two pounds of 2-row will give you about 8-10 total OG points in 5 gallons.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but if I can trust my resources, then here's how my OG should be predicted for 5 gallons:

3.3lb can of LME >> 24 points
2 lbs 2-row >> 8-10 points
2 lbs Specialty Grains >> 8-10 points

If this is right, then my OG would be around 1.040-1.044. If this is accurate, then I'd just cut out any DME I had planned on using.

Does all this sound about right?
 
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but if I can trust my resources, then here's how my OG should be predicted for 5 gallons:

3.3lb can of LME >> 24 points
2 lbs 2-row >> 8-10 points
2 lbs Specialty Grains >> 8-10 points

If this is right, then my OG would be around 1.040-1.044. If this is accurate, then I'd just cut out any DME I had planned on using.

Does all this sound about right?

You may get 1.040 or so, depending on your mash efficiency.

I use .5 pound of flaked barley in my stout and I get crazy head retention. I really like it!
 
Is a full pound of flaked barley overkill? Any chance it'll detract from the brew in any way?

Also, any input on what may help get a creamy white head rather than a brown head?
 

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