Partial Mash or AG?

[bottle-o-jeff]

An All-Grain recipe takes me about 5 hours from start to finish (including cleanup). The first one took almost 8 hours, so be prepared for that. I was spending about 3 hours on extract anyways (though using a fryer I could speed that up considerably. If you've got the equipment, I'd just go full bore and do it. It's not as hard as it's made out to be. Just clean up as you go.

 

[Bigsnake]

I PM because I don't really want to spend ALL day doing AG. it's the only reason I Mini Mash. Time.

The PMs I did took longer than my AG batches and seemed like more work. It's basically combining AG brewing and Extract brewing, so you have more work to do than if you just did an AG batch.

 

[Nurmey]

The PMs I did took longer than my AG batches and seemed like more work. It's basically combining AG brewing and Extract brewing, so you have more work to do than if you just did an AG batch.

This has also been my experience going from extract/partial to all grain.

 

[Kugster]

An All-Grain recipe takes me about 5 hours from start to finish (including cleanup). The first one took almost 8 hours, so be prepared for that. I was spending about 3 hours on extract anyways (though using a fryer I could speed that up considerably. If you've got the equipment, I'd just go full bore and do it. It's not as hard as it's made out to be. Just clean up as you go.

Yeah...I'm prepared for an all day ventur cause there is a learning curve and once ya get the steps down...it only gets quicker. And cleaning up as you go REALLY makes a big diff. I do most of my start up cleaning the night before...to make sure everything is ready to go.

My goal is to be AG by summer. Gonna start puttin the equiptment together after the 1st.

I understand that after so many batches the crusher will pay for itself years to come...

 

[wigstr]

I just got a PM Stout from AHS... Gonna give it a whirl. Had to reload on supplies for the Apfelwein- Plan on brewing the stout some time this week

 

[Kugster]

So....My first PM went pretty good, followed DeathBrewers stove top instructions...missed my target temp, but only by 4* low. I then added heat and it got a bit too hot but only on the outer edges, the middle was 153* - 155* so I think it was alright.

For the amount of work and time, I might as well just go AG here soon...so I guess my vote at this point in time is...go AG!

 

[Jonnio]

So....My first PM went pretty good, followed DeathBrewers stove top instructions...missed my target temp, but only by 4* low. I then added heat and it got a bit too hot but only on the outer edges, the middle was 153* - 155* so I think it was alright.

For the amount of work and time, I might as well just go AG here soon...so I guess my vote at this point in time is...go AG!

Yeah, the move from partial mash to AG is usually more about equipment than time. You can PM with your extract equipment + something to mash and lauter in. Unless you want to split the boil going all grain requires a bigger pot, which usually requires a bigger burner, and you have to have some way to cool the wort besides your sink.

 

[Kugster]

Yeah, the move from partial mash to AG is usually more about equipment than time. You can PM with your extract equipment + something to mash and lauter in. Unless you want to split the boil going all grain requires a bigger pot, which usually requires a bigger burner, and you have to have some way to cool the wort besides your sink.

To cool my wort...I do 5gal full boils...I do an ice bath in a plastic storage container. it is tall enough to fit plenty of gallons of water and ice and my cool time is 15-20 mins. that's 200* - 70*. The only thing is spending $2.50 per 20lbs bag of ice X2. I just got my MLT...igloo 5 gal cyl. $20 @ walmart. I think I can set this up fairly inexpensively.

 

[Jonnio]

To cool my wort...I do 5gal full boils...I do an ice bath in a plastic storage container. it is tall enough to fit plenty of gallons of water and ice and my cool time is 15-20 mins. that's 200* - 70*. The only thing is spending $2.50 per 20lbs bag of ice X2. I just got my MLT...igloo 5 gal cyl. $20 @ walmart. I think I can set this up fairly inexpensively.

That sounds like a pretty good time, better than I got with partial boils. Do you get a good cold break? If so it sounds like you at least have a good temp solution, but you are adding $5 to every batch of beer, so I would still look into some sort of chiller when your able.

 

[TampaTim]

To cool my wort...I do 5gal full boils...I do an ice bath in a plastic storage container. it is tall enough to fit plenty of gallons of water and ice and my cool time is 15-20 mins. that's 200* - 70*. The only thing is spending $2.50 per 20lbs bag of ice X2. I just got my MLT...igloo 5 gal cyl. $20 @ walmart. I think I can set this up fairly inexpensively.

Good luck.


Dec. 6th I brewed my first batch ever. A partial mash kit from Mid-West. Of the sample I've removed from the bucket last Thursday...I have to say it's pretty damn good.

On Dec. 20th, I brewed my second batch.....all grain. Based on the knowledge I've gained here and in Palmer's and Charlie P's books, I don't think I've missed out on anything by jumping right in, and passing up the extract phase.

The notes I kept on my process were great. I improved, in the areas I muffed the first time around, but then a whole new set of things to improve popped up during the All Grain session. Which are fixable.

Two problems that I encountered weren't even problems...easily fixed. One was the collection of wort...my process was highly inefficient (involved me taking a pitcher full of wort then dumping it in the boil kettle, then me marking a hash mark in my notes.....You can guess after a while I was asking myself if I marked that pitcher off or not.)

The second was my flame lost it's potency somewhere in the boil. How long? I don't know. I switched out quick, but by the time I noticed, I was no longer getting a roiling boil. So I missed a mark in the process there for not evaporating enough wort. Which would probably cause my OG to be a little low.

Third, is I just got to get the hang of the process of mashing in. Next time, I'll just heat water to 185, dump it in, wait for my strike temp, and add the grain. I covered the mash at the desired temp, but it seems like after an hour, it went up to over 160.

In the end, I'm sure I'll end up with something that'll look and hopefully taste like beer. Matter of fact, I'm sure it'll taste damn good. And I'm glad that I jumped right up to All-Grain.

 

[Kugster]

That sounds like a pretty good time, better than I got with partial boils. Do you get a good cold break? If so it sounds like you at least have a good temp solution, but you are adding $5 to every batch of beer, so I would still look into some sort of chiller when your able.

I've been kickin that around. Really thinkin about I've probably spent at least $50 on ice this year. That's half of a chiller...S**t, I could have built my own by now...guess I better get started. I always figured I would get one once I went to 10g batches...hum?

I do get a pretty good cold break I must say...I can get it to drop pretty quick when I stir and dunk the pot up & down..just keep adding ice as you go.