partial mash query

[eriktlupus]

iv'e got an irish stout kit from midwest that has:
6lbs dark lme
4 oz roasted barley
4 oz chocolate malt
4 oz caramel 10L
4oz flaked barley

hops
1 oz nugget 11.6 at 60 min
1 oz williamette4.6 at 0.00min


the recipe calls for steeping the grains but i was wondering if i'd get better results doing a PM with say 2 lbs of 2row
any help is appreciated:rockin:

 

[FlyGuy]

A PM will increase your gravity a wee bit, but in my opinion, it wouldn't be worth the hassle with this recipe. If you were trying to use a lot of starchy adjuncts, like a lot of oatmeal for an oatmeal cream stout, then a PM would be very useful because the base malts would provide enzymes to break down the starches in the oats into sugars.

 

[CBBaron]

That is what I did this weekend with Midwest's Oatmeal stout. The recipe included 1/2 lb of flaked oats. All the information I had read suggested it was better to partial mash oats. So I purchased some 2lbs 2-row and added and extra 1/2 lb oats which I did a partial mash with the other ingredients. I saved about 1 lb of the dark extract for my next batch to keep my gravity for getting too far from the original recipe.
I'll let you know how it comes out in about a month.

As for your stout. With only a few oz of flaked barley I wouldn't expect a PM to make a big difference, but you will be changing the recipe by adding some base malt making it a higher gravity brew. Think about what your goals are with this brew and decide what you want to do from there. For me I wanted to experiment with mashing and I wanted to make a better use of oatmeal in my oatmeal stout. That was why I went the partial mash route. I was successful in learning, and the result of the brew is still known.
Craig

 

[eriktlupus]

thank you fror the input looksw like i'll stick with the steeping for now
:cross:

 

[CBBaron]

Don't let me stop you from doing a partial mash. An easy way to start would be to buy a partial mash kit from Midwest or Austin Homebrew. Or find a partial mash recipe and buy the ingredients.
If you find a particular recipe that is not partial mash you can use one of the recipe calculators to help you replace base malt with light extract or extract with base malt.
Good luck.
Craig

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

For a mere one pound of grain, I'd mash on the stove with a grain bag. Throw the grains in the bag, keep the temp at 154 for an hour, pull out the grain bag, pour as much of the water out as you can without letting any debris in your brewkettle.

 

[Evan!]

Yeah, whether or not it's "worth" it in terms of saving money takes a backseat, IMHO, to the fact that PM's are excellent practice for AG. I doubt I could have gotten 75% efficiency on my first AG if I hadn't gotten so much practice with PM's.

 

[Tophe]

Thats similar to what Im going to do with a porter. Im just putting together a recipe on beersmith to make a PM recipe. Its going to be my first PM so I figure it will be good practice.

I say if youre looking for practice PMing then go for it.

 

[eriktlupus]

hey tophe96,
yeah i was lookin at it as a practice type thing but have to hit bell's on sat anyway so thought i'd pick up some grain there while over there:rockin:

 

[eriktlupus]

brew is done! i did it as a steep/pm bastard for 45 min @155 in 3/4 gal of water. tasted good goin in to ferm. 1.046