Partial Mash

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

So how hard and why should I try out a partial mash? Seems like I've read on here how some one had just heated water and held it at like 150 degrees or something then rinsed it with a couple of gallons of water.

Seems pretty easy. But does it make much difference? Do you think you can taste your grains more? Maltier?

If it made much difference, it would be a good bang for the buck, so to speak.

 

[Buford]

I think it makes a difference. My PM beers have been better than my extract ones. You also have more of a selection as to which specialty grains you can use.

 

[Grimsawyer]

There is 2 reasons that I partial mash. 1 to up the alcohol! YAY!! I like that part... hehehe. And 2, some specialty grains aren't steeping grains. Their starches havn't been converted to sugars and that needs be done. If a recepie calls for flaked corn, or rye malt you would need to mash that with something that has enzymes in it, maybe 2-row or 6-row malt. Then you could turn those bothersome starches to wonderful, fermentable sugars. The added bonus to partial mash, for me, is the added ABV%. I figure why stop at 4% when for a few bucks more you can get a good 6 or 7 percent beer. Most of my costs are spent on hops and yeast. An extra 5 bucks of grain adds between 1.5 and 2.3% to the alcohol %. That part is well worth it for me. :rockin:

 

[Yooper]

I think it makes a big difference in the taste of the beer. It's not any harder than steeping grains, and only takes maybe 25 minutes longer.

It didn't boost my alcohol- because I was able to reduce the amount of LME/DME I used. I liked that- grain is cheaper than DME. So, better taste and slightly less cost- that's a win/win.

For my first PM, I used a large mesh bag and lined my bottling bucket. I mashed in the bottling bucket, wrapped in a sleeping bag to try to hold in the heat. I sparged and the grains all stayed in the bucket because of the mesh bag. It wasn't ideal, but it worked. Then, I got hooked on that and went AG. Oh, well.

 

[Zymurgrafi]

1. More options for ingredients (including adjuncts like oatmeal and other flaked cereal grains) Which will affect/improve flavor in that you can avcheive different flavors that may not be available in extracts

2. Cost. 5 lbs. of grain= $5 (least at my LHBS)

3. The one not yet mentioned...

IT'S FUN!!!

Maybe too fun. Be very careful. It is a slippery slope once you start.

Man, I want to go all-grain!!!

 

[Buford]

IT'S FUN!!!

Maybe too fun. Be very careful. It is a slippery slope once you start.

Man, I want to go all-grain!!!

Yeah, after 5 PM batches (using less and less extract each time, last batch was 25% extract) I want to forgo the extract altogether and do the AG thing myself. I'm going to give it a shot this weekend.

 

[Vermicous]

I have been doing all-grain for quite a while now and will be using partial-mash soon simply because there are some recipes that are too big for my system. I can only fit 35 or so pounds of grain in my mash tun, I figure I will make up the difference with some extract.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

So I read Uncle Charlie's method and it sounds kind of complicated still.

Just as far as adding the hot water and stuff. He's got you adding different temps of water about three times. How do you have enough burners to do that? and if you add the hot water and it doesn't get to the temp you want can you just wait while you get more water hot?

 

[Willsellout]

My latest IPA was a partial mash; my first. It is the best beer I've made to date.



Dan

 

[Zymurgrafi]

You can do a single infusion mash. Much simpler. Basically get your water up to about 10° above what your desired temp is then add a little to your mashtun add some grains, water, grains, until they are all in there. Stir. Check temp. If it is too cold add some hot water. Too hot add some cold. You are shooting for a temp between 149-158° F. Lower end gives you more fermentable sugars, higher end more body to your beer. Put the lid on your tun, stir every 15-20 minutes holding for an hour. Sparge.

Simple.

Here are some alternate explanations:

http://byo.com/feature/986.html

http://byo.com/feature/1536.htmlhttp://byo.com/feature/1536.html

http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter18-3.html

 

[Hardball]

There is the difference between mini-mash which is steeping a larger grain amount and then adding ME, and the partial mash. For those that are all-extract brewers I advise doing mini-mash. The flavors are better and the smell is incredible.
Partial mash is definitely more intensive and requires more steps, equipment, etc. Do a mini-mash first, then decide.

 

[david_42]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Extract_Brewing_Simplified#Mini_Mash_and_Partial_mash

There would be more, but me & wiki don't get along.

I consider a mini-mash where there is just enough 2-row to convert the other malts. The simplest way to ensure that is add all of the specialty grains together and use the same weight of 2-row.

Partials, as mentioned, can be considered when you stuff the tun full & have to use extract to hit your SG. That's how I do barleywines and experiments where I want to split a batch and do something different to each part.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

Hey, that's good info. thanks.

So mini basically just helps convert the specialties better and adds a slight amount of abv and the partial does the same except adds quite a bit of ABV. Or at least replaces what you would normally get from the extract.

If I do a mini I could basically do the same amount of extract and the additional 2 row wouldn't make much difference as far as ABV? Or do I need to adjust my extract.

 

[Zymurgrafi]

Is there a difference?

I was under the impression that mini-mash/partial mash were the same thing. My understanding is that the process Hardball refers to as a minimash is what I know as steeping. That is using very small amount of specialty grains for adding flavors/colors. Partial Mash is mashing base malts and specialties malts to make up about 1/3 to a 1/2 of your gravity and then adding ME to make up the rest.

Is this all just semantics? Not trying to be argumentative, just trying to understand.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

Is there a difference?

I was under the impression that mini-mash/partial mash were the same thing. My understanding is that the process Hardball refers to as a minimash is what I know as steeping. That is using very small amount of specialty grains for adding flavors/colors. Partial Mash is mashing base malts and specialties malts to make up about 1/3 to a 1/2 of your gravity and then adding ME to make up the rest.

Is this all just semantics? Not trying to be argumentative, just trying to understand.

I don't take it as argumentative. I'm just trying to figure it out also.

Except that the way I read the mini mash description it includes some two row which I guess helps extract fermentables from your specialty grain. Right? or not?

 

[toxdoc49]

I think it makes a big difference in the taste of the beer. It's not any harder than steeping grains, and only takes maybe 25 minutes longer.

It didn't boost my alcohol- because I was able to reduce the amount of LME/DME I used. I liked that- grain is cheaper than DME. So, better taste and slightly less cost- that's a win/win.

For my first PM, I used a large mesh bag and lined my bottling bucket. I mashed in the bottling bucket, wrapped in a sleeping bag to try to hold in the heat. I sparged and the grains all stayed in the bucket because of the mesh bag. It wasn't ideal, but it worked. Then, I got hooked on that and went AG. Oh, well.

Is there a more basic explanation of the partial mash process? I have been doing BIAB for about a year and want to know the process of partial mash brewing. Thanks

 

[wilserbrewer]

Partial mash is simply creating some of your fermentables doing BIAB, and adding some fermentables using extract. It is a good intermediate step to all grain as a smaller kettle can be used.

https://www.northernbrewer.com/learn/partial-mash-walkthrough/

 

[toxdoc49]

Partial mash is simply creating some of your fermentables doing BIAB, and adding some fermentables using extract. It is a good intermediate step to all grain as a smaller kettle can be used.

https://www.northernbrewer.com/learn/partial-mash-walkthrough/

Thank you for the information!

 

[kh54s10]

The process of partial mash is to use some base grain along with specialty grains. Take those grains and mash for an hour at between 149 -155 depending on style. This will give a wort that is part of the total, the rest is made up by using Malt Extract. The amounts can vary depending on style or how much grain vs extract. The amounts of each is determined by what OG you intend to get. For instance to get an OG of 1.060 you could do 25% of it with grain and 75% with extract. or 75% with grain and 25% with extract. Both are partial mashes. They will be a little different. The second option would cost less. To determine the amounts of each you would either have to use a proven recipe, or create one using a recipe building software.

I was under the impression (and still am) that mini- mash and partial mash are just two names for the same thing.

For me it was only a step between extract with steeping grains and going all grain, while setting up my all grain system. (I went 3 tier gravity system before BIAB took off!)

It allows you to use grains that you cannot use if just steeping. So, it gives you more control over the finished product. It also lowers the cost a little since you use less of the costly malt extract.

It is no harder than doing an extract batch but requires more attention to temperature during the mash.

 

[toxdoc49]

Are there partial mash recipe kits? If I am correct in my interpretation, one difference with partial mash is not using a bag of grains, but rather, being able to customize the grain bill during mashing. That is, steeping grains like tea in a bag vs just mixing them in the strike water. Also, as I understand it then, you can play around with the ratio of grain to malt extract.
With this though, you would need a false bottom on your mash tun, correct? Also I need to understand the sparge process better here. Still new at it.

 

[chickypad]

The bag has nothing to do with it, you can do all grain with a bag or without. Choosing whether to use a tun of some sort or a bag is just an equipment choice, you can still customize your recipe. I would recommend for mashing that use a large bag big enough to stir the grains well, one that lines the pot is good.

Mini mash and partial mash are the same thing - it means you get part of your fermentables from the mash and part from extract. There are kits available, Morebeer and Austin homebrew call them mini mash kits, Northern brewer and Midwest call them partial mash. See links below, both sites use the terms interchangeably, which is pretty much how everyone I know uses them.

https://www.morebeer.com/category/mini-mash-beer-recipe-kits.html
https://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/recipe-kits/partial-mash-kits

 

[flars]

My boil kettle doubles in the kitchen for large volume recipes. Shortly it will be doing a corned beef and cabbage boil. I used it for my first partial mash without a bag. Without insulation it required constant tending to hold the right temperature. My new mash tun does double duty also. It also keeps coffee hot and iced drinks cold when it doesn't have a bag of grains in it. I liked the idea of the stainless steel liner for mashing grains versus a plastic lined cooler.

Partial mash also helps with water chemistry. Used Bru'n Water for pH adjustment of the sparge water.

Collecting the wort for NB's Midnight Wheaton Beatdown Porter (aka midnight porter) here. The bag really helps for draining the tun and sparging.

 

[toxdoc49]

Again thanks for the information and the picture, that helps. Just so I understand, a bag can be used that is large enough to line the bottom of the mash tun? It certainly sounds like a good idea for keeping grains out.
I will have to read up on sparging to understand that part better. Thank you again. As a beginner, I am just making sure I have familiarity with sanitation, temperature control, the basic brewing process.
Has anyone read the DIY Dog publication of their beer recipes? They have a beginning illustrated section on basic brewing but there are some things there that I dont quite understand. May be for a different forum topic, I can look.

 

[ESBrewer]

There are some grains that are not available as malt extract or they are not suitable for steeping. If you prefer brewing with extract but want to use such grains in a recipe, then you could move to partial mash.

Partial mash can be done using smaller mash tun compared to all grain as you are only getting one part of the wort from the mash. The mash tun could actually be any bucket if you choose to use a bag for the grain. You just need to be able keep the temperature inside the bucket constant for about an hour so you may need good insulation or you can use a kettle that you can put in an oven. It can be a good way to brew if you are just moving to all grain brewing or you want to use some specific extract for flavors. But in fact, the partial mash process is much the same as a full mash and soon you may find yourself doing actual all grain, because complementing the wort with some extract will become an extra step that could be avoided by doing just all grain (but then you need more grain and you need a full size mash tun, you probably also prefer crushing the grains yourself so you are going to buy some sort of malt mill).

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Is there a more basic explanation of the partial mash process? I have been doing BIAB for about a year and want to know the process of partial mash brewing. Thanks

Have you seen these process overviews at AHA: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/category/tutorials/ ? The partial mash overview is towards the bottom of the page.

 

[toxdoc49]

Have you seen these process overviews at AHA: https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/category/tutorials/ ? The partial mash overview is towards the bottom of the page.

No, I haven't seen those. Thank you for the link.
I did go back and read some of John Palmer's book regarding grains and realized (duh) that the BIAB is basically the extract brewing method. I did not realize that the specialty grains used in those recipes are primarily for flavoring and not to extract fermentable sugars. Now I see a little better about what partial mash means, and why multiple temperatures are used during that mashing process. But I will certainly look at the tutorials, I could certainly use them!

 

[chickypad]

I did go back and read some of John Palmer's book regarding grains and realized (duh) that the BIAB is basically the extract brewing method.

It looks like you're still mixing your terms up. BIAB refers not to extract but to an all grain method where you mash in the kettle and use a bag to drain the grains, as opposed to using a mash tun. The difference between BIAB and just steeping grains for an extract batch is the enzymatic process that goes on in a mash when you include a base malt and hold it at the correct temperature (you don't always need multiple temperature steps).

 

[toxdoc49]

Thank you. The method of BIAB is a partial mash method then, where some of the fermentable sugars come from the malt extract (dried or liquid). I was reading about base malts and specialty malts. I got the impression that some of the recipe kits use malt extract for deriving most of the fermentable sugars during mashing since it takes less time and one can learn other important aspects of brewing. Then of course one can experiment with different base malts in an all grain method, which of course takes more time.

 

[kh54s10]

Thank you. The method of BIAB is a partial mash method then, where some of the fermentable sugars come from the malt extract (dried or liquid). I was reading about base malts and specialty malts. I got the impression that some of the recipe kits use malt extract for deriving most of the fermentable sugars during mashing since it takes less time and one can learn other important aspects of brewing. Then of course one can experiment with different base malts in an all grain method, which of course takes more time.

Not really. You can use the BIAB method for containing the grains in a partial mash brew. What you are doing is making part of a wort with the grains. Then finishing it with extract to get the full OG number desired.

The time saving method is - Extract with steeping grains. These grains add little in the way of fermentable sugars and don't require a mash. Temperature is not critical. Usually for about 20 minutes somewhere between 150 and 170F.

Partial mash has base grains in the mix and need a steady temperature between about 149 and 155. 149 would make a very dry beer and 155 would make a sweeter beer. 152 would be in between. There are step mashes where you do a certain amount of time at a lower temperature then raise the temperature for the remainder of the time but in most cases you pick a target temperature for the style of beer then attempt to keep the mast at that temperature during the entire time.s

The base grains allow conversion of starches into fermentable sugars. How much grain you use will determine how much extract you need. More grain = less extract.

You can also make a concentrated wort then add top up water if you are limited in pot size, similar to most extract kis.

 

[chickypad]

Thank you. The method of BIAB is a partial mash method then, where some of the fermentable sugars come from the malt extract (dried or liquid).

No. As kh54s10 pointed out you can use a bag with any method of brewing that uses grains, however the term BIAB or "brew in a bag" in common use generally refers to the ALL GRAIN method of using a bag rather than a mash tun.

The 3 brewing methods are:

1) Extract: + or minus steeping grains which usually are held in a bag
2) Partial mash: part of fermentables come from a mash, part from extract. Many do use a bag because they are convenient for small mashes but some people use a mash tun
3) All grain: all your fermentables come from grain. You can do this with a mash tun or BIAB method

 

[toxdoc49]

No. As kh54s10 pointed out you can use a bag with any method of brewing that uses grains, however the term BIAB or "brew in a bag" in common use generally refers to the ALL GRAIN method of using a bag rather than a mash tun.

The 3 brewing methods are:

1) Extract: + or minus steeping grains which usually are held in a bag
2) Partial mash: part of fermentables come from a mash, part from extract. Many do use a bag because they are convenient for small mashes but some people use a mash tun
3) All grain: all your fermentables come from grain. You can do this with a mash tun or BIAB method

Right about the 1,2, and 3 you listed. I was not being very clear but that is what I was thinking. Thank you.