Question about partial mashing as well as steeping

[bluebloodtea]

Hi, I'm looking for some help. I've so far done a couple extract brews, and am about to do another. I saw this thread (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/) about stovetop partial mashing in a tiny apartment (like mine) and it made me very interesting in stepping up to this process.

I'm trying to formulate a recipe based on the 8-8-8 RIS on this forum, and think I've converted it decently (batch size down to 5 gal and converted to partial mash), but my brewing capability (one 5 gallon stockpot that can boil about 3 to 3.5 gal on my electric stove, and another 2 gal) limits how much grain I can mash. There is a ton of grain in this recipe!

So I'm wondering, can I mash about 5 lbs of grain with this setup with a good water per lb grain sparging amount, as well as steep the rest of the specialty grains that I can't fit into the PM? When should the steep take place, pre-mash, post-mash, post-sparge?

Some help would be appreciated. Keep in mind too, that I haven't converted the recipe exactly, I merely used it as a basis for the style (link to original recipe: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/08-08-08-a-41782/). If you would like to see what I've done for the conversion, I'll be able to post it when I get home where my notes are.

PM sounds like fun, and I want to do it exclusively after this next extract batch (I already have the ingredients) but am I biting off more than I can chew for my setup/ experience? Thanks for any help/ advice you can give!

 

[chiefbrewer]

Instead of steeping those grains, put them in with the mash. I was able to put 6.5 lbs in my first partial mash, and it worked fine. If that still doesn't buy you enough, cut down on some of the base malts and replace them with extract.

 

[chiefbrewer]

Here is how I would convert that recipe to partial grain. First, obviously divide the grain bill by 4 to get to 5 gallons.

Then get all of your specialty grains in first.

1.25 lbs Roasted Barley
.83 lbs Special B
.80 lbs Chocoalte (I combined the two)
.38 lbs Caramunich
.38 lbs Crystal 120
.38 lbs Crystal 75
That is right at 4 lbs.
Then top off the 6.5 lbs with The 2-row (you will need that 2.5 lbs to have enough diastatic power to convert the rest of the mash)

According to my figures if you plan for 60% efficiency, that should get you to 1.026...add about 7 to 7.5 lbs of DME and get you to around 1.088 like the recipe states.

 

[bluebloodtea]

Chiefbrewer, many thanks!

I thought that it was necessary to maintain a 1:1 ratio of base malt to non-enzymatic specialty grains to get a good conversion in the mash. I didn't think to lower the target efficiency. Geez I'm a noob.

So a stovetop batch sparge in 2 gallons of water should be ok for 6.5 lbs of grain?

 

[Yooper]

Chiefbrewer, many thanks!

I thought that it was necessary to maintain a 1:1 ratio of base malt to non-enzymatic specialty grains to get a good conversion in the mash. I didn't think to lower the target efficiency. Geez I'm a noob.

So a stovetop batch sparge in 2 gallons of water should be ok for 6.5 lbs of grain?

Ideally, you'd use 1.25-1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain. So, for 6.5 pounds of grain, you'd use 8.125 to 9.75 quarts of water. Two gallons is a bit light- but possible.

Stir well, and stir again. Make sure all the grain is thoroughly wetted, and use more than one bag if you have to, in order to have the grain "loose" in the bag.

 

[chiefbrewer]

Chiefbrewer, many thanks!

I thought that it was necessary to maintain a 1:1 ratio of base malt to non-enzymatic specialty grains to get a good conversion in the mash. I didn't think to lower the target efficiency. Geez I'm a noob.

So a stovetop batch sparge in 2 gallons of water should be ok for 6.5 lbs of grain?

'welcome blueblood. It is not necessary to have a 1:1 ratio of base to specialty. You just need enough diastatic power. Diastatic power is measured in Degrees Lintner. For a mash to work, you need to have at the bare minimum 35 Degrees Lintner...40 or above would be even more ideal. The way you figure that out is to average your Degrees Lintner. Multiply the DL of each grain by the weight, add together, then divide by total weight. Without looking it up, i believe 2-row has like 160-180 DL. Even if you assume none of the rest of your grains have any diastatic power...160 times 2.5 = 400...divided by 6.5 lbs = 61.5 Degrees Lintner. That's plenty to convert. If you google or even search these forums you con find some charts with the DL rating of most common malts.

 

[bluebloodtea]

Awesome news! Thanks a lot both of you - glad to know I have the capability to make this beer! Now to see how it actually pans out....