Substituting Extract in for some base malt in high gravity stout

[danfalcone]

Quick Question, I am looking at potentially substituting in some MO extract into my big stout recipe to be able to mash without exceeding my mash tun. I am shooting for an 1.135 OG with a finishing gravity between 1.035-1.040
I have been an all grain brewer form the start, but wanted to try this to boost my gravity where it needs to be without exceeding my mash tun capacity. Has anyone out there tried this? Will I experience any negative side effects by substituting in say 50 % MO extract for my base malt as opposed to mashing the full amount ? TIA.

 

[dmtaylor]

Many people have done this, including me. It's a great idea. Do it. You'll like it.

 

[Weezy]

Yes, a common practice and a good idea. This is essentially a partial mash. I just wanted to note that LME seems to result (imho) in a maltier beer, when substituted one for one, even though the potential extract numbers are close. I'll commonly use a combination of extract and sugar instead of all extract. Another option is to mash the grain portion at a lower temp to compensate.

 

[mabrungard]

You will only have modest fermentability in your beer as evidenced by the FG. Another option for a portion of the fermentables is simple sugar addition. That should be a consideration if the FG is going to be too chewy or cloying.

 

[Kent88]

I do this all the time because I have a small 3-gallon cooler for a mash-lauter tun. Take a look at your grain bill, particularly the amount of base malt there is and the amount of malt that might be enzyme-deficient. If you have a lot of malt that isn't base malt, check this out and see if it even needs a mash.

For instance, I'm getting ready to make a 3-gallon batch of beer that I want to have hit the upper 1.090s or even the low 1.100s that calls for:
Pilsner Malt (the amount of this alone would exceed what my mash tun can handle)
Munich Malt
Wheat Malt
Aromatic Malt
Special B
Melanoidin
Caramunich

Looking at the malt chart, I see that the last 3 don't need a mash. I could have them go in the mash tun or I could just steep them separately. But the Pilsner, Munich, Wheat, and Aromatic need a mash (and the wheat and aromatic might be enzyme poor) and the pilsner malt is a great candidate to just sub out a bunch for DME without shorting myself on enzymes (because there isn't much wheat or aromatic malt in the recipe, very little 'dead weight'), so I'll use 3lbs of malt and 3lbs of DME for this particular recipe and that should get me to my desired OG.

At least, that is how I figure it.

 

[hagar]

I do this all the time because I have a small 3-gallon cooler for a mash-lauter tun. Take a look at your grain bill, particularly the amount of base malt there is and the amount of malt that might be enzyme-deficient. If you have a lot of malt that isn't base malt, check this out and see if it even needs a mash.

Now there's a useful link. Thanks for that, bud.