Unmalted Adjuncts and the Atlantic Divide

[DAAB]

Just thought i'd try and canvas a few opinions on what Partial Mashing 'really' is.

Here in the UK a partial mash was considered to be a mash that used specialty grains and unmalted adjuncts and mashed for a short period in a special type of wort made from a malt extract known as Diastatic Malt Extract, which as the name implies still has the diastatic power to convert the startches in the unmalted adjuncts to fermentable sugars.
Or at least that was what it once was considered to be until the likes of Palmer wrote a book on the subject when a partial mash seemed to become simply a cut down full mash, lauter and sparging opperation where the resulting wort was added to regular malt extract and boiled with hops as normal.

I've noticed alot of people here have been refering to this type of partial mash as a mini mash and was wondering if this was to differntiate between what is now known as a partial mash and the 'original' method of partial mashing?

Also. Is there anyone here who has used the 'original' technique of partial mashing. I'd be interested to hear about the methods used ?

It would be great to hear any other comments on this post you have....good or bad

 

[ajf]

I used that method about 30 years ago, when DME meant diastatic malt extract, and home-brewers couldn't get whole grains for mashing. It worked, but the beers produced were nothing like as good as the beers that I can produce now.

Of course, nowadays one can get fresh whole grains, fresh named hops, fresh malt extract, and better yeasts, and I have about 30 years of extra experience; all of which go to brewing better beers. Also, I am not sure that my memory is not playing tricks on me.

The thing that makes this method possible is the diastase in the extract. I don't know if today's extract has any diastase. I do know that DME now means Dry Malt Extract, and the manufacturers of extracts don't mention the diastase content. An email to the manufacturers could probably answer this question.

In my opinion, if you are going to do a mash, you might as well use grains instead of extract, as the mash time will not be increased. In fact it may well be decreased because of the higher concentration of enzymes in a mash. The only disadvantage is that sparging is more critical because of the smaller volume of liquid and higher concentration of sugars in the mash.

Hope this helps.

-a.

 

[DAAB]

Thanks ajf, you confirmed what I thought. I beleive regular malt extract does have a certain amount of diastatic power, probably enough to convert any startches which can remain in crystal malt but not as much as diastatic malt extract. It is still available here in the UK although it seems to have picked up the name DMS (syrup), I have a can of it produced by John Bull. I know it was originaly called DME though as the original producer, EDME, stands for English Diastatic Malt Extract co'

Although I have been AG brewing for some time I have been investigating the proceedures used for partial mashing. Do you recall how you went about using DME, did you steep the grains in a grain bag or boil them with the wort, two methods I have seen described.

Cheers

Chris

 

[ajf]

Well, I certainly didn't use grain bags as I don't think they had been invented, and I certainly wasn't clever enough to invent them by myself.

In those days, I used Brewing Better Beers and Advanced Home Brewing, both by Ken Shales as my bible. (They were about the only books available.)

To be honest, I can't remember what I did, but according to Advanced Home Brewing, I would have boiled the adjuncts with the wort. So I guess that's what I did.

I'll PM you with a copy of the chapter from AHB that deals wit this, but I can't help with BBB, cos I lent it to a guy named Samuel Adams who disappeared with it in 1977.

I'm sure there is no connection with the other Samuel Adams.

-a.

 

[DAAB]

Youre a gentleman and a scholar...thanks ajf

ps it wouldnt hurt to give Sam Adams a call and ask for your book back, you may find a few share certificates slipped between the pages by way of a thankyou