What exactly is partial mash?

[Torchiest]

I'm a bit confused. When I first started brewing, I was under the impression that the technique I was using was partial mashing. Now I'm not sure. I use about 70-80% extract, and a few pounds of specialty grains. I put my muslin bag full of grains in about 2-3 gallons of water around 160ºF, and soak it for about 15mins before adding the extract and my bittering hops. Is that considered partial mash, and if not, what WOULD be considered partial mash? Thanks.

 

[Brewpilot]

Always done AG, but my understanding is that if you are using any grain with extract, you are partail mashing...

 

[the_bird]

A partial mash means that you are actually converting starches to sugars, not simply rinsing flavors out of grains. You're getting fermentables from the grain.

To do this, you need a base malt like 2-row, which has enzymes that will do the conversion. The actual process is not too dissimilar to steeping, although you have to be a little more careful about temperature control (you want to hit between 150 and 158, and different temps have different effects). You hold at that temp for a longer period of time for conversion to occur.

You also want to sparge, which is just another way of saying rinse the grains of the sugars.

You can still do a conversion with a grain bag and a collander, pouring water over the grains to rinse, but your efficiency will be fairly low. Take a look at the big honking thread about turning a cooler into a lauter tun for a very easy, effective way of doing partial mashes.

 

[Yooper]

Actually, you are doing extract with steeping grains. Partial mash is similar, in that it involves water and grains steeping also, but different in one important way- some 2 row malt (or other) is added to help convert the starches into fermentable sugars. Temperature is crucial, so that you have it warm enough to convert the mash, but not too hot as to cause tannin extraction. It usually sits at the target temperature for longer, too. After this, you sparge (rinse) to get all of the sugars that you can out of the grain.

What I mean to say is that steeping grains add flavor and color to your beer, and that is great. It makes a big improvement in beer quality over extract only. But when you PM, you are actually converting the grains into fermentable sugars. There are literally hundreds of posts on the board about it.

Lorena

Wow- Bird types way faster than I do. But he's right.

 

[Evan!]

Hey bird...not sure if you can answer this, but maybe someone can...

I do PM's exclusively. My method consists of a stepped mash (133f for 30 mins, 149-155f for 45 mins, 158f for 10-20mins, bring to 167f, sparge w/ 170f water). The way I sparge is to use my pasta colander, which has holes just like a false bottom. It has handles on two sides, so I just put it into the top of a big plastic bucket and the handles keep it suspended at the top. I pour the first runnings, along with the grain, into the colander, stir it, press most of the liquid out with a big bowl. Then I pour batches of the sparge water into the grains, stir, press, repeat...until I get to my desire boil volume. Typically, I get clear runnings by the end.

My question is, do you think that I would get better efficiency if I were to pour the first runnings and the grain into the colander, press out all the liquid, return the grains to the mash tun, mix the sparge water in, and stir it for a minute or two before sending the whole mess through the colander again? My main concern about my current method is that the sparge water only passes through the grains, and doesn't get a whole lot of time sitting with them. Does it make any sense to add this step to my process? I'm not gonna buy any extra equipment until I decide to go AG, but it seems like this may be one way to increase efficiency slightly. Then again, my efficiency seems to be okay.

 

[RichBrewer]

Everyone has done a great job explaining Partial Mashing so I won't say anything more about that.
I will direct you to a thread I started awhile back. I built and tested a small "mini" mash tun for doing partial mashes. It is really long but the first page or so will give you a good idea about the process.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=8805

 

[Torchiest]

Thanks, I did a search and was reading through it. Looks pretty interesting. I'm moving into a house some time next year, and once I get settled, I think I'll move to partial mash. For now, I'll stick to the way I'm doing it, but I definitely intend on transitioning over eventually. So far, each batch has been better than the last, and I'm pretty happy with the quality level.

 

[the_bird]

Partial mash is pretty easy. It costs maybe what, $30 to put together the mash tun in Rich's thread? You'll make that back by not having to buy as much extract (grain is so much cheaper).

What I'm saying is...

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, SON?

 

[anthrobe]

Hey bird...not sure if you can answer this, but maybe someone can...

I do PM's exclusively. My method consists of a stepped mash (133f for 30 mins, 149-155f for 45 mins, 158f for 10-20mins, bring to 167f, sparge w/ 170f water). The way I sparge is to use my pasta colander, which has holes just like a false bottom. It has handles on two sides, so I just put it into the top of a big plastic bucket and the handles keep it suspended at the top. I pour the first runnings, along with the grain, into the colander, stir it, press most of the liquid out with a big bowl. Then I pour batches of the sparge water into the grains, stir, press, repeat...until I get to my desire boil volume. Typically, I get clear runnings by the end.

My question is, do you think that I would get better efficiency if I were to pour the first runnings and the grain into the colander, press out all the liquid, return the grains to the mash tun, mix the sparge water in, and stir it for a minute or two before sending the whole mess through the colander again? My main concern about my current method is that the sparge water only passes through the grains, and doesn't get a whole lot of time sitting with them. Does it make any sense to add this step to my process? I'm not gonna buy any extra equipment until I decide to go AG, but it seems like this may be one way to increase efficiency slightly. Then again, my efficiency seems to be okay.

I was under the impression that you never want to "smash" or "press" the grains that are being steeped or mashed. Doesn't that extract tannins

 

[Torchiest]

Partial mash is pretty easy. It costs maybe what, $30 to put together the mash tun in Rich's thread? You'll make that back by not having to buy as much extract (grain is so much cheaper).

What I'm saying is...

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, SON?

If I could have my way, I'd already be buying AG equipment, whether or not I could use it properly. But let us never forget, there is always SWMBO to contend with. I'd like to survive through the holiday season, at least.

 

[javedian]

I am about to start by first partial mash, read the good info here, but also found this article:

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

Several other good articles there too!

 

[Evan!]

Partial mash is pretty easy. It costs maybe what, $30 to put together the mash tun in Rich's thread? You'll make that back by not having to buy as much extract (grain is so much cheaper).

What I'm saying is...

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, SON?

Personally, I'm waiting to move to AG till I use up the 40 lbs of bulk LME that I have in my inventory. I'm thinking I'll put together one of those el-cheapo setups that uses a cooler, a small bung, some copper pipe and the stainless steel sheathing from a water supply hose. Shouldn't be too cheap, but since I want a big enough cooler, 10 gals or so, it will require some investment. Plus, you know, I paid for all this LME, and I gotta use it before it goes south.

Anyway, I do partial mash all the time with no extra equipment. If he wanted, Torchiest could PM tomorrow using the equipment he's got already. That's what I do.

 

[Evan!]

Anyone know if there's any truth to the claim that pressing out the last of the runnings extracts extra tannins?

 

[Reckoning]

Sorry to resurrect an older thread, but I was just going to post on this same topic. I've been listening to some of Jamil Z's podcasts and he talks a little about partial mashing when using Vienna or Munich malt. He mentions using some 2 row if your having problems with adequate conversion, but I get the impression that it isn't essential to add the 2 row (unless your using flaked oats or the like). Is this true?

I'm also having a difficult time understanding the difference between steeping and mini-mashing. Seems like a mini mash is just a steep at 150-158* for 30-45 minutes. Am I missing something in the big picture?

 

[the_bird]

Munich has enough enzymes to convert itself, but not anything else that you might be trying to mash. I'm pretty sure the same holds true for Vienna. So, if those are all you are trying to mash, you're fine - but if you are trying to also convert something that doesn't have its own enzymes (like oats), you need the 2-row (since it has "extra" enzymes, beyond what it needs for its own conversion).

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

I'm also having a difficult time understanding the difference between steeping and mini-mashing. Seems like a mini mash is just a steep at 150-158* for 30-45 minutes. Am I missing something in the big picture?

No you're not missing anything. The thing to remember is that a mini-mash is a step to convert starches into sugar, whereas steeping is simply dissolving sugars which are already present in the grains because they have effectively already been mashed by the maltster.

 

[dantodd]

I'm also having a difficult time understanding the difference between steeping and mini-mashing. Seems like a mini mash is just a steep at 150-158* for 30-45 minutes. Am I missing something in the big picture?

In the big picture yes. In the small picture no.

In the small picture, a partial mash is a steep at said temperatures, plus a small sparge of some sort.

In the big picture, you are not just steeping out flavor from the grains, you are actually creating fermentable sugars and extracting them. While the process is the same it is dramatically different chemically and in terms of the result.

 

[Reckoning]

Perhaps my confusion comes from my steeping technique. In the past I've always used some grains in my extract brews. I usually steep at 150-155 for about 30 minutes. Then I may or may not pull the grain bag out as I raise the temp towards 170. After that I rinse the grain bag with about a gallon of hot (~170*) water and add that to the wort. So I guess I've been mini-mashing in a way. I suppose my question is how do I steep? Is steeping preformed at a higher temp?

BTW, thanks for the link to the BYO article. The 2 gallon cooler idea seems like a really easy way to mini-mash, especially if your stuck with an electric stove like I am.

 

[Chairman Cheyco]

Mashing is the name of the chemical reaction which takes place when starches are converted to sugars. Grains which need to be mashed have no (or very little) sugar in them, and some of them are; 2-row pale malt, Veinna and Munich malt. Grains like crystal which have already had all their starch converted to sugar at the factory, do not need to be mashed, just steeped - which is a fancy name for dissolving the sugar.

 

[Evan!]

Perhaps my confusion comes from my steeping technique. In the past I've always used some grains in my extract brews. I usually steep at 150-155 for about 30 minutes. Then I may or may not pull the grain bag out as I raise the temp towards 170. After that I rinse the grain bag with about a gallon of hot (~170*) water and add that to the wort. So I guess I've been mini-mashing in a way. I suppose my question is how do I steep? Is steeping preformed at a higher temp?

BTW, thanks for the link to the BYO article. The 2 gallon cooler idea seems like a really easy way to mini-mash, especially if your stuck with an electric stove like I am.

30 minutes is a little short to convert enough sugar to be considered a real mash, but to answer your question, steeping is typically done around 170f; infusion (one-step) mashing is typically done at 149-155f. I do a step mash: 133f for 30 mins, 150f for 45 mins, 158f for 10-20 mins, 167f to finish, sparge w/ 170f water.