Partial Mash! Why didn't I do this years ago!

Craigerrr

Craigerrr

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Some of you know about my journey in recovering from herniated discs, and that I didn't/couldn't brew for about a year and a half.
My back eventually improved to the point that I could do all of the tasks, but handling the weight of the spent grains was still not an option.
Enter brewing partial mash, and I've gotta tell you, I will never go "back" to all grain! (that's not really a pun is it?).
I have altered all of my recipes to include 3lbs of DME, a nice number as it comes in either 1lb, or 3lb packages from my LHBS.
My first couple of brews I used more than 3lbs, and missed my gravity by a fairly significant amount, this was a diastatic power issue with the small amount of grains in the mash.
I am dialed in now, partial mash, you saved my brewing career!
 
Craigerrr said:
Some of you know about my journey in recovering from herniated discs, and that I didn't/couldn't brew for about a year and a half.
My back eventually improved to the point that I could do all of the tasks, but handling the weight of the spent grains was still not an option.
Enter brewing partial mash, and I've gotta tell you, I will never go "back" to all grain! (that's not really a pun is it?).
I have altered all of my recipes to include 3lbs of DME, a nice number as it comes in either 1lb, or 3lb packages from my LHBS.
My first couple of brews I used more than 3lbs, and missed my gravity by a fairly significant amount, this was a diastatic power issue with the small amount of grains in the mash.
I am dialed in now, partial mash, you saved my brewing career!
Click to expand...
That's good to hear! Nothing to stand in your way to homebrew!!!
 
Glad to hear you getting back into Homebrewing Craigerrr!

Can't wait to see some NEIPA's and WCIPA's from you!
 
Great to hear @Craigerrr
DME is a great product with basically unlimited shelf life.
Partial mash and extract with steeping grains can produce excellent results, even award winners!
I have a few customers who by it in full bags and then repackage in zip lock bags.
I'd be happy to hook you up next time you're going through town!
Cheers
Brian
 
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Craigerrr said:
I would add that any difference in my finished beer is unnoticeable.
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Am interested in your NEIPA partial mash recipe - Might be able to get closer to a 7.25 gallon batch from my 8 gallon kettle, and then split it across two corny keg fermenters to get a near-full keg at the end after yeast trub and dry hops absorption. [As an aside - it is funny that the tools on brewers' friend don't adjust for losses to yeast and hops when th estimating packaging amount.]
 
Craigerrr said:
Some of you know about my journey in recovering from herniated discs, and that I didn't/couldn't brew for about a year and a half.
My back eventually improved to the point that I could do all of the tasks, but handling the weight of the spent grains was still not an option.
Enter brewing partial mash, and I've gotta tell you, I will never go "back" to all grain! (that's not really a pun is it?).
I have altered all of my recipes to include 3lbs of DME, a nice number as it comes in either 1lb, or 3lb packages from my LHBS.
My first couple of brews I used more than 3lbs, and missed my gravity by a fairly significant amount, this was a diastatic power issue with the small amount of grains in the mash.
I am dialed in now, partial mash, you saved my brewing career!
Click to expand...
I brew 2.5 gallon batches. Due to the logistics in my home, I brew stove top so pulleys are not an option either. Most batches I can do all grain, but once it gets over 6 lbs grain dry, I also substitute DME.
 
I've done both, mostly to compare all-grain brewing with extract brewing, and not depend on someone else's opinion of the two methods about which will taste better to me. Otherwise, I'll lean toward extract brewing if I have other things going on which limit my time available for brew days. (Like kitchen renovations). I started the hobby with a tiny one-gallon carboy and an all-grain batch that would fit in that, so obviously, spent grain handling/disposal was hardly an issue. I graduated to 5 gallon batches pretty quickly, primarily extract batches simply because I didn't have the gear for handling grain at all. When I got my kettle with a torpedo screen, that's when I started doing all-grain brewing so I could compare the differences and determine if the investment in equipment and the hobby were worth the efforts.

There are some differences in extract and all-grain brewing that I don't think anyone can deny. There are two things in particular that I have noticed with extract brewing. Firstly, the color is typically somewhat darker than anticipated, but less critically so in darker beers, obviously. I find it next to impossible to make a true American blonde colored beer with DME. That could very well be me and my methods, but I find little difference in boil or no-boil techniques for the wort when I use DME. While this may not be an issue for a beer that I brewed just for personal consumption (the only thing I brew for), it would quite likely be difficult to compensate and achieve color requirements for a particular style if competing (which I have no particular interest in. Yet.). This is especially true of LME, probably more so than DME. Secondly, because it has been concentrated, DME and LME alike give a caramelization taste, or at least it seems so to me. That makes perfect sense considering how either is made. 'Raw' DME tastes like Whoppers candy to me, which I absolutely love. LME tastes more like caramel to me, which may or may not be a target in something I'm brewing. I tend to use LME for darker beers because of its much darker color influence in the wort, and most of the darker ales seem to have a very malty/caramel target for finish. For grins and giggles, I tried a DME version of @Bulin's Milker Bucket Brews 3-Day Weekend to compare with the all-grain version. It looked and tasted NOTHING like what I'd brewed with all-grain methods, but it was still pretty darn good. I guess it depends on the targets, and how concerned you are about your style goals versus making a good beer to drink. I have to say, I'm more of a beer drinker than a beer taster/judge. The only judging I can do is whether or not I like it and want to make it the same way again.
 
Craigerrr said:
Some of you know about my journey in recovering from herniated discs, and that I didn't/couldn't brew for about a year and a half.
My back eventually improved to the point that I could do all of the tasks, but handling the weight of the spent grains was still not an option.
Enter brewing partial mash, and I've gotta tell you, I will never go "back" to all grain! (that's not really a pun is it?).
I have altered all of my recipes to include 3lbs of DME, a nice number as it comes in either 1lb, or 3lb packages from my LHBS.
My first couple of brews I used more than 3lbs, and missed my gravity by a fairly significant amount, this was a diastatic power issue with the small amount of grains in the mash.
I am dialed in now, partial mash, you saved my brewing career!
Click to expand...
Same path for a different reason. I finally had time to brew when I retired, was old, and about used up. I knew all grain was going to be a dream after few batches. Partial grain was doable and sure helped improve my brew. I see 2 1/2 gallon batches in my future.
 
Daniel Parshley said:
Same path for a different reason. I finally had time to brew when I retired, was old, and about used up. I knew all grain was going to be a dream after few batches. Partial grain was doable and sure helped improve my brew. I see 2 1/2 gallon batches in my future.
Click to expand...
You look so young there where you appear to be jumping out of a plane...
 
Craigerrr said:
You look so young there where you appear to be jumping out of a plane...
Click to expand...
I just wondered if the plane was on fire and falling, or why he didn't have someone with him (or at least someone else's appendages). I'm not afraid of heights, or actually the falling, either. The falling is over pretty quick. It's just the F=mA at the bottom, and the amount of time to rethink what was probably a bad decision that bothers me.
 
Daniel Parshley said:
Base jumping at the New River Gorge Bridge. Started jumping in my late 30s. Not one to sit around fearing the Grim Reaper. FYI - Ya all owe one. I'm sliding into that coffin like it's home plate.
Click to expand...
Inside the park home run?
 
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