Planning my next brew day, and want to recreate my first extract via partial mash http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... rtial-mash I included procedural notes, based on instructions I have read. PLease note my grain addition Also interested in your comments on my hop choices Looking forward to any and all comments!
Looks good to me. I've been using a similar process for some time with good results. Depending on your desired outcome, your mash temp might be a little high, favoring body over fermentability. You can always add some clean cold water to bring temp down if you want a lighter bodied beer. 150 degrees with some downward drift, maybe. Depending on what you want, of courde.
Well, I would go with German (Weyerman) Pilsner Malt instead of the America 6-row. 6-row is great when you are doing a mash with alot of adjuncts that need enzymes to help get converted. American lager use it alot because they brew with rice alot. The Weyerman Pilsner malt gives you that light color you're probably looking for from your base malt, plus it's well modified, so it should convert real easily. The 6-row has a lot of husk to grain and you can leech tannins into your beer if you're not careful with temps. Weyerman Pilsner malt is really idiot-proof. (that's why I use it!)
75 Brew House Efficiency sounds pretty high for your first time. Set it to 55 or 60 on your first batch, allowing for the possibility you might hit 75 (and get a few more points and resulting ABV which shouldn't be a big deal).
Thanks LB I copied the recipe and it carried over Changed to 60%, which is fine with me. I want a session beer. One thing I've learned quickly that stronger is not necessarily better (hic). (BTW - how would I determine my efficiency for this batch) So, my procedure is OK? When I sparge, do you allow to steep for a few minutes or just rinse with spigot open? I have read about being careful when you add your grain bag to water, making sure there are no dead spots. It seems logical to avoid that by pouring grain into submerged bag. ..making beer is cool....
Use the brew feature, take a gravity sample before the boil starts, and input a "Mash Complete" brew log entry with the temperature corrected gravity and the TOTAL amount of water used up to that point (that is, how much was infused, and this counts grain absorption). So if you poured in 4 gallons, but the grain took a way some and your volume is say 3.5, still enter 4. The system will then compute your conversion efficiency. You want to rinse the grains pretty slowly to increase efficiency. As for 'doughing in', when the water and grain are mixed, yes, avoid dough balls.
Purchased grains at LHBS and after talking with owner, i learned that I may be doing more than just a partial. Here is recipe http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... rtial-mash My procedure is now as follows Heat 12 qts water to 170F. Transfer to small igloo cooler equipped with flexible colander (see pix below). Pour grains slowly into warmed water. Strike Temp 156 According to MASH INFUSION CALC : Do not stabilize the tun at the strike temperature, and then add grains, or you will overshoot. DOes this mean that I should load cooler with grain and then add water? After 1 hr*, add 2 gal boiling water to grains, open spigot and recirculate with 1/2 gallon pitcher, maintaining fluid volume above grain bed. Recirculate until clear. Drain into brew pot. Maintain fluid level by adding addition hot water during drain. Fill pot to 6 gal. Take gravity reading Bring to boil and follow hop schedule as indicated. Add extract at 30 min *QUESTION I may need to leave the brewery for a couple of hours. If I mash at 156, what happens if I return in 2 hrs? I would assume that temp would drop. This is my first time, so I do not know how efficient the cooler is. What will be effect of extended mash time (and possible temp drop)?
Usually partial mash is done on the stove top. You are way past that! For your first brew on new equipment, keep some cool water and possibly boiling water on hand to adjust the temperature. It can be tricky to hit the strike temp. Make sure to take notes. Add grain to water, vs add water to grain is a toss up. I add water to the grain, then stir to break up the dough balls. Some people do it the opposite, it is up to you. If you let it to cool for 2 hours, no big deal. I do that all the time. You'll want to record the temperature drop just so you know for future reference. Get a blanket and put it over the lid, that will mitigate the temp loss. The best case temperature for lautering (rinsing the wort from the grain) is 170F. The 2 gallons of boiling water might not be enough to get it there. Be careful not to add too much water, or else you will dilute significantly and leave behind a lot of sugar in the mash tun.
Thanks LB, I was hoping for your typical quick, helpful reply!! I was going to add the water while draining. Actually, my LHBS guy suggested to have about 3-4 gals boiling water on hand. Keep adding (slowly) until I drain 6 gals into brew pot, so it would be at least 3 more gals. When you say 170, I assume you are referring to temp of draining wort, ie, it will gradually rise as I rinse? Really excited about this!!
Yeah, you want the temp to be 170F while you are rinsing. You are basically doing a fly sparge - cool!
You'll be buying grain by the bushel soon! Cheaper that way, and it is cool to say "I buy my grain by the bushel."
Congratulations on your 1st partial mash. You're really doing nearly AG though. It's up to you, but you may want to consider a simple batch sparge instead of the fly sparge method. Fly sparging can be a bit tricky trying to set the flow rates and being careful not to disturb the top of the grain bed. If you decide to batch sparge, the process would go.. 1. Mash grains for x time 2. Vorlauf until clear 3. Drain tun, measure collected amount 4. Add balance of hot water needed to mash tun and stir. (Example. Pre-boil volume = 6 gal. First running from tun = 2 gal. Balance added to tun = 4 gal.) 5. Vorlauf until clear 6. Drain tun adding to first runnings. 7. Check volume collected and start boil. Proceed with normal process. Easy peasy. Brian
Brian Thanks. I like this better, especially since my cooler is not equipped with a ball valve. ( one thing at a time!). I assume vorlauf is brewspeak for recirculate? Pitched my yeast starter last night. If it isn't working by tomorrow, I will go to rehydrated Nottingham. Any more variables I can add????
I agree with Mentor. For a first mash, keep it simple with a batch sparge. According to your recipe you are mashing almost 10 lb. of grain. Make sure your cooler will hold it all. Water will of course increase the volume. You are so close to all grain, and doing all the work necessary, it seems all you need is a bigger cooler. You may already know this, but just for clarification, strike temperature is the water temp before mixing with the grain witch is much cooler. It is a calculated measure above the rest temperature. I try to dough in a bit hot, as it is easier to add some cold water to adjust. One more thing. When you have your grist mixed, give it five minutes or so for the temp to stabilize. Dont get in a hurry or you will be adding hot then cold then hot, to try to nail down the rest temp, when all it needed is some time for the temperatures to equalize.
Yes it is. And this is important! A vorlauf is always described as being "Performed". You do not simply do a vorlauf you "perform a vorlauf". OK maybe it is not that important, but in my brewing circle we make a point of saying it that way. You can say recirculate any way you want.
Don't get too hung up on fancy equipment. Its cool and all, but making great beer can be done with simple tools. Check out Denny Kahn' s setup. http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/ Simple, yet he makes great beer.
I know I am on the right track when I get input from the Brewers Friend Jedi council. Chess king, great stuff, esp the link. Exactly what I was looking for. I do wonder about how good he is, tho. I notice that he " vorlaufs" rather than " performing a vorlauf". What a hack.
