DME - technique?

It's probably already been said, but when I use extract (liq. or dry), I turn off the heat just before adding, and then stir for a while to make sure it all goes into solution so as to avoid scorching at the bottom of the kettle. But your approach, dissolving it first, sounds good too.

 

The author of that post used the word 'steep' but said to keep it in the mid 150's. Assuming a suitable volume of water for mashing (say somewhere between 1-2 quarts per pound of grains), this would actually be a mash. Depending on the particular Munich used, it could be be a mash that's a bit low on diastatic power, but it would probably work.

 

Let us know how the Greek Yogurt works...sounds interesting...I've got a # of lactose I need to make something with. Cheers

 

There's NO excuse. Use standard Munich. The stuff is gold!

 

Day 2 of the yogurt culture by itself... starting to carbonate (thin spritzy foam atop my sample last night), but lots of DMS, 24 hours tasted like slightly bitter liquid mini wheats, 48 hours was like drinking the liquid in a can of corn. I'm gonna wait through a few more days to see where it goes with the warm weather we are having. I can always bubble up lots of CO2 through it to scrub the DMS out if I have to. With the CO2 I am thinking of skipping the 1056 I have ready to add and just let it ride.

 

I do extract batches here and there (usually due to knowing I won't be able to sacrifice the time to an all-grain batch due to errands), I like to bring one gallon of water up to a boil, kill the heat, stir in the extract with a whisk (helps to break it up quicker), return to heat, and then add the rest of my water.

 

A true citra-bomb!! I'm going to make something heavily citra soon. Do tell how it comes out.

I agree, MASH the Munich malt. This isn't much different than steeping, but add about 1.25-1.5 quarts of water per pound of grains and leave it for about an hour. If you haven't mashed on the stove before, I would get a pan that doesn't have melty type handles, then heat the oven up to about 155-160 in advance (probably the lowest possible setting). Then I'd add the grains to the hot water (about 150-155 should do) and stick it in the oven. I wish I had known about the oven technique when I was doing partial mash, because it seems a lot easier than trying to keep a non-insulated pot at the right temperature on the stovetop.

 

I just brewed this recipe, and it turned out great. Alismith4 didn't note the instructions in the original post that accompany this recipe, but it says to steep the grains for 45-60 minutes, which is what I did. Usually an extract recipe that has a mini-mash associated with it (which is every recipe in the 'Clone Beer Recipe' book) only calls for a 20-minute steep, but the extra time in the steep is the difference here. My results are very close to the real Zombie Dust, and I'm thrilled.

 

The starches in the base grains will convert to sugar, which is what you want in your beer. Merely steeping means you'll get very little, if any, conversion, meaning you'll be adding starch to your beer, which is generally one of those things you don't want in your beer.

 

I like to call mini-mashing "thick steeping"...and yes I think a 1/2 hour is plenty to rid your beer of starch*...cheers all

*especially in this case (1# of Munich malt)

 

I throw my DME in before it gets too hot, helps with the foaming before the hot break too (especially with Wheat DME) . By the time I get a boil it's declumped.

 

A Dutch oven is a pot within a pot. It's is not the same thing as described by AlCap Jr (putting a kettle inside an ordinary oven to maintain mash temps).

That said...a Dutch oven is a good piece of equipment for mini-mashing on a stove-top b/c it makes temperature control during the mash much easier.

 

My bad. Obvioulsy something was lost in translation.

English...not Dutch...is my native language.

 

This was probably already suggested above, but I can't be arsed to read the whole thread . . . .

Once you get your water hot, but not necessarily boiling, turn off the flame. Add a pound or 2 of your DME, stir until it's in solution, and then repeat with your next bag. The steam from your pot will cause some of the DME to stick to the bag if you pour it in directly, so you can add the step of pouring it into a glass bowl before adding it to your brew pot to avoid the waste, although the waste is minimal.

DME gets real sticky real fast when exposed to humid air. As long as you take care to move it quickly from bag to hot water, and not add too much at once, you should be fine.

 

If you mean how to separate the spent grain from the wort, a sieve would work fine, assuming your mini-mash isn't too big. Hotbreak is something that happens when wort is boiled (not during a mini-mash). It's from the proteins that coagulate when the wort is boiled.

 

If you want to use a sieve to ‘separate’ your wort from the grains that should be OK.

A number of years ago there was a notion that by pouring the wort through a strainer that Hot Side Aeration (oxidation) could occur. I think that the consensus today is that you do not need to worry about Hot Side Aeration (HSA).

If you do not want to risk HSA, another option is to place your grains in a grain bag and then simply lift the grain bag out of the pot when the mash is completed.

Cheer!