Partial Mash brewing for a total beginner.

Step 1 read http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html
Step 2 download and use BrewCipher 3.5 to predict outcomes of ingredients. http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/brewcipher-3-5.241761/

Honestly, without knowing your equipment, target gravities, bitterness levels, or the actual target beer you are shooting for, I'd recommend doing the above first. (By the way, never boil barley, unless we are talking decoction, which we are probably not.)

Welcome to the forum. You have the right idea about getting some simple beers done first, but you left out successful. That is the more difficult part. Simple is easy by comparison.

If you are adamant about making beer this weekend:
How big are the cans of wheat malt extract?
What bitterness level are you shooting for?
What volume can you boil at one time?

 

scurvy311 set you on the right path. My only different advice, is find a local home brew store with made up kits that they make up for you, these will have grains for your partial mash type of brews. The hops are weighed out for you according to the kit. You can always tweak these kits for more bitterness, etc.

 

FWIW: I think partial mash is a waste of time/energy/resources.

Nothing wrong with extract brewing, especially combined with the steeping of specialty grains. In fact, that's the method I would recommend to most beginners.

All grain is even better, but of course requires additional equipment, time, and expertise.

Partial mash is pretty much the worst of both worlds: the extra time, effort, and equipment needed for doing a mash without the full benefits of AG brewing.

IMO, YRMV, and all the usual qualifiers.

 

I would strongly recommend for your first batch you brew conduct an extract brew.

Cheers!

 

I disagree with this statement. Partial Mash utilizes the same amount of time, with less or equal effort, and less equipment than All Grain.

Partial Mash Benefits:

1. Reduced cost on several lbs. of malt extract.
2. Reduced extract twang taste.
3. Greater recipe versatility and PM beers typically have more character than extract beers depending on the recipe/brewer.
4. Ability to produce drier beers than Extract since you can control part of the mash.
5. Anyone who can brew via Extract can brew a great Partial Mash beer without the need for additional equipment.
6. Less confusion for beginners vs. the All Grain route.
7. The same amount of time is spent brewing Partial Mash or All Grain, or even Extract beers w/steeping grains in some cases.
8. More control over subtle nuances, flavors, clarity, color, body, etc.
9. Less powdery and/or sticky mess.
10. Easier for a beginner to control mash temperatures due to the decreased volume of total grain.
11. Ability to control water chemistry better, e.g. Sulfate level for IPAs.
12. BIAB (Brew In A Bag) is easier with Partial Mash. You're typically mashing 2-5 lbs. of grain (vs. somewhere like 8-16 lbs.) per 5 gallon batch.

There are probably even more benefits that I'm forgetting.

My first homebrew was a Partial Mash BIAB. I don't regret a thing. I like the added control, and it completely demystified the All Grain process for me.

 

Maybe you get lucky but your plan t'ain't at all simple.

Hows about:
Buy a ready-made extract recipe.
Follow the directions.
Crawl --- walk --- run!

For every alleged claim "my first [all-grain ... BIAB ... partial mash] batch was fookin'awesome" there's at least one failed or 'not so much' experience.

 

Agreed. I definitely think there is a place for the Partial Mash, and it's a great stepping stone for those who want a bit more control over their brews, but don't yet want to splash out on more equipment. Plus, Partial Mash is almost the same time as extract + steeping anyway.

 

I see it as half and half.

You are half an all-grain brewer and half an extract brewer.

When I used to brew light colored ales via partial mash, the wort was always comprised of a hefty amount of of mashing grains... so much so that you could easily have a mid-gravity ale from the mash alone. It wasn't just a lazy 1-2 lbs. of 2-row tossed in as an afterthought. Any steeping/converted grains used were mostly minimal for my IPAs anyway.

I did this for the added character, the lighter color, more control over the anticipated dryness/FG, and basically a lot of the reasons I mentioned above.

 

Glad it's working for you. I agree with part of what you've said: any time you substitute a mash for extract you gain some control and save some money, and this is true with partial mash.

Some of what you've said is debatable: I'm not at all sure it's really less messy to deal with 5 pounds of extract than 7-8 pounds, or that anyone who can brew extract can brew great beers with partial mash (PM require some additional knowledge and skill, I would say).

Some of what you've said seems based on misinformation:

"2. Reduced extract twang taste."
You seem to be under the impression that extract beers always have a discernible "twang," but that's true only of aged or oxidized extract, which shouldn't be used, even in a partial mash.

"4. Ability to produce drier beers than Extract since you can control part of the mash."
You can produce equally dry extract beers by substituting simple sugars for a portion of the extract.

"6. Less confusion for beginners vs. the All Grain route."
A partial mash is exactly as confusing (or not) as a full mash, because they are exactly the same process conducted on a different scale. Mash pH, for example, does not get simpler just because you're dealing with less grain and less water.

"7. The same amount of time is spent brewing Partial Mash or All Grain, or even Extract beers w/steeping grains in some cases."
Extract brewing takes less time than PM or AG: about 60-90 minutes less in most cases.

"11. Ability to control water chemistry better, e.g. Sulfate level for IPAs."
Extract brewers can manipulate sulfate levels just as easily as PM or AG brewers.

All grain, extract, and partial mash all have advantages and disadvantages, and different hobbyists will make different choices based upon their own priorities. Without conducting a poll, I would guess that partial mash is by far the least preferred method, because most brewers who try it quickly move on to AG for the reasons I mentioned above: ie, if you're going to do the research required and take the time and trouble to do a mash, you might as well do a full mash and get the full benefit. Glad you enjoyed that first partial mash brew, but don't be surprised if you come around to my way of thinking by the time you're on your third or fourth beer.

 

This one. I was able to try the whole mash thing with a total of 1.79 invested for paint strainer bags. When the partial mash worked well for me I was actually able to do 5 gallon batches of all grain with no additional cost. It was a bit clunky with having to boil in two pots, but was doable.

 

Not unless you nitpick, and I'll explain why...

Extract is bagged/bottled in multiple containers. It does not usually come in one, easy to pour vessel. You usually have 3 or 4 containers worth that you have to add. This makes it more difficult to use without experiencing at least some level of mess. You're almost always going to have rogue DME powder and/or sticky-goopy LME issues, especially if brewing indoors. Often, people add extract in two increments: at boil start and the end of boil. This increases the chance of a mess.

You misread. I said that "Partial Mash utilizes the same amount of time, with less or equal effort, and less equipment than All Grain."

Yes, it's true that if you're using mashing grains that you have to know the basic concept of mashing, times and temperatures. Though it is far easier to accomplish your brewday without error with a simple understanding of converting starches and mashing less than half of what an All-Grain brewer would mash with for the same ale.

I was not thinking of using aged or oxidized extract at all. Where I always notice extract twang is when using LME. For some reason, DME does not have the same consequences and is usually the route I go when incorporating extract. However, I'm sure there are thousands of homebrewers that use both DME and LME, or just plain LME.

Up to a point... You probably don't want to be using 25% simple sugars to reach the FG you're shooting for. This also depends on the style of the beer and the recipe as a whole.

On the topic of Extract vs. Partial Mash... one could argue that utilizing a bit of DME, a bit of corn sugar, and mashing a decent portion of 2-row at a low mash temp would give you a drier, more complex, and tastier beer than one brewed with pure extract and a ton of corn sugar to aid dryness. You wouldn't need additional equipment and you would pay less on ingredient costs.

The volume of ingredients is increased by double or more, making it more difficult for the beginner homebrewer, especially if they do not have the setup for seemlessly brewing All Grain beers. Also, the ability to maintain accurate temperatures changes over the course of an hour becomes more difficult as you mash more and more grain.

For instance, a Partial Mash BIAB brewer can put 3 lbs. of grain in a bag, mash the grain in 1.25 quarts of water per lb. of grain at 3.75 total quarts water, drain the bag, collect the wort, and proceed with adding extract and corn sugar.

If that recipe were converted to pure All Grain, the typical beginner would experience greater difficulty hitting the mark and getting everything right for their first attempt. They would be using a lot more grain, a ton more water, and mashing, sparging, etc would be more difficult and laborous.

I disagree. The only time you're really adding for a Partial Mash of say 3 lbs. grain is 45-60 min for the mash. If you're brewing an Extract beer with Steeping Grains, then you're steeping for about 30 minutes, thereby making the Extract process a mere 15-30 minutes shorter than Partial Mash process. The only debatable factors would be 1) if you weren't using steeping grains for the extract beer, and 2) if you always do quick boil extract beers at 30 minutes or less... Hop utilization is hard enough for extract beers, so if brewing something like an extract IPA, I would opt for a longer boil and greater hop utilization.

Except you don't know the mineral content of the water that your homebrewing store used to make the extract. An IPA brewed with Coopers pale ale LME will taste different than an IPA brewed with Briess Extra Light DME, not only because of the country of origin, the slightly different taste of the base malt used, but also from the differing residual mineral levels. If the homebrewer opts to use tap water or spring water over distilled or RO water, then they have just altered to those levels even more into the realm of obscurity. In short, they have no idea how much calcium, sulfate, sodium, chloride, etc is in their wort... especially to make accurate water chemistry adjustments on brewday.

This is inconsequential. We are not arguing popularity here, nevertheless there is a huge community of BIAB brewers who find the Partial Mash route easier than the All Grain route with less of an equipment cost and no apparent disadvantages other than buying a few lbs. of pricy extract. Unless you're brewing an extremely complex beer, you're likely to hit your target FG and have plenty of complexity and character by going the PM route.

 

You jumped to the conclusion that I have never brewed All Grain. I've brewed Extract, Partial Mash, and All Grain beers many, many, many times. Yes, they each have their benefits/disadvantages. But you can make a great beer by following any of those paths.

 

I'm not really sure what your problem is, and I'm not eager to try to find out. Suffice to say this is a completely over the top response to some gentle suggestions that you seemed not to entirely be clear on what you were talking about.

 

Probably the biggest advantage to partial mash is cost and "ease of setup".

If I wanted to go full all-grain, I'd have to purchase another kettle, burner (no way my stove could keep a rolling boil on anywhere close to 5gal of wort), mash tun, sparge system, cooling system, etc. If you go BIAB, then that reduces the number of things, but would still need most of it.

With partial mash, I can make do with kitchen equipment I already have.

That being said, I often make 1-2 gal batches, so they are small enough to be all grain

 

Why would you need a new burner for All Grain? All Grain doesn't make more wort than partial mash. i.e. batch size is recipe specific, not mash method specific.

 

It does because when you do partial mash, you can utilise smaller water amounts, and then top-up the fermentor with the remaining required water + extract. Or at least that's what I do...

Have I been doing it wrong?

 

Fair point. I wouldn't have guessed this was common, but maybe it is.

 

I have been brewing "all grain" and "partial mash" for over 20 years. I enjoy both methods. I don't enjoy it when people advocate only one approach to brewing. There are days (like today) where the temperature is 4 F. I have no desire to stand in my garage and brew beer. Partial mash allows me to use minimal equipment to produce really good beer, in my kitchen. Here is what I know to be true.

1. Many partial mash recipes produce beers that are indistinguishable from all grain in terms of taste and complexity. But, not all. If you are trying to make a super "hoppy" beer, PM is probably not the way to go. The whole advantage of PM is that you can do it on your stove top. When you are brewing a recipe where "hopp" attenuation is an issue, it is probably a good idea to go with a full boil recipe. However, I have had some pretty excellent IPAs, and APAs that were made partial mash.

2. You don't need to embrace one and only one kind of brewing. Yes, I prefer all grain. Yes, I now mostly brew BIAB all grain. It is easy and made all grain batches of 5+ gallons attainable for me. But, I also brew PM. Open your minds. There are many, many micro pubs, and microbreweries that use some extract. Many have won awards for their beers. It is true that all grain generally produces a better beer. I have never known, and neither do you, if that is due to the skill of the brewer or the quality of the ingredients, or both.

3. Being an all grain brewer doesn't make you a better brewer than someone who does PM or Extract. If we accept that kind of thinking, I would suggest that unless you are doing a multiple rest, decoction mash you aren't truly an all grain brewer. Of course, my assertion is wrong. There is just no need to do that anymore.

4. Extract is not necessarily "twangy". That is just a silly thing to say. There was a time when that was a factor, but most extract is packaged in plastic now. It was the metal that produced the twang. And it was real. We used to make an extract beer 20 years ago that we called "heavy metal hop blast". We knew it was going to have a little twang. All grain is not by definition better than extract. You have no idea when those grains were harvested. They are only required to tell you when they were packaged. If you visit a maltster, you will quickly realize they have rows and rows of elevators to store grains for extended periods of time. Your so called, fresh grains may be over a year old.

5. My hope is that when someone comes to a forum and asks for help we would all help them, not tell them what they are doing is wrong. Embracing brewing is almost never wrong.

 

Have you already made your beer? if not I could give a recipe...