2nd Partial - Advice Needed

[gfish]

Hi all,

2nd partial mash. First was a train wreck. Could use advice regarding:
1. Recipe (love big, hoppy beers).
2. Technique

I am very new to this. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
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1. Recipe

I have the following:

* 1.5kg Black Rock Light liquid malt,
* 1.7kg Macs Saaz Pale Ale (inc yeast)
* 150g Wheat Malt Extract (Dry/rock hard - must be old)
* 250g Carapils grain,
* 15g amarillo,
* 15g Saaz
* Safal US-05 yeast
* Brewcraft Kit Converter #46 (contains Amber spray malt & 15g galaxy)
* Trad. Ale mashing grain
​

These are all old ingredients. Have been in cupboard for about 1 1/2 years.

2. Technique

I have the following equipment:

* A 2-bedroom apartment with electric stove and no bath;
* Filter bag
* 3 x 23l coopers fermenters;
* Thermometer (el-cheapo to stick in a chicken)
* 15l stockpot (Big W: thin base, steel)
* Cheap hydrometer that came with Cooper's kit
​

Stovetop boil in 15l crockpot, hot transfer to fermenter make up to 21 litres, let cool, add yeast, store in euro-laundry (next to hot water storage tank).

I will watch a few youtube vids to re-jog my memory, however, I'd appreciate any tips/links/recipe suggestions (based on what I have available). I'd like to get a decent setup and eventually do AG's, but I am just looking to get back into it and use up the ingredients I have as a test-run. Should I invest in anything today (brewcraft are open til 4:30).

Thank you for any advice guys/girls. Much appreciated.
Adam

​

 

[manticle]

Read this article: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=80

What you are doing is not a partial mash but steeping specialty grains.

Your ingredients are probably a bit old. Is the grain cracked? It will need to be but if it's been cracked for 18 months it's probably very, very stale.

If the yeast has been in the cupboard, I'd spring for a new one - same with the hops.

Basically soak cracked grain in grain bag in hot water at about 70 degrees. Strain/remove bad and drain, rinse then boil the resulting liquid with some of your extract to get a gravity of 1030-1050. Add hops at the right points (eg 60 mins before end of boil, 20 mins before end of boil) to get your bittering target and flavour target. Add the remainder of your extract (if there is any) about 10 mins out from the end of the boil.

Cover and cool. Add to fermenter, top up to final volume with water, measure temp then add yeast.

Ferment, condition, bottle/keg and drink.

 

[gfish]

Hi Manticle,

Thanks for the advice. You are probably right about the ingredients being to old, I just wanted to use them up & given that this is my first brew for about 2 years, it is likely that I'd make a mistake or two. Wouldn't matter that much if the ingredients were wasted.

The last brew I did I boiled malts (I think I boiled 1kg Traditional ale mashing grain. I have 500g left). All grain I have is cracked.

How does boiling the 500g grain I have, sparging, and also steeping the Carapils. Both would be added to kit extracts? This would therefore be a partial, partial mash..?

I might buy some new yeast and hops (maybe some) but use all of hops I currently have during the mash... Amarillo, Saaz, Galaxy. I'm thinking:

Amarillo early/mid-way to boil;
Galaxy close to end/at end;
Saaz?? I'm thinking maybe not to use this at all.

So I need something extra. A good bittering hop, maybe Chinook?

Or am I way off? Thanks again - much appreciated.

 

[manticle]

Don't boil the grain. Boil the resultant liquor from either mashing or steeping.

Partial mash means getting part of your fermentable sugar from base malt which requires conversion of the starches within to sugar. Cara type/crystal malts have already had starch conversion take place as part of the malting/kilning process. Process for you is similar to steeping (although actual temperature is more crucial) but what happens inside the grain is very different.

Amarillo, galaxy and chinook should all work together for a decent APA. I don't like galaxy much but it is appropriate - chinook and amarillo I use regularly and sometimes together.