My First Partial Grain Attempt & Pics...is This Okay?

[rendo]

Hi All,

I am going to do my first grain steep/mash tonight or tomorrow (not a true partial) and here is what I am using. Thought I would post up here for any feedback, but am pretty comfortable all should be okay.

I have some carapils. Yes I know its specialty malt and doesnt need mashing, just steeping. But I will treat it like a mash to get practice. Should get a better yield that way anyway?? OR will it be too much yield? It will be for a brewferm tarwebier (which I am pretty sure is a witbier, or that sorta style anyway), will also add some dex, say 500g.

Anyhow, take a look at the pics, you will see a 2L coffee plunger that I have cleaned to sparkly new condition and will sanitise. An esky (9L) that the 2L plunger fits in just nicely without that much extra airspace.

What I plan to do:

• • • -Add 1L of boiling water from the kettle to the plunger Let cool to 70-73deg (this will be my strike temp?? too high?) -Add 250g of carapils
      
      -Check the temp is about 65, adjust if necessary with boiling water or cooled boiled water (or beer....joking)
      
      -Seal up the plunger with glad wrap
      
      -Put plunger in the 9L esky and leave for 30mins. (would 60mins be better? I think 30mins is fine)
      
      -I am tempted to check the temp along the way, but I dont think I will. Since I dont really need to mash it, I will just let it sit unopened and check the temp at the end to see how well the esky keeps the temp. Otherwise if I were to open that lid to check temp, it will let out a crap load of heat.
      
      -Take the plunger out. put the plunger lid on, press and pour the liquid from the plunger into a pot ready to do the boil etc. Will add hops, some saaz for flavour and aroma, some hallertau for flavour, prob boil for 20mins.
      
      -(side thought: do people actually put their hot water and grain in the esky itself...as in, with no pot etc, so the esky itself becomes the pot as such? hmm, that would mean i could do a 9L mash??? is this right?)

Anyway....any thoughts? Am I about to do it right?



Thanks all

​

 

[raven19]

Sounds fine as a process, however no need to use boiling water or cling wrap etc... as you are going to boil the wort/liquid at the end of this mashing/steeping process.

Good luck with it.

 

[raven19]

• • • -(side thought: do people actually put their hot water and grain in the esky itself...as in, with no pot etc, so the esky itself becomes the pot as such? hmm, that would mean i could do a 9L mash??? is this right?)

Correct, the esky itself can be used as a Mash Tun. Hence at 9L you could do some mini mashes for sure.

 

[marksfish]

the cara-pils has no enzymes so the extract will stay the same, and the esky will work fine as a mash-tun.

 

[Pennywise]

No real need to check temps with a small partial (even though technically it isn't) as most of the conversion will happen in the first 20-30 mins. Not that you shouldn't or can't, it's just not really nessesary IMO

 

[rendo]

Correct, the esky itself can be used as a Mash Tun. Hence at 9L you could do some mini mashes for sure.

COOL....that sounds exciting.

How much grain do you think I could comfortably mash in the 9L esky?? as in 1kg? 2kg? 3kg?


I am going to get into mini-mashing in no time I want to make an oatmeal stout. Maybe I can get a good stout kit and then do a partial/mini-mash with oats and whatever else. Am sure I can find a good recipie here.

 

[rendo]

I will just do it anyway to get the practice .... then when i get experienced, lazy, wiser, I am sure I wont check temps :icon_cheers:

No real need to check temps with a small partial (even though technically it isn't) as most of the conversion will happen in the first 20-30 mins. Not that you shouldn't or can't, it's just not really nessesary IMO

 

[bum]

then when i get experienced, lazy, wiser, I am sure I wont check temps

Yeah, you will because your newly acquired wisdom will inform you that temps are actually very important when mashing (which you aren't doing here).

 

[rendo]

Hey...another question(s)....

Once I have strained or plunged the 1L of water that steeped the grain (name for this? wort?extract?) into the pot....should I chuck another 1L of approx 70deg water back into the plunger to rinse out all the last bits of malty goodness? (is this called sparging?)...

that will be 2L in total, that I can comfortably boil with a normal pot.

Rendo

 

[Siborg]

Hey...another question(s)....

Once I have strained or plunged the 1L of water that steeped the grain (name for this? wort?extract?) into the pot....should I chuck another 1L of approx 70deg water back into the plunger to rinse out all the last bits of malty goodness? (is this called sparging?)...

that will be 2L in total, that I can comfortably boil with a normal pot.

Rendo

Hey rendo. I'm Be following this thread closely because I'm gonna try a partial this week. I'll be doing a 5litre mash with 2.2kg of grain. Does anyone reckon that 5 litres of water and 2 kilos of grain would fit in a 7.5 litre container?

 

[manticle]

Rinsing the grains is called sparging. Doesn't do any harm when steeping grains (get a bit extra good stuff) and good practice for later.

The plunger should be clean but being pre-boil you don't need to go crazy with sanitisers.

You don't really get much of a yield with spec grains - you are mainly after colour and flavour. Some sugar may be extrated from crystal/caramel malts but it's minimal which is why you don't need to be as worried about conversion temperatures. As you say - good practice for later.

I would say if you are aiming for 65 and are only using 250g of grain, that 73 will be higher than you want. There is an article on the GG website that helps calculate water temps and how much grain will absorb how much temp. Obviously it's directed at full mash brewing but you'll be able to extrapolate. It also has a calculator at the bottom but I recommend you read the article so you know why the calculator works.
Found here: http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/articles_o..._StrikeTemp.htm

To give you an indication of how big a mash you can do in your esky - I can easily mash 4-5 kilos of grain and do an 8-9 litre mash out. I can mash 6+ kg of grain and do a slightly smaller mash out (probably around 6-7 litres and we're at maximum capacity). My mash tun is 26 litres. I would say a 2 kg mash would be max with yours.

You can mash directly inside the esky - what you need is some kind of braid, filter or manifold inside to prevent small pieces of grain blocking the tap. People use various things - copper manifolds are common, stainless steel braid is used, food grade PVC is sometimes used and you can buy false bottoms. I devoted a thread to the best way to cut yourself and stuff things up when trying to build a tun. Found here: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...showtopic=35595

Hope this answers most of your questions.

 

[TrenthamTripper]

I devoted a thread to the best way to cut yourself and stuff things up when trying to build a tun.

Off topic, I know....
"Tools Explained"

DRILL PRESS:

A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL:

Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, "Oh, ****!"

PLIERS:

Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER:

An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW:

One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS:

Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH:

Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race..

TABLE SAW:

A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST:

A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER:

Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER:

A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR:

A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HAMMER:

Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE:

Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use..

SON OF A B***H TOOL:

Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling "Son of a b***h" at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

 

[rendo]

Hope this answers most of your questions.

THANK YOU MANTICLE. This is excellent information. I am already reading your AG post....its GREAT!! I love the high-tech weber burner. So the mainfold is like a filter/drain kinda thingy....interesting. I give myself 12 months and I'll be in AG. I am already thinking of how to rig up my bbq as the AG bench where I do all my stuff....it has a perfect spot for a mash tun, gas burner, shelf underneath to drain the stuff too....and after all that I can cook a barbie on it. Too bad if i want to do a bbq at the same time. Hmmmm, maybe time to buy another bbq haha

Well, I know what I will be doing to the wee hours of the morning. reading the links you sent me, looking at mini-mash recipies, 2kg of grain u reckon...cool...I imagine you need more than that to do a full AG, so partials for now. But 2kg is sounds pretty decent. I'd still need to chuck a 1kg or so of malt extract in I imagine...

anyway...off to read/research and probably sink a few brews.

Drinking a Coopers Euro Ale i brewed last winter, approx 12degC, lager yeast, plenty of saaz and a good dose of hallertau......its a keeper ABout 6.0% alc....too much dex made it a little thin, but its still nice

 

[rendo]

Off topic, I know....
"Tools Explained"

SON OF A B***H TOOL:

Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling "Son of a b***h" at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need. [/color]

i have plenty of SOB tools want some?

 

[manticle]

THANK YOU MANTICLE. This is excellent information. I am already reading your AG post....its GREAT!! I love the high-tech weber burner. So the mainfold is like a filter/drain kinda thingy....interesting. I give myself 12 months and I'll be in AG. I am already thinking of how to rig up my bbq as the AG bench where I do all my stuff....it has a perfect spot for a mash tun, gas burner, shelf underneath to drain the stuff too....and after all that I can cook a barbie on it. Too bad if i want to do a bbq at the same time. Hmmmm, maybe time to buy another bbq haha

Well, I know what I will be doing to the wee hours of the morning. reading the links you sent me, looking at mini-mash recipies, 2kg of grain u reckon...cool...I imagine you need more than that to do a full AG, so partials for now. But 2kg is sounds pretty decent. I'd still need to chuck a 1kg or so of malt extract in I imagine...

anyway...off to read/research and probably sink a few brews.

Drinking a Coopers Euro Ale i brewed last winter, approx 12degC, lager yeast, plenty of saaz and a good dose of hallertau......its a keeper ABout 6.0% alc....too much dex made it a little thin, but its still nice

I've upgraded now to a rambo 4 ring burner and 50 litre kettle but where there's a will there's a way.

Single batch full size all grain brews can be made for as little as 3kg of grain although this will be low ABV (light beer/mid beer). 4-5 kg of base is pretty standard and will give roughly 4-5% abv at 70% efficiency (obviously dependent on final attenuation etc).

The grain bed itself acts as a filter. The manifold stops the tap getting clogged but one poster in that thread reckons the esky tap and not stirring up the grain bed is more than enough. That particular poster has been brewing for a good while so I give a lot of credence to what they say. However the other purpose (main purpose) of the manifold as far as I understand is to channel the wort drainings equally as draining through one spot can lead to efficiency problems (sugar rinsed from one area but not another).

There is a great section in Palmer on building a tun and manifold: http://www.howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD.html

Best of luck with it all. It seems complicated when you're first reading about it but the basics of it are actually quite simple. Partials are good practice with less need to be perfect.

There's still lodas of stuff I'm learning and usually learning by making mistakes.

 

[rendo]

Well, its done!!!

As per the plan below.

Nothing major to report. Went exactly as planned. It was all a little anti-climatic, but still cool. I just find it hard to believe that such a little amount of grain, 250g, will make a difference to a 15L brew...anyway... the proof will be in the beer. Fingers crossed for no infections, I was very careful, as always.

The wort(?) from steeping the carapils was quite watery, i thought it would be thicker more syrupy, but maybe that is normal (1.3L steepiNG 250g carapils, so maybe that is okay. it was light brown, kinda like a weetbix-ish type. So I assume that is normal. Alot of the grain still had lots of white crystals left. I thought they would be all gone, but again, maybe that is normal. Picture attached.

I have included pics of the by-products of today's fun.....

For hops I added 10g of hallertau and 5g of saaz at 20min then 15g of hallertau at flame out. Maybe this was too much considering its a 15L brew. (i didnt think of that till later...anyway..might just need to age a little longer)

​

Hi All,

I am going to do my first grain steep/mash tonight or tomorrow (not a true partial) and here is what I am using. Thought I would post up here for any feedback, but am pretty comfortable all should be okay.

I have some carapils. Yes I know its specialty malt and doesnt need mashing, just steeping. But I will treat it like a mash to get practice. Should get a better yield that way anyway?? OR will it be too much yield? It will be for a brewferm tarwebier (which I am pretty sure is a witbier, or that sorta style anyway), will also add some dex, say 500g.

Anyhow, take a look at the pics, you will see a 2L coffee plunger that I have cleaned to sparkly new condition and will sanitise. An esky (9L) that the 2L plunger fits in just nicely without that much extra airspace.

What I plan to do:

• • • -Add 1L of boiling water from the kettle to the plunger Let cool to 70-73deg (this will be my strike temp?? too high?) -Add 250g of carapils
      
      -Check the temp is about 65, adjust if necessary with boiling water or cooled boiled water (or beer....joking)
      
      -Seal up the plunger with glad wrap
      
      -Put plunger in the 9L esky and leave for 30mins. (would 60mins be better? I think 30mins is fine)
      
      -I am tempted to check the temp along the way, but I dont think I will. Since I dont really need to mash it, I will just let it sit unopened and check the temp at the end to see how well the esky keeps the temp. Otherwise if I were to open that lid to check temp, it will let out a crap load of heat.
      
      -Take the plunger out. put the plunger lid on, press and pour the liquid from the plunger into a pot ready to do the boil etc. Will add hops, some saaz for flavour and aroma, some hallertau for flavour, prob boil for 20mins.
      
      -(side thought: do people actually put their hot water and grain in the esky itself...as in, with no pot etc, so the esky itself becomes the pot as such? hmm, that would mean i could do a 9L mash??? is this right?)

Anyway....any thoughts? Am I about to do it right?
Thanks all

 

[jyo]

Well, its done!!!

As per the plan below.

Nothing major to report. Went exactly as planned. It was all a little anti-climatic, but still cool. I just find it hard to believe that such a little amount of grain, 250g, will make a difference to a 15L brew...anyway... the proof will be in the beer. Fingers crossed for no infections, I was very careful, as always.

The wort(?) from steeping the carapils was quite watery, i thought it would be thicker more syrupy, but maybe that is normal (1.3L steepiNG 250g carapils, so maybe that is okay. it was light brown, kinda like a weetbix-ish type. So I assume that is normal. Alot of the grain still had lots of white crystals left. I thought they would be all gone, but again, maybe that is normal. Picture attached.

I have included pics of the by-products of today's fun.....

For hops I added 10g of hallertau and 5g of saaz at 20min then 15g of hallertau at flame out. Maybe this was too much considering its a 15L brew. (i didnt think of that till later...anyway..might just need to age a little longer)

View attachment 35952
View attachment 35954
View attachment 35953
​

Nice work. You'll get the AG bug soon, mate.
Looks like an emu took a dump in your backyard

edit: if you have dogs, get rid of your hop waste, mate. Not good for them, apparently.

 

[jbowers]

Mate, not even close to too much hops. My best brew so far had 80 grams of hops, all added within 20 minutes in a 10 litre batch. Your hopping rates look very tame! That being said, I dont have much experience with noble hops, and will leave that until I get in to all grain for some pilsener action.

 

[rendo]

Good to hear. Also, yes it seems there is a rogue emu in my backyard that sh!ts hops!! (as seen above) Not such a bad thing.

Anyway, since I am in a picture mood, here is my 15L tarwebeir in my ferm fridge, with glad wrap as the ferm lid....one small leap for rendo...

​

Mate, not even close to too much hops. My best brew so far had 80 grams of hops, all added within 20 minutes in a 10 litre batch. Your hopping rates look very tame! That being said, I dont have much experience with noble hops, and will leave that until I get in to all grain for some pilsener action.

 

[stm]

Looks good rendo. Have a look at this article - very similar equipment to what you are using (drink cooler):

http://www.byo.com/stories/techniques/arti...partial-mashing