Partial Mash With Too Much Water

[Hoser]

So did my second partial batch today and screwed up the water to grist ratio. I read in How to Brew that I should use 3-4L per kilogram or 2 quarts per pound. Somehow I merged and changed the two of these as I wrote out my brew schedule and managed to plan for 2 gallons per kilogram or obviously 8L per kilogram!!! Yeah, don't ask cuz I don't know.

Anyhoo, anyone know what this will do to my brew? Skimmed a couple of website and from memory of what I heard on a Brewstrong podcast, my conversion % will go down because the enzymes are too dispersed.

Good thing is at least I only did 1kg partial and added 3.8kg Pils DME for my American Pale ale recipe from Brewing Classic Styles. Hopefully it doesn't come out thin as a 10year old pair of socks!

 

[raven19]

Thinner mash for sure, hence your partial component may be a little lower in fermentables, however if you mashed it for long enough decent conversion should occur. Adding the DME should bring it back close to desired. I presume you topped up the fermenter with less water accordingly, based on extra water used in the partial component?

 

[kelbygreen]

so if you mash with a heap of water your extraction rate goes down??? I always try to do 3lt to kg. What happens if you mash with not enough water?? never thought about this lol

 

[Hoser]

Thinner mash for sure, hence your partial component may be a little lower in fermentables, however if you mashed it for long enough decent conversion should occur. Adding the DME should bring it back close to desired. I presume you topped up the fermenter with less water accordingly, based on extra water used in the partial component?

Yeah changed my top up to full boil volume accordingly. I mashed 65 degrees for 60 mins and then sparged in 12L at 74 degrees in my full brew pot. 12L because get this - I learned that sparge of 1.5x mash volume is a good amount according to Palmer's How to Brew. So instead of 6L sparge, I did 12L!!

Hopefully I still got a half decent conversion....

 

[Hoser]

so if you mash with a heap of water your extraction rate goes down??? I always try to do 3lt to kg. What happens if you mash with not enough water?? never thought about this lol

Yeah 3L per kg is in the right range. What I've learned is you want 3-4L per kg, not 8!! Too much water is a thin mash but I'm somewhat saved by doing a partial I think.... although I bet not entirely.

If you lose too little I believe it leads to too constricted and thick a mash which reduces the effectiveness of the enzymes and you get lower efficiency....

 

[Bribie G]

With BIAB we typically use around 6L per Kg and get good efficiency. 8L is maybe pushing it a tad, but you should be ok. German Breweries nowadays mostly do stepped mashes, starting with a thick mash then go up through the temperature rests by adding boiling water and eventually end up with quite a thin mash towards the end.

 

[Hoser]

With BIAB we typically use around 6L per Kg and get good efficiency. 8L is maybe pushing it a tad, but you should be ok. German Breweries nowadays mostly do stepped mashes, starting with a thick mash then go up through the temperature rests by adding boiling water and eventually end up with quite a thin mash towards the end.

Cool thanks Bribie.... I hope so. I was thinking about the higher water ratios in BIAB this morning actually. That's next for me so maybe subconciously I was planning for my step up to BIAB by going crazy high water:grist ratio!

 

[QldKev]

I agree you should be ok. The only think with such a high water to grain ratio I would have left it for a 90min mash.

QldKev

 

[ekul]

With my cpa clone i mash 3.7kg of grain in 32L of water and it turns out pretty tasty most of the time.

 

[[email protected]]

Sounds like you're ready to go to all-grain ! Just add more grain and you're there.

 

[Bribie G]

I did quite a few partials and of course it did strike me that with the amount of time I was spending mashing and boiling I'd be as well off going All grain. However I was put off by the entry costs, researched BIAB, discovered that urns were less than $300. Then Kev stimulated me (wow, was it that long ago? Time flies) and the rest is history. Actually with Craftbrewer's prices (no affil) it's even cheaper to get into AG nowadays and a lot less mucking around - especially with commercial grade bags now available from a couple of suppliers, and the grain bulk buy forums seem to be quite active nowadays.

 

[Hoser]

Yeah seems like it's next for me. I've got a 46L pot and have been doing partials with full volume boils for a few batches now. Next up - get a full size bag and determine a means to hoist the bag over the pot although the guys at G&G told me I can just hang it from a door handle if I want. My idea is to buy a ladder (which I need anyway) and hook it to the middle part underneath the ladder with the pot below.

I figure in the next few weeks it'll be time.... :super: