Countertop Partial Mash Discussion Thread

[Cosmic Charlie]

This way, all my questions will be in 1 thread. Anyway, Chris Colby's article suggests (in general) that you add the LME to the boil, and add only the DME late. I have been collecting the first wort, doing a batch sparge, then collecting the second wort - then boil with the 60 min hops without adding any extract early. I add both the LME and DME late (for the last 15 or 20 minutes). My thinking is that I'll get better hop utilization (isomerization). Does this sound OK? It seems to work well, but I had to wonder why it was suggested to add the LME and make the wort 'thicker'.

Here's a tip you might want to try - I was watching the Food Network, and saw a chef make soup. He was transporting the soup in a thermos. He suggested you fill up a thermos with hot water to bring the thermos up to temperature. So, now my first step on my brew day is to fill my 2 gal cooler up with hot water to bring it up to temp while I'm getting ready to mash. It should make it a little easier to hit and maintain my target temp. HTH!

[hopshead]

I have read that article also and you need to check it again. He adds DME then LME late or at knockout. DME should be boiled, LME already has been boiled and by putting in at knockout with the lid of pot on for about 10 to 15 min. will sanitize it.

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by hopshead
I have read that article also and you need to check it again. He adds DME then LME late or at knockout. DME should be boiled, LME already has been boiled and by putting in at knockout with the lid of pot on for about 10 to 15 min. will sanitize it.

Don't put the lid on tighly....you want it to vent.

[Cosmic Charlie]

I measured the volume of my first wort and batch sparge, and I thought I'd post them for other CPM brewers to use a rule of thumb (and to double check that I'm doing it right).

Total volume was 302 oz (or 2.36 gallons). I got 140 oz from the first wort (or 46.3% of the volume) and 162 oz from the second wort or sparge (53.7%).

I take hydrometer readings of each wort (after the sample has cooled) and calculate the weighted average to estimate the OG of the mash.

Then, calculate efficiency as usual.

[darylM]

Originally posted by Cosmic Charlie

Here's a tip you might want to try - I was watching the Food Network, and saw a chef make soup. He was transporting the soup in a thermos. He suggested you fill up a thermos with hot water to bring the thermos up to temperature. So, now my first step on my brew day is to fill my 2 gal cooler up with hot water to bring it up to temp while I'm getting ready to mash. It should make it a little easier to hit and maintain my target temp. HTH!

I tried using a 2 gal cooler my last batch and the cooler lost 10 degrees in 20 mins! What is your experience with your cooler?

I was trying to hold it at temp for 1 hour. Is that too long to make a difference?

[Cosmic Charlie]

It works well for me. I mashed for 45 minutes last weekend (oatmeal stout, a la BYO). I do heat my strike water more than what I've read - I heat it to 175F when I want to mash at 154 - 155. I always leave a little space to add more water. After about 20 minutes, I bring some water to a boil in a tea kettle. Then I opened the cooler to stir the grains, check the temp, and add the hot water if necessary (which it was). When I collect the wort the temp was still in the 150's.

[darylM]

I would be interested in your initial mash temp after the strike water was added. I found that having more water at the ready is a good idea. How much grain do you typically use?

Because you add water during, do you start with stiff mash (<=1 qt/ lb grain) or do you start with a normal mash and make is looser?

[Cosmic Charlie]

I use 4 pounds of grain, and I don't short the water too much. I fill it near the top, leaving about an inch. I dont measure exactly how much water I mash with, but I do measure how much I ran off - I get a little over a gallon from the first wort. And if my thermometer is correct, I mashed in at 155F.

As a brewer that may take the 'relax, don't worry' approach too far, I dont know my grain to water ratio - if I did, I could give you a better answer, but I'm a lazy, lazy man.

[Drnk_McDermott]

I tried the technique yesterday with pretty good results. The only 2-gallon cooler I could find during Christmas shopping season was a Rubbermaid "Water Jug" that did not seem to be insulated at all. When I poured my strike water into it, I heard a lot of worrisome cracking noises, but once done, did not find any cracks (it's possible the inner container may separate from the outer later, I'm afraid). However, I put the cooler into a larger soft-sided wheeled cooler with a towel wrapped around it, and it stayed at 157F for all 50 minutes of the rest. A folding spout at the top proved handy for checking with a glass thermometer.
I used the Honey-Ginger blonde ale recipe from the countertop brewing followup in the October BYO. Seemed pretty dark to me, though. Either I should have turned off the heat just before adding the LME instead of a few minutes before. The honey I used was an old jar from Erick, OK that had solidified and darkened. But it hadn't been opened, so a little microwaving got it soft enough to dump in. But I hit an O.G. of 1.052. Still getting used to the idea of just rousing dried yeast (Nottingham) in warm water, like I would for pizza dough, but it was indeed a healthy looking pitch and the airlock was already bubbling away this morning.

[Cosmic Charlie]

Upon further consideration, I think next time I'll mash in my brew pot so I can raise the temp if needed. Also, I suspect my efficiency will increase if I don't use a grain bag. Then, I'll lauter and batch sparge in the cooler.

Just a thought.

[Mill Rat]

Just be sure to keep the mash well stirred while you're heating it.

[Drnk_McDermott]

I found a 5-gallon nylon paint strainer bag from Home Depot worked fine in the mash cooler. Looked like I hit my target gravity, and I could just lift it a little bit when the runoff got stuck.
I saved my muslin bag for all the leaf hops I had in the boil. Once the hops were soaked & heated, they were pretty loose in the bag, so I'm sure I got most of the hop flavor I wanted out of it.