Partial Mashing With A Coopers Can.

[Tone boy]

[Kegory]

57 minutes ago, Tone boy said:

Pale can and mash the specialty malts with Pilsner grain.

Pilsner has lots of enzymes, so it’s got extra power to convert the sugar in the specialty malts, some of which are very low in enzyme.

Got a good partial recipe for an oatmeal stout if ur keen. It’s about 7.3% tho

Thanks, that's very interesting.

[Kegory]

56 minutes ago, Tone boy said:

Wow, that's got a lot going on, or going in.

[Pale Man]

Just to reiterate this thread and rewards from partial mashing with a Coopers Can ( not steeping ) and grain. 

The last beer Ive just brewed. A Coopers Can and 3.5 Kilo of crushed and mashed grain and a hop schedule of your choice.

Even I've surprised myself with the freshness and delicious grain flavour that can be matched with a good can of Coopers Extract.

The extra effort is definitely worth great craft beer. I'm also trying to encourage others to have a think about All Grain and crafting your very own beers.

 

[Pale Man]

On 10/2/2023 at 9:45 PM, Tone boy said:

Nice recipe @Tone boy

[Back Brewing]

1 hour ago, Pale Man said:

Just to reiterate this thread and rewards from partial mashing with a Coopers Can ( not steeping ) and grain. 

The last beer Ive just brewed. A Coopers Can and 3.5 Kilo of crushed and mashed grain and a hop schedule of your choice.

Even I've surprised myself with the freshness and delicious grain flavour that can be matched with a good can of Coopers Extract.

The extra effort is definitely worth great craft beer. I'm also trying to encourage others to have a think about All Grain and crafting your very own beers.

 

Please don't get on your high horse with javelin at the ready but just a question 

With that much grain why wouldn't you just go all grain because your just about there?

[Pale Man]

8 minutes ago, Back Brewing said:

Please don't get on your high horse with javelin at the ready but just a question 

With that much grain why wouldn't you just go all grain because your just about there?

Yes. But there are quite a few cons with a partial mash.

The beer style you want is already chosen with that can if that's what you want. You're really dolling up a Coopers can.

It's much easier to mash 3 kilo of grain in a 20 litre pot BIAB style on your kitchen stove top than have a full All Grain set up. And clean up is easy.

Practice makes perfect.

Less effort with great rewards.

Having said that.  You are well on your way to All Graining your own beer recipes.

Edited October 17, 2023 by Pale Man

[Shamus O'Sean]

11 minutes ago, Back Brewing said:

Please don't get on your high horse with javelin at the ready but just a question 

With that much grain why wouldn't you just go all grain because your just about there?

Quite true BB.  And @Pale Man is on the money with his reply.

I did a few partials before moving to all grain.  The process with 2-3kg of grain and about 6-10 litres of mash water is pretty easy and manageable.  The biggest challenge is getting the boiled wort cooled.

But you do realise that it is only a few steps up to all grain brewing.  Especially if you are doing smaller Craft sized batches.

[Aussiekraut]

10 hours ago, Back Brewing said:

Please don't get on your high horse with javelin at the ready but just a question 

With that much grain why wouldn't you just go all grain because your just about there?

That is my thinking too. I never did any partials because if I have to mash and boil anyway, I may as well go the whole hog. While there are some advantages to partials, it's pretty much dressing up a can of goo with the effort of AG brewing. I'm not dissing partials here, I just never saw the point TBH.

AG sounds scary to many but I went from kits 'n' bits straight to AG and found the change, while challenging in the beginning, half as bad as I thought. AG brewers dropped from black magic wielding demigods to normal people who use grains to make their beer. 

[Tone boy]

11 hours ago, Back Brewing said:

Please don't get on your high horse with javelin at the ready but just a question 

With that much grain why wouldn't you just go all grain because you’re just about there?

I agree with @Pale Man response, but would add one other point.

I don’t need to buy a whole heap of “stuff” for partial mashing. I can use the equipment I already have, although I did invest in a 10 litre drinks esky for the mash. 
I have done all grain, and it does take a bit longer than partials - not much though. I find with partial mashing you have more flexibility over the ingredients you put in a beer - remembering that you don’t have to use hopped kits as a base. I can pretty much make any beer I want with partials. 

And yes, it’s a great stepping stone to AG if you want to go that way. Although if I knew I was eventually going to go all grain, I’d probably just make the leap like AK @Aussiekraut. 

[NBillett09]

Thanks @Pale Man for kicking it off and @Tone boy for the extra links, what a brilliant thread! And of course all the other gurus here who has provided great insight and advice also!

Edited October 26, 2023 by NBillett09

[Kegory]

If converting a k&k recipe to a partial mash do you need to adjust the amount of specialty grains to compensate for the longer mash time vs steep time?

For instance, in the Black Beard Schwarzbier recipe you would replace the Light Dry Malt with say Pilsner grains. But would you still use 200g of Light Crystal Malt and 300g of Carafa III? Wouldn't that result in extracting more flavours (and sugars) and change the taste and the strength of the beer?

[Shamus O'Sean]

8 hours ago, Kegory said:

If converting a k&k recipe to a partial mash do you need to adjust the amount of specialty grains to compensate for the longer mash time vs steep time?

For instance, in the Black Beard Schwarzbier recipe you would replace the Light Dry Malt with say Pilsner grains. But would you still use 200g of Light Crystal Malt and 300g of Carafa III? Wouldn't that result in extracting more flavours (and sugars) and change the taste and the strength of the beer?

I do not think you need to adjust the amount of specialty grains to compensate for the longer mash time vs steep time if converting a k&k recipe to a partial mash.  Most all grain and extract recipes of the same brew have the same amounts of specialty malts in them.

If you were really worried about it, you could add the LCM and Carafa grains with 30 minutes left to go in the mini-mash.

[Kegory]

1 hour ago, Shamus O'Sean said:

I do not think you need to adjust the amount of specialty grains to compensate for the longer mash time vs steep time if converting a k&k recipe to a partial mash.  Most all grain and extract recipes of the same brew have the same amounts of specialty malts in them.

If you were really worried about it, you could add the LCM and Carafa grains with 30 minutes left to go in the mini-mash.

Thanks Shamus.

I'm not worried about it, as such, just curious.

[BlackSands]

Partials, based on a can plus extras was my norm for quite some time, with the mash component making up 50 - 60%.  Then one day I realised I could actually do a full BIAB AG with just the same amount of effort.  All I needed was a larger pot,  adopt a slight reduction in batch size (18 - 20litres) and, by focusing on lower ABV brews (4 - 5%) I could brew a decent beer with around 3.5kg grain.  I mash a concentrated wort - around 12 litres which I simply make up to the final volume in the FV. 

Since that realisation I have never returned to partial mash brewing.   I still do the occasional kit+bits brew, and unlike many AG brewers I really don't get that "night and day" difference in taste and don't notice the so-called "twang" associated with extract beers.  I enjoy both equally and really, the main reason I brew with grain preferentially is that it's cheaper and I can brew certain styles with greater authenticity - beers which can't really be brewed with extract alone.   

Edited November 1, 2023 by BlackSands

[Tone boy]

22 hours ago, Kegory said:

would you still use 200g of Light Crystal Malt and 300g of Carafa III?

Keep the amount of specialty grain the same. 
 

 

5 hours ago, BlackSands said:

I mash a concentrated wort - around 12 litres which I simply make up to the final volume in the FV. 

Interesting BS. So did you get a 20 litre pot for the boil? Do you mash in the same pot?

[BlackSands]

11 hours ago, Tone boy said:

Interesting BS. So did you get a 20 litre pot for the boil? Do you mash in the same pot?

Yeah, I was lucky and got my hands on a 21 litre stainless steel pot for a mere $10.  I mash in a bag and then once done, lift out the bag and slip a large collander in underneath which fits just nicely in the mouth of the pot, allowing the bag to drain and at the same time I turn on the heat.  I also batch sparge the grains which ultimately gives me the 10-12 litres of wort for the boil. 

    

[Triple B Brewing]

Hi all,

Seasons Greetings and a Happy New Year to everyone. I trust each of you saw the start of 2024 in with a cold brew in hand and a smile on ya dial    

I had been encouraged by @Pale Man post re Partial Mashing With A Coopers Can, but each time I started to think about how I would go about it, I would get a little waylaid in the calculations and if I would be able to do it with the kitchen equipment I currently have at hand.

My main need was to identify “how much grain, needs how much total water to mash and then sparge and ultimately do I have a pot big enough for all of that to then boil….”

So anywaz, Ioooong story short (coz I have a tendency to waffle somewot ) I started to set out the info I needed in excel (as a means of puttin’ pen ta paper if ya want) and came up with the attached.

Hopefully, it might be helpful for anyone (like me) who hasn’t yet dipped their so said toe inta partial mashin’ with a kit 'n bits, but is intrigued enough ta give it a go.

 Partial Mash Brewing Calculator.xlsx

I have based the formulas in the contained on historical information provided by COOPERS CLUB MEMBER @ChristinaS1 (thank you ChristinaS1, I trust your health has improved and you remain happy ‘n well in 2024 – your information and explanations on this topic were a God send - honest !).

While there's a lot of much more advanced web based recipe programs already out there, the primary purpose of the attached workbook is much more simplistic. That is; to simply provide the user with the calculated amount of Mash and “Batch” Sparging Water needed, which then provides an Estimated Wort Size, (which in-turn identifies the required pot size needed for the final boil and complete a mini (aka a partial) mash– eezy peezy ! )

There are just two simple steps to use it:

1. Select the type of malt you are using
2. Enter the amount of grain.

That’s it

I have also included some conditional formatting which helps identify things if the parameters are getting too close for comfort. For example:

• The total Base Malt amount will turn green if over 50% of the total grain bill – This should be a minimum target (this is to ensure there is a strong amount of “enzyme power” in the total grain bill)
• The total Specialty Malts amount will turn red if greater than 20% of the total grain bill – This should be a maximum target (again to ensure the balance of enzyme power is present in the total grain bill)
• The total Mash Water Volume cell will turn red if it calculates to be 9.2 litres or over (as that’s the biggest stock pot I currently have available).

If you are the type of brewer that takes record of what and how ya did it (and really, who isn’t that type of brewer), I have set up the print parameters so that you can have a convenient copy printed off on brew day and save to file for historical reference (and improvement )

Finally, I have also included a couple of (hopefully) helpful calculators and links to interesting (well at least I found them of interest) resource material.

Well, that’s it, however if you have followed my previous posts, you will know I have at least 6 months of brewing already planned and locked in, so of course, if there is any areas of improvement I could include, I have plenty of time before I put this Partial Mashing With A Coopers Can into practice , so I would very much welcome that feedback from the COOPERS CLUB BRAINS TRUST

Happy brewing in 2024 everyone !     

Regards,

Vince

[DavidM]

Looks very simple, I just did a dummy run and it worked out just right for me and my pot size.

Thanks

Love your Work

[Triple B Brewing]

45 minutes ago, DavidM said:

Looks very simple, I just did a dummy run and it worked out just right for me and my pot size.

Thanks

Love your Work

PHEW  - Thanks @DavidM - Happy improved brewing eh

I plan to reev up the Nelsons Light (when I finally get to that scheduled brew). 
What’s in plan for your next partial mash ?

[DavidM]

16 hours ago, Triple B Brewing said:

What’s in plan for your next partial mash ?

Not at this time but later in the year I will give this a go.

I'm a "Kit & Bit's" brewer, and with it so well laid out, by your Spreadsheet, I will step up a bit soon.

[Triple B Brewing]

3 hours ago, DavidM said:

Not at this time but later in the year I will give this a go.

I'm a "Kit & Bit's" brewer, and with it so well laid out, by your Spreadsheet, I will step up a bit soon.

Sounds like we’re on a common trajectory @DavidM, I too am currently a kit’s n bits brewer and greatly enjoy the process and outcomes, however I’m keen to explore full flavoured lower ABV beers and hoping this partial mash process might help me get there. 
I’ll keep an eye out for any updates you might post on your partial mash journey

Cheers