hi guys, hope your all good. i have made four kits now with great success and i want to move up to extract brewing. i have a couple of questions: i want to make one gallon batches so i can experiment more without taking up too much space so i bought a one gallon glass demi john to ferment in. is it lierally just a simple case of dividing all recipies by five ? also am i right in saying i can use any grain for steeping (as long as they are crushed) for flavour as the fermentables will be provided by the dry malt extract ? i cant wait to start so to have more control over my brews, although i have been impressed with the kits i have used so far, definately better than any commericial beer i have had in the past. as always thanks for any help and support guys
moving to extract (small batches)
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Yes you can divide recipes by 5; just make sure they are not American recipes as 5 American gallons is 19 litres.
Only certain grains can be steeped. These are crystal, anything starting cara-, chocolate, roast barley and black malt, basically. This is the beauty of a mini mash, it takes longer but you can use any grains, because the enzymes from the base malt convert the starches in all the grains present.
Only certain grains can be steeped. These are crystal, anything starting cara-, chocolate, roast barley and black malt, basically. This is the beauty of a mini mash, it takes longer but you can use any grains, because the enzymes from the base malt convert the starches in all the grains present.
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Yes, and Yes.
with one gallon batch targets however i would be tempted to plunge straight into biab, yes it will take a bit longer but 99% of that time will be sat on your backside keeping an eye on things, but its gonna be cheaper , and by the sounds of what you say a much more rewarding brew, you probably have a pan or 2 big enough in the kitchen, or loanable from family or friends for the evening..
also for 1 gallon batches of beers that prefer a softer more neutral water than your tap spits out, to avoid the whole chemistry lesson a 5l pet demijon of spring water from tesco at a quid a pop comes with a free FV
which ever direction you go enjoy the brew and the results
Yes, and Yes.
with one gallon batch targets however i would be tempted to plunge straight into biab, yes it will take a bit longer but 99% of that time will be sat on your backside keeping an eye on things, but its gonna be cheaper , and by the sounds of what you say a much more rewarding brew, you probably have a pan or 2 big enough in the kitchen, or loanable from family or friends for the evening..
also for 1 gallon batches of beers that prefer a softer more neutral water than your tap spits out, to avoid the whole chemistry lesson a 5l pet demijon of spring water from tesco at a quid a pop comes with a free FV
which ever direction you go enjoy the brew and the results
How big a pot would you need to do a 1 gallon BIAB brew allowing for headspace to prevent boilover?
If you mash the grains in the pot it would need to be about 10 litres. You can get a 15 litre stockpot at Will I for about 16 quid.
Alternatively you could mash in a food grade bucket or FV. Just insulate it well. You'd still need a pot of 7 or 8 litres though for the boil.
Alternatively you could mash in a food grade bucket or FV. Just insulate it well. You'd still need a pot of 7 or 8 litres though for the boil.
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What grains are you talking about?
What you are proposing there is base grains which you would mash as oppose to steep. If you're doing a steep you steep speciality grains (like the ones Clibit quoted above) These grains impart flavour and colour...
Base grains while impart their own flavour and colour are mashed which will convert their starches into sugar.. This is basically making it from scratch and if you're going all grain you do not need to use malt extract.. You could mash with these base malts and your speciality malts.. Like suggested above look into doing BIAB and mashing in your pot. You will have an AG instead of a partial extract.
Some grains are malted in a way that converts their starches into sugars, so steeping them in water is enough to dissolve the sugars and you add the liquid to your beer. I listed these grains above.
But most brewing grains are not like this. Their starches still need converting, and this is done by mashing. Mashing involves putting grains into water at a temperature at which enzymes present in base malt and some other grains (like wheat) become active, and effect the change from starch to sugar. So you need a temp between 62 and 70C, and you need grains that contain enough enzymes to convert all the starches.
This is not a big deal. You just need to include some base malt and keep the temp in that range. This is a small mash, therefore, or mini mash.
thats brilliant guys, that makes sense to me now. if i have it right in my head ill get some muslin bags, steep the grains at the right temprture and for the right amout of time, then sparge the grains. this will produce a wort that i wont need any more suger or malt extract for. i hope i have got this right
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