All grain...partial boil

[orchidbeer]

I have done 3 brews, one extract w/speciality grains and 2 partial mash. I have a 5 gal BK. I would like to know if I can do an all grain and a partial boil for a 5 gal. batch? If so how would I proceed. I was planning on mashing the grains in a rectangular cooler. I could do a 3 gal full boil, but would prefer the 5 gal batch.

TIA, Joe

 

[freisste]

I'm planning to do just that this week. AG BIAB and top off to 5 gal.

I have mashed 9lbs in the past for a partial mash (which is a LOT for my 5 gal kettle, but doable), so I don't expect the 8.5 lbs for my current recipe to be much different. I just won't add extract so I can stay at my target of 1.054 instead of my other beer which ended up at 1.108!

The only issue I had was trying to "sparge" by pouring water through the bag above my kettle. Turns out the 9 lbs of grain turns into like 30 lbs of wet grain. At least I got a workout in.

 

[frazier]

It is possible, but with terrible efficiency. You won't really be able to sparge.

Think of it this way: with an extract batch, you start with all the sugar, but in concentrated form. You can add it whenever you want during the boil, and top off as needed.

With All-grain, you start out with the sugar in diluted form, and must boil it down. Your mash + sparge will get you ~~6.5 gallons of pre-wort, with all your sugar rinsed out of the grains. If you only get 4 gallons from the mash, you have lost the chance to get all the sugars out. You'll have to start with a lot of extra grain to make up for those losses. Might as well stick to mini-mash + extract, which is not such a bad option, all things considered.

Or you can do what I do, which is collect all the mash + sparge water into two separate pots, and run two simultaneous boils. It's cumbersome, but it works.

Cheers,

 

[stratslinger]

Or... You could brew 3 gallons to a higher gravity, IBU level, and SRM number, then dilute it down to 5 gallons in your fermenter. Problem being that there would be at least some guesswork involved. The gravity and IBU level wouldn't be so hard to figure out - that part's just math. But the SRM would involve some guesswork to get right.

In the end, it's probably easier (not to mention more accurate) to invest a few bucks in a bigger brew kettle.

 

[Snisup]

Dunk sparge in another kettle or bucket. I do 4G BIAB with a 5 gallon kettle and a 3.5 gallon kettle as a mash tun. You can boil more than 4 gallons in a 5 gallon kettle. You just have to be careful. I've done it 5 times now with no boil overs.