william_shakes_beer

Recipes 

The weather is turning colder and my thoughts are turning to AG brewing in the kitchen. That means returning to my stovetop and part boils in my 7.5 gallon turkey pot. I read another AG thread about brewers steeping dark grains rather than mashing them to reduce the harsh char taste. I plan to give this a try, to reduce char and also to thin out the mash and get as close to a full boil as possible. Please review the grain bill below and verify I have placed the grains in the correct categories.

Mash:
8 LB 2 row
1 LB L10
1 LB oats

Steep:
1.5 Lb pale chocolate
.2 LB roasted barley

Second question: the recipie calls for 1 LB lactose. Should that go in with the hops or at flameout?

smagee

Recipes 

Looks like a light stout? The bill looks reasonable, although I think I'd keep at least a little of the dark grains in the mash just to provide *some* roast (say, .5-1lb of the chocolate).

I usually add lactose at flameout or shortly before, just to ensure that it gets properly incorporated.

bigdongsr94

Recipes 

Your trying to conserve room in your pot for stove top application correct? I have also read that boils are good for dark malts and a kind of csrmelization effect. You could pull some two row and supplement with some DME.

william_shakes_beer

Recipes 

Ok, thanks. Asking because I want to get to the LHBS soon and want to be sure I separate the grains into 2 bags correctly. One for mash one for steep. It's a lot easier than separating them after they've been placed in the same bag Its a milk chocolate stout I swiped from the recipie database. If the weather holds out I'll fire it up outdoors and do a full boil. Just wanted the indoors option if this weekend is as grey and dreary as last weekend.