A couple brewing questions

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Vagrant

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I'm about to brew my 2nd all grain today and had a few questions. By the way, I'm brewing Tuck's Espresso Chocolate Stout.

I'm going to be brewing my first all grain stout, so the first question is: do I put the specialty grains in the mash with the maltible grains? Here's my grain bill:

12.0 lbs American 2-row
1.0 lbs American Chocolate Malt
2.0 lbs Crystal Malt 10°L
1.0 lbs Roasted Barley


Next question: has anyone brewed with light brown sugar or molasses? The recipe calls for a pound of each but I dont know if I'm supposed to prime with it, add it to the boil, or flame out or what. That sounds like a lot to prime with to me if that's the case.

Thanks for the input.

Sean
 
Yes you mash everything together. Just be careful not to go too hot with the Roasted Barley. You can extract tannins which will lead to astringency. I can't say what the brown sugar & molasses are for in your case, but I've added them to the boil before. When I use sugars, I add them around the 10 minute mark...
 
Soulive gives good info. my comment about roasted barley, is I've been given the tip to keep that malt separate, and add it when you do the first drain/recirculate (vorlauf). that'll keep it from getting overwhelming.

seems like a lot of brown sugar AND molasses. if it was a half pound of each it wouldn't seem like so much.
but it appears to be an established recipe...maybe go with light molasses and light brown sugar?
 
I think I will cut my brown sugar and molasses additions.

So you suggest I add the darker grains during vorlauf.. will that be enough time @ x degrees to extract the srm and flavors from it?

What temperature should I mash at? I forgot to ask that. Is there a standard single infusion temperature or is it something that brewsmith/promash calculates?

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
I would probably mash at 156. the sugar is probably to dry out the beer. If the recipe calls for it I would say it's worth a try. that does seem like a lot of sugar.
 
Mash all the grains together, including the specialty grains. At the end of the boil, add the sugar and mollases with ten minutes remaining. I agree with the other guys. I would only add 1 pound total of additional sugars to the boil.
 
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