steeping in a full boil

Doing my first full boil tomorrow. Is there any difference in steeping your grains?

steeping grains should be used prior to getting your water to a boil. You want to maintain a temperature of about 155 f just as long as you dont go over 170 f. You want to steep at this temp for about 30 min or what ever your recipie calls for. After this you should remove the grains (be sure not to squeeze, you can pour 170 f water over the grain bag to extract all of the flavors). The reason you don't want to squeeze or exceed 170 F is so you dont extract astringent flavors such as tannins. After steeping you can just boil your wort and add your lme/dme and hops like normal

Let me rephrase... any issues steeping in 6 gallons of water vs 3?

If you get over 170 on accident, you're much more likely to extract tannins in lots of water IF your water is alkaline. As long as you stay below 165 you should be ok.

What is your water ph?

From what I've read on HBT...

Steep small; boil large. Meaning, steep the grains in a small amount of water while you heat up your boil water. Once steeping is complete remove the grains and add it to the boil. Possible pH issues from what I read if you don't.

B

birvine is correct. Steep with approx 1 gallon (or less) per pound of grain. If the PH of the water/grain is too high or low you are much more likely to pull harsh flavors and/or tannins from the grain.

Heavily roasted malts are problematic in low PH solutions and very light crystals suffer if the PH is high. The "1 gallon/pound" will put you in the proper range in most situations.

veritas524 said:

Let me rephrase... any issues steeping in 6 gallons of water vs 3?

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You should do the steeping in a minimal quantity of water. A couple of quarts per pound is fine. After the steep is done add the rest of the water for the boiling process.

O sorry i misunderstood your question. The less water you steep with the less stuff you pull out of your grains. This means less nasties like tannins.

thanks for the input, I don't know what my water PH is because my city sucks and doesn't list it in the annual water report. They do however say this in their FAQ.

Q: What is the pH of our water?
pH refers to the acidity or alkalinity of water and is expressed in terms of a
numerical scale from 0 to 14. Seven (7) on this scale means that the water is
neither acidic nor alkaline. For values less than 7, the smaller the number, the
more acidic it is. For values greater than 7, the larger the number, the more
alkaline it is. The pH balance of the drinking water served by the Board of Water Supply (BWS) occurs naturally in the 7 to 8 range. This means that the water ranges
from being neither acidic nor alkaline (pH 7) to being only slightly alkaline (pH 8).

Hi veritas, the only reason I brought up PH is to give you some insight into why everyone says "steep small/brew big." I wouldn't worry about the PH at this stage unless your brew consistently isn't working and you've ruled out process, sanitation, fermentation, etc. (water chemistry can get complex quickly.)

Most areas, the water will work for home brewing basic styles. You are probably steeping about a pound of grains. Steep in a gallon of water @ 150-160 degrees and it should turn out fine.

veritas524 said:

thanks for the input, I don't know what my water PH is because my city sucks and doesn't list it in the annual water report. They do however say this in their FAQ. . .

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I steep in around 3-4gals of water when I do my extract brews, that's just where my thermometer probe happens to be before it reads.

veritas524 said:

Doing my first full boil tomorrow. Is there any difference in steeping your grains?

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im doing my 1st full boil tomarrow. how much water are you steeping in and how happy are you with the results?

Why do you want to steep your specialty grains in a small amount of water? My last extract batch I did a full boil, steeped my specialty grains (about 2lb) in 6 gallons of water. The beer turned out fine.

Can someone tell me why it's wrong to steep your grains in the full volume of water?

dancness said:

Why do you want to steep your specialty grains in a small amount of water? My last extract batch I did a full boil, steeped my specialty grains (about 2lb) in 6 gallons of water. The beer turned out fine.

Can someone tell me why it's wrong to steep your grains in the full volume of water?

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It's not wrong, it's just standard practice for someone doing a partial boil. I've never done a partial boil and I've never steeped grains in a volume less than 4.5 gallons. 9 times out of 10 when I do an extract beer I'll steep in my full pre-boil volume.

dancness said:

Why do you want to steep your specialty grains in a small amount of water? My last extract batch I did a full boil, steeped my specialty grains (about 2lb) in 6 gallons of water. The beer turned out fine.

Can someone tell me why it's wrong to steep your grains in the full volume of water?

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I've been wondering the same thing. Here's my guess:

If your water is the wrong pH for your grains and you use only a little water, the grain may have more influence on the pH than the pH has on the grain. If you use a large amount of water, the pH of the water is controlling.

Am I close or totally off the wall?

That is just a wild guess. I have been using a lot of water and a large grain bag as I feel I get more extraction from the grain.

(I am planning to go to all grain as soon as I get a bit better in techniques and understand the different effects of different malts etc. Plus with one child in college, I don't want to spend too much money at this time on beer vs college).