Attempted a second brew this weekend - this time following the advice I got from the home brew supply shop nearby. Instead of steeping the specialty grains in a grain bag I got the water temp up to 150 lowered the heat and added all of the grains. I then monitored the temp keeping it at or slightly below 150 for 30 minutes.
Next, I strained the mess into my larger brew pot... this was tricky as the giant strainer was still not large enough to handle all of the grains at once...i made a giant mess and ended up having to restraining it due to some grain overflow into my brew pot.
The grain bag was so much easier... any techniques you guys have for the specialty grains would be super helpful...
The other thing that confused me slightly was once I got it strained they said to take another gallon of 150 degree water and sparge. Do you guys generally wait and heat more water up then sparge..or just use hot water from the tap?(thats what i did)
So, some tips on sparging would be greatly appreciated as well!
Thanks! You guys are awesome.
Next, I strained the mess into my larger brew pot... this was tricky as the giant strainer was still not large enough to handle all of the grains at once...i made a giant mess and ended up having to restraining it due to some grain overflow into my brew pot.
The grain bag was so much easier... any techniques you guys have for the specialty grains would be super helpful...
The other thing that confused me slightly was once I got it strained they said to take another gallon of 150 degree water and sparge. Do you guys generally wait and heat more water up then sparge..or just use hot water from the tap?(thats what i did)
So, some tips on sparging would be greatly appreciated as well!
Thanks! You guys are awesome.