Grains question

I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of or does this, I was reading some info and came across someone who suggested adding 1/2 cup of LME to the water you use to steep your specialty grains in to get a better PH or something? Anyone ever heard of this or recommend it?

Also heard its a good idea with extracts to add the LME during the last 15 min of the boil along with your flavoring hops, is this also a better technique than adding it at the beginning of the boil and letting it be in there for the full 60 min?

I am doing a partial boil (about 3 gallons)

Thanks!

Weel, if you're steeping the grains, you really don't need to worry about pH, since you're just making tea, in effect. If you're doing a partial mash, pH starts to become a factor, and I've never heard of anyone adding extract to the mash before.

As far as adding the extract late to the boil goes, doing so will help reduce carmelization of the wort and keep your final beer a little lighter. A good practice.

Awesome thanks for the quick response, I was also wondering and forgot to ask, I cant seem to find a solid statement on what to do with the grains during the 30 min steep, do you just let them sit there? Do you dip it up and down? Swirl it around? Stir the pot? What are you supposed to do?

Thanks

Just let the grains sit there, and give them a good rinse at the end (and keep the rinse water, of course.) If they are in a bag, don't squeeze it to get the water out, just let it drain. Squeezing it will extract tannins and other nasties.