The Elusive 155 degrees.....

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Sediment

Sediment

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I have been extract brewing since now for about 8 months. Some of the recipes I have been doing have been asking me to steep the grains at 155 degrees for 30 minutes. I have an electric stove top, and obtaining this temperature has been impossible. It usually just shoots right past it.

I've brewed 60 gallons of beer this year and they have basically all been great tasting without worrying about this step.

Am I missing something vital here? Or is it just RDWHAHB? I understand (sort of) with partial mash recipes the need for keeping things at 155 degrees, but these are extract recipes that are using the grains to augment the wort. I've just been dumping the grains in a couple of gallons of cold water, and bringing the thing to a boil which is usually about 30 minutes anyway. Thoughts?
 
Since steeping grains doesn't extract much sugar, just flavors, I don't think exact temperature is vital.
 
I think you still might get astringency problems if you let it get above 170 for too long while the grains are in the water.
 
JoeJones said:
I think you still might get astringency problems if you let it get above 170 for too long while the grains are in the water.
Click to expand...

Well yeah, by "exact" I meant within a few degrees. 170+ probably wouldn't be great.
 
Right. Sediment said that he's putting the grains in and then bringing up to a boil, so I'm assuming that the grains are in there the whole time until it starts boiling.

Sediment - I find that if I turn the power off right as it hits about 165 and keep the lid on, I may have to turn the power back on again once during the half hour, but it stays in the 155-165 range pretty well.
 
Sediment said:
I have been extract brewing since now for about 8 months. Some of the recipes I have been doing have been asking me to steep the grains at 155 degrees for 30 minutes. I have an electric stove top, and obtaining this temperature has been impossible. It usually just shoots right past it.

I've brewed 60 gallons of beer this year and they have basically all been great tasting without worrying about this step.

Am I missing something vital here? Or is it just RDWHAHB? I understand (sort of) with partial mash recipes the need for keeping things at 155 degrees, but these are extract recipes that are using the grains to augment the wort. I've just been dumping the grains in a couple of gallons of cold water, and bringing the thing to a boil which is usually about 30 minutes anyway. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

When I started brewing, I would attempt to steep as best I could, and then boil the rest of the grain right in the wort.

I thought my beer tasted good, and was happy to drink it. I didn't really appreciate the subtlety of how this altered the flavor till later. I would just do the best you can. The more you brew the better your beer will get and the process will work itself out.
 
If i steep on my electric stove I get the temp up to 160ish then I take it off the the hot burner. If I leave in on there, the temp will shoot right past where I want it because the element stays hot. Try taking it off the burner when you reach your temp
 
Do you have a 12 cup coffee maker ?

I found out that my coffee pot heats to approximately 160 degrees and I use this to steep my specialty grains and another hastily heated pot of water to sparge them after 20-30 minutes.

I hope this technique helps you.
 
Banjoman76 said:
Do you have a 12 cup coffee maker ?

I found out that my coffee pot heats to approximately 160 degrees and I use this to steep my specialty grains and another hastily heated pot of water to sparge them after 20-30 minutes.

I hope this technique helps you.
Click to expand...

Another handy brewing tool is the discarded rice cooker. Rice cookers usually keep rice warm at 150-155F. Great for mini-mashes or steeping.
 
How about a 2 gallon cooler? Heat up some water, then use cold water to get it to the temp you want.

Since you're just steeping, put the grains in your cold water and turn on the stove. Once the water hits 168*, pull the grain bag.

B
 
Sediment said:
I have been extract brewing since now for about 8 months. Some of the recipes I have been doing have been asking me to steep the grains at 155 degrees for 30 minutes. I have an electric stove top, and obtaining this temperature has been impossible. It usually just shoots right past it.

I've brewed 60 gallons of beer this year and they have basically all been great tasting without worrying about this step.

Am I missing something vital here? Or is it just RDWHAHB? I understand (sort of) with partial mash recipes the need for keeping things at 155 degrees, but these are extract recipes that are using the grains to augment the wort. I've just been dumping the grains in a couple of gallons of cold water, and bringing the thing to a boil which is usually about 30 minutes anyway. Thoughts?
Click to expand...


Ok so, What I learned: Bring the temp of your water with the grains in the bag IN the pot, while stirring, to about 150. Remove from heat. Keep stirring. You should hit 155 almost on the nose. If too low, put back on each for about 30 seconds, stirring. As soon as you hit your temp, take off the heat. This is assuming your grains are already in the water FYI. Now, cover and place pot in a preheated oven at the lowest setting. Turn OFF your oven, do not leave it on. The residual heat in the oven will keep your temp very even, no matter your headspace. this works for me everytime, and I lose about 1/2 a degree F in a 60 minute mash.

Works for steeping also. Afterwards, sparge away.
 
Thanks for all the great advice and responses. Looks like I'll do some tweeking to my process.

Troubs and JoeJones,
Good advice with the burner techniques...Troubs, I'm guessing after you take your wort off the burner at 160, you eventually put it back on. Or do you just let it steep for 30 minutes off the burner?

Banjoman,
That's clever, but how do you get all the grains in the pot? Do you do multiple batches?

Slouch,
We had a rice cooker, tossed it last winter, damn.

Bobby M,
No boiling of grains? How come?
 
I also use an electric stove. I have found that when I hit 157 I turn mine down to high simmer (#2). By the time the burner cools my water is at 168. It will then hold this temp the entire time I need it to. Those numbers change because I don't stare at it. My batch last night happened to be these numbers. I just know I'll gain 11 degrees before it levels off.
 
Yeah don't worry too much about hitting 155F exactly. As others have said, if you are just steeping grains for flavor, then anything about 140F and beneath 170F will be fine. I've often heard of just adding your grains to cold water, turning the heat on high, and then pulling them out when it hits 170F (which will take about 1/2 hour).

Also, I really don't trust cheap thermometers (and hydrometers for that matter). Your thermo might read 155F whilst the neighbors would say 151 or 158 in the same stuff. I have learned to just use the readings relative from one batch to another.
 
I used to heat my water slower on the stove, and pre-heat my oven.

Once I hit temperature, I put a lid on the pot and put 'er in the oven. I was off by a few degrees until I figured out the process, but soon dialed it in to hold any temp I wanted.
 
ahhh heck cold steep and dont worry about it.... I use to do a cold steep on all my dark grain and mash the rest for my Porter. Took 3rd place at the Chico Ca comp, 3 years ago. It's a nice subtle flavor profile that you wouldn't expect.
But really When you start in cold water and bring it up to temp by the time you get to 155-160 your probably done anyway, pull the bag, rinse w/ warm/hot water into your brew kettle and your good to go.
Cheers
Jay
 
IceFisherChris said:
Can I ask why steeping the grains doesn't bring out sugar? Is it usually not done long enough to do this?
Click to expand...
Steeping does extract sugar to a certain extent, but you're primarily looking for color and flavor. In fact, depending on the grain involved, steeping will technically become mashing, converting starch to sugar. Some specialty grains really don't contribute much sugar (roasted barley, for example). In the case of crystal malt, you will definitely extract some sugar, some of which is not fermentable. Unfermentable sugars increase the body and mouthfeel.
 
JoeJones said:
I think you still might get astringency problems if you let it get above 170 for too long while the grains are in the water.
Click to expand...

I don't think you would. People do decoction mashes, and in a lot of cases, boil the grain for those.

WIKI said:
Once the first temperature rest is complete, a portion of the grain and water is scooped or shoveled out of the mash tun and into the kettle or another heated vessel, where it is brought to a boil. The portion removed, which can often be as much as a third of the grist, is called the decoction.
Click to expand...
 

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