Question about Steeping

Hey guys, I've had my first brew in the fermenter for a week and just received my 2nd brew kit in the mail so I'm thinking about my next batch.

My first batch and this second one too call for steeping the grains at 155 for 25 minutes.

My question is how do you properly steep? Do you "yo yo" the grain bag up and down the entire 25 minutes, do you just place the bag in water for the 25 minutes, or do you plunge it up and down a few times, etc?

On my first batch I plunged it up and down pretty much constantly over the 25 minute period. I have no clue, this may not be correct and may make the brew have a bad/funny taste.

How do you properly steep a grain bag?

You will typically plunge it up and down a few times at first just to make sure all the grains are in contact with the water, but after that you're fine to just let it sit. You can move the grain bag around a few times while you wait, but there's no need to stand there and constantly keep it moving. Not really doing anything wrong other than making your arm tired.

Thanks for the VERY quick reply Marubozo!!

LOL Yeah by the end of the 25 minute steeping program I was ready for a homebrew and arm massage!

Every brewing session initially will be a learning process for this noob. I already know several things I'll do differently this 2nd batch.

Thanks again!

Jeff

I yo-yo fast, then slow, then fast again; then right at the end of the 25 minutes finish with a counter-clockwise swirl.

I don't yo yo it...

I just place the bag in the water and stir the water gently without disturbing the bag... whenever I move the bag I find husks in the water and I don't want those when I go to boil...

For what it's worth: the amount of husk material from a couple pounds of steeping grain probably isn't going to make any real flavor impact on a 5 gallon batch of beer.

I haven't steeped specialty grains in a while, but I always just threw the grain bag in, dunking it at first to get it all wet, and then every 10 minutes or so I would bob it up and down a little was I walked past the pot.

Another way to steep the grains is to put the bag in right away when you put the water opn for the boil and let it steep for 20 mins not worrying about the temp of the water. As long as you don take the grains past 170* you are fine and usually at about 20 mins you will be around 150*. When I'm brewing with extracts this is what I do. Basically, I'm bringing the water to a boil and simply steeping during that process.

monty3777 said:

Another way to steep the grains is to put the bag in right away when you put the water opn for the boil and let it steep for 20 mins not worrying about the temp of the water. As long as you don take the grains past 170* you are fine and usually at about 20 mins you will be around 150*. When I'm brewing with extracts this is what I do. Basically, I'm bringing the water to a boil and simply steeping during that process.

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+1 on that.

SpaceportBP said:

I yo-yo fast, then slow, then fast again; then right at the end of the 25 minutes finish with a counter-clockwise swirl.

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Sounds like a happy ending to me!

One thing is to not squeeze the grain bag too much or you'll extract too much tannins.

Feel free to squeeze your yo-yo as much as you want.

What does too much tannins do to a brew? Taste? Color?

Centexbear said:

What does too much tannins do to a brew? Taste? Color?

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It give a dry Pickering taste, it's described as tasting like tea where you left the bag in too long.

Ok thanks...yesterday i did taste my brew that has been fermenting for a week (took temp and hydrometer reading so I thought I'd taste it too!). I don't have much of an ability to describe the tastes but it tasted a little funny. It did taste overall like beer and it did have a really nice color. I know that it's got a ways to go so I won't worry about it.

I believe I'm going to transfer the brew to a 2ndary carboy tonight so I can free up the primary to do batch #2. I'm going for a Honey Wheat.

Once I'm able to drink the first batch, I'll do my best to more specifically describe the flavors, I know "tastes funny" doesn't cut it, so I can figure out what I did wrong...or right.

Thanks!

Jeff

SpaceportBP said:

I yo-yo fast, then slow, then fast again; then right at the end of the 25 minutes finish with a counter-clockwise swirl.

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THATS MY MOVE!



wait...



mine involves a knuckle..

nevermind.

MetallHed said:

THATS MY MOVE!



wait...



mine involves a knuckle..

nevermind.

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. . and I was beginning to worry that my pop culture reference was going to go to waste!

My instructions say to loosely place the grains in the sack, not letting them bunch up. It should look more like one of those draft stoppers you place to seal up the gap at the bottom of doors. You should have a long skinny bag for that purpose. Of course, I read the instructions AFTER steeping, so mine were all balled up. Another point is to not squeeze the bag.

Yeah, no need to yo yo the grains around. Do something else with your time while the grains are steeping.

I used to just steep the grains in a grain bag in the water while it was getting up to boil. Then I started reading more information... It gets complicated. Steep small, boil large. Steep at 150º for the required amount of time. Don't squeeze the bag... etc. I wouldn't worry about it too much, it's just the steeping grains, not your base grain or extract.

I generally do the steep small, boil large. Since I know how long it takes my keggle to get to boil I'll put my grains and hot water together about 25 minutes before it gets to boil and then go from there.

YMMV

as long as it isn't packed tightly together you will be fine. clothes pin it to your kettle very loosely and let it do its thing! a few stirs and ups and downs wouldn't hurt either!