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Mr. Awesome

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I'm not a beginner, but this was pretty dumb.

I did not have a grain bag when I was brewing today, so instead of steeping in the bag I put the specialty grains in a strainer and held a spatter screen on top while steeping. Inevetably, a few grains spilled out into the wort. I did my best to ladle as much as I could back through the strainer, but some (not many, but certainly some) are stuck in the pot. Can I expect some nastyness, or does it take more than a few grains spilling from a 1 pound steep to ruin a batch of beer.

I'm guessing it was fine, but I was looking for some wisdom of the masses here.
 
Obviously you want to avoid boiling the grains so hopefully there isn't a ton in there, which it sounds like there isn't, and they will just settle to the bottom of the fermenter (or get strained out) so I would think you'll be just fine.
 
Mr. Awesome said:
I'm not a beginner, but this was pretty dumb.

I did not have a grain bag when I was brewing today, so instead of steeping in the bag I put the specialty grains in a strainer and held a spatter screen on top while steeping. Inevetably, a few grains spilled out into the wort. I did my best to ladle as much as I could back through the strainer, but some (not many, but certainly some) are stuck in the pot. Can I expect some nastyness, or does it take more than a few grains spilling from a 1 pound steep to ruin a batch of beer.

I'm guessing it was fine, but I was looking for some wisdom of the masses here.
Click to expand...

This is actually the method that Papazian suggests for steeping grains. Granted his book (The Joy of Homebrewing) is a bit dated, it will still show you how to make good beer. I don't think you'll have any problems.

Someone will correct me if I am wrong but I think the main concern would be the leeching of tannins from the grains by soaking them in a dilute solution. It doesn't seem like a few grains could contribute much for tannins.
 
You can use almost anything for a steeping bag. I use a nylon "Delicates" bag designed for washing ladies undergarments in the washing machine. It doesn't stain, cleans up easily and lets the water flow through it very well. In a pinch you could us a T shirt and tie it up.
 

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