protein rest

I'm gearing up for another all grain and have a question about protein rest.

Apparently it is not needed for well modified malt.

My question is about the grains like crystal and others which we "steep" at 130 or so prior to mashing. Is that essentially a protein rest for those grains?

Why do you steep crystal at 130F prior to mash?

I got that from extract brewing. When using crystal grains/etc, we steep them prior to the boil with the extract.

I figured that if I was going to use any grains that I wold need to do the same thing prior to mashing in the highly modified malt grains since from what I have read you don't do a protein rest on modified malt grains else you get a thin, watery beer.

DrVertebrae said:

My question is about the grains like crystal and others which we "steep" at 130 or so prior to mashing. Is that essentially a protein rest for those grains?

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No, protein rest has to do with getting as much fermentables from a base malt as you can. Most 2-row grains we use in brewing these days are "modified"...which means they've been bred and malted to have the most potential fermentables after mashing. With a lot of the standard base malts in North America, a protein rest is not really necessary (since many are modified). Protein rests are go to for 6-row malts (prevalent in a lot of German lagers)...and IMO, in some setups it can help stabilize temperatures (there's also some running debates about whether it's good for getting different characteristics).

Steeping grains you use during extract brewing is mainly used for color and some taste characteristics. They do not add anything to fermentables.

DrVertebrae said:

I got that from extract brewing. When using crystal grains/etc, we steep them prior to the boil with the extract.

I figured that if I was going to use any grains that I wold need to do the same thing prior to mashing in the highly modified malt grains since from what I have read you don't do a protein rest on modified malt grains else you get a thin, watery beer.

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You normally steep or mash at 150-160. So do it the same way with AG as steeping. Your steeping temperatures at 130F are just simply too low. It's not harmful, but you wouldn't get conversion at such a low temperature.

Add the grains to the mash, and hold at 150-155.

Yooper said:

You normally steep or mash at 150-160. So do it the same way with AG as steeping. Your steeping temperatures at 130F are just simply too low. It's not harmful, but you wouldn't get conversion at such a low temperature.

Add the grains to the mash, and hold at 150-155.

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As usual, Yooper says it best!
When I started into Partial mashes, I always did a protein rest for 20 minutes in the mistaken impression that it would improve the characteristics of the beer's head. I was corrected in that belief by Denny, and probably Yooper, maybe Nighthawk. I was actually causing shorter lasting, smaller heads with the 135 rest. Now, I'm mostly a 1-step infusion mash guy- anywhere from 149-155 depending on style. Occasionally will do a 2-step at 147 & 157, and once in a great while a 2-step decoction, just for fun.