Am I doing extract or all grain?

I'm confused with some of the terminology. I'll explain what I do, if you can give me the terminology. At the brew store, the grain (that ends up in the grain bag to be steeped at 155 degrees) is run through a "grinding" type of machine that "cracks" the grain and mixes all of it. Then I steep it for an hour. Is that mashing? At the end of the hour it is lifted out and rinsed with 1-2 quarts of 170degree water into the wort. Is that sparge or partial sparge? Then the malt syrup is added in and brought to a low boil at 175. Extract? Then the hops are added in and simmered for an hour. and so on.

was this extract or all grain?

Right in between. You are doing a partial mash (sometimes called mini mash).

yes that is mashing and sparging, you are doing a Partial Mash.

As others noted, this is a partial/mini mash.

Zorbarose said:

I'm confused with some of the terminology. I'll explain what I do, if you can give me the terminology. At the brew store, the grain (that ends up in the grain bag to be steeped at 155 degrees) is run through a "grinding" type of machine that "cracks" the grain and mixes all of it. Then I steep it for an hour. Is that mashing?

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Yes, that's mashing.

At the end of the hour it is lifted out and rinsed with 1-2 quarts of 170degree water into the wort. Is that sparge or partial sparge?

Click to expand...

Yeah, a simple sparge.

Then the malt syrup is added in and brought to a low boil at 175. Extract?

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Yes, extract.

It's extract with steeping grains if the grains are crystal malts, roasted malts and similar flavoring/coloring grains. If you are using base malts (pale, pilsner, Munich, etc) and mixing them with the hot water to a thick, porridge-like consistancy then it is a partial mash. In steeping you are simply soaking out color and pre-converted sugars. In mashing you are converting starches in base malts to sugars.

It's probably extract with steeping grains, not a partial mash (unless you are "steeping" base malts, in which case you would be mashing).

I vote for extract with steeping grains, myself. If your grains are called "crystal 10/40/60, or carahell/carapils" or along those lines, then most likely you are doing straight extract batches, where all the fermentables are being supplied by your malt extract.

If you are doing partial mashes, then you are adding flavor and some fermentable sugars via mashing, with the remainder of the sugars being added by the malt extract.

If you were doing all grain, then you wouldn't be using extracts at all(unless you undershot your gravity and wanted to bring it up).

OK - From all of the input, I'm guessing that I'm doing partial mashing because the grains that go into the recipe are all bought individually (for example, when i did my scottish ale, i used carafa II, dark munich, golden promise, peated, and 1 pound of crystal 75). Then the remainder after the steeping and rinsing was with an amber malt extract syrup.

If it was extract, then I'd be doing something a lot simpler, and if it was all grain then i wouldn't be using a malt syrup - right?

Zorbarose said:

OK - From all of the input, I'm guessing that I'm doing partial mashing because the grains that go into the recipe are all bought individually (for example, when i did my scottish ale, i used carafa II, dark munich, golden promise, peated, and 1 pound of crystal 75). Then the remainder after the steeping and rinsing was with an amber malt extract syrup.

If it was extract, then I'd be doing something a lot simpler, and if it was all grain then i wouldn't be using a malt syrup - right?

Click to expand...

You are correct. To lessen the the confusion, call it mashing and sparging instead of steeping and rinsing.