steep instead of mash

i have steeped some flaked and malted wheat for a bluemoon copycat recipe. everything went fine but im thinking i was supposed to mash it instead, although im not sure because ive never done this recipe before. i have a pretty good understanding about the difference between the 2 processes.that being said i still consider myself a newbie to both. in a case like mine how bad could that have screwed my batch?

when i say i steeped it i mean, holding between 150-160 for 35 minutes

How much grain in what volume of water?
Can you post the recipe? I assuming the steeped liquor/wort will be added to some malt extract, then topped up with water?

I don't think you're screwed...you might just have mini-mash started - which, if you finish and sparge, should work.


Might not be quite the clone you were after, but should still make good beer?

Flaked Maize, Rice, Wheat, Barley, etc... has gone through a pre-gelatanization process whereby the starches are broken down to a lower molecular weight. Therefore you don't have to conduct what's called a cereal mash, instead you can just put these in your normal mash.

Steeping these adjuncts may be ok (though less effective) if you added that steeped wort back to the mash tun for a period of time or if you steeped in your strike/sparge water (you want those starches in contact with enzymes!).

Generally speaking adjuncts need more enzymes to convert and if you cereal mash them you would normally do so with some 6 row barley because of the high diastatic power.

Next time, just remember to mash the flaked adjunt with the rest of your grains.

Did you screw up? RDWHAHB! I'm sure you released some of the starches from the steeped adjunt into the mash water and as long as that mash water came into contact with enzymatic mash water you should be ok.

Time will tell friend. Let us know how it turns out.

I have steeped both flaked oats and flaked wheat with good results. If you are looking for flavor/body, then steeping is fine. If you are looking for fermentable sugar, try mashing

Just an interesting piece about steeping. Listen to the BeerSmith Podcast "Advanced Brewing Techniques with Gordon Strong". He talks about steeping specialty grains instead of putting them in the mash. He doesn't cover adjuncts, but kind of relevant to the discussion.

Gorden specifically talks about steeping dark roasted grains to avoid tannic contribution for the full mash or to stop acidification if your water chem doesn't require it. The only thing steeping flaked or malted wheat is really going to do is contribute unfermentable starch. In a wit, there's nothing wrong with that. However, the recipe may have been with the expectation that those two grains will contribute to the OG, which in this case will not.

boreal brewer to answer your question. 8oz white wheat malt. 1lb flaked wheat. 6.6 briess wheat malt extract(LME). 1oz tetnang hops 1oz corriander seed 1oz bitter orange peel..and for the yeast was just a basic ale yeast.....so basically all i did was put the flaked and malted wheat in a steep sack. heated 2 gallons of water to about 150, threw the sack in and left it for 35 minutes while maintaning the temp between 150 and 160. ( this was my 6th batch of beer and thats how ive always steeped my grains, right or wrong its always came out great) k then i discarded the steep sack, added 2 more gallons of water and brought to a boil. once it started to boil i killed the heat, added my LME and hops and returned to a boil, at the 40 minute mark i added the orange peel and crused corriander for the final 20 minutes....

im pretty sure it will turn out fine, i just have a wierd feeling that i should have follwed more of a mashing recipe of course with less water and sparging with hotter water and all that. i guess time will tell. ill be transferring to my secondary tomorrow. also brewing my next recipe

Hey Junkbrew - that sounds like a pretty tasty brew!

You probably lost some potential sugar, and I perhaps a bit of flavour - but you should have got a lot of the goodness out of the grains. The LME, hops, and gruit would make a drinkable white.

Good luck, keep us updated. At this point, you're the only one who knows you didn't follow the recipe - if it turns out tasty, take credit for adding your special twist!

yep lets hope for the best!