Rookie Mistake?

This is my first post. I recently retired and needed something to keep me busy in the winter so I decided I would attempt to brew some beer as my sons really enjoy coming to my home and testing my attempts at brewing and it makes for good family fun.

I recently brewed up a batch of Amarillo Pale Ale from a recipe I found on this forum. The batch is currently into day 6. I used 1/2 lb. of Crystal 40. Here is my question---Was I suppose to crush the grains prior to steeping? I did not.

If I was suppose to crush will this batch be worth saving?

Thanks in advance----Fuelie

Yes you should have crushed your grains. Yes it is worth saving. It might not taste exactly like it's suppose to but it will still be beer and you (or someone else) will probably like it just fine.

Welcome to HBT!

Yes and yes.

Grain always needs to be crushed, to allow the hot water to reach all the tasty goodness inside.

But, this was only a half-pound. If you were just steeping, it wasn't really contributing to the wort's sugar content, it was just there for a little extra flavor beyond what the malt extract provides. The C40 adds a little sweetness, a little caramelly-ness, a little more depth to the malt, and sometimes a little "freshness" to an extract batch.

But, you'll still have extracted some of the flavor from the grain, just not as much as you should have. So, it won't likely be quite as good as it would have been, had the grain been crushed, but it should certainly be quite fine. An Amarillo Pale is going to be mostly showing off the hops, anyway (and that's one mighty fine hop).

So relax, don't worry, but don't forget to get the grain crushed next time!

You should have crushed the grains.

You will not have gotten nearly the flavor and color from them, but as long as you did not boil the grains your beer will be drinkable.

Always crush your grains to expose the insides where most of the goodies are.

You do not have to crush flaked grains.

8 oz of crystal will not be missed enough to warrant panic. I'd drink it in a heartbeat. I've made far worse mistakes.

Keep brewing,
Barry

Just for reference, is this the recipe in question?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/amarillo-pale-ale-84390/

Thanks for your responses and lesson learned.

MeatyPortio---The recipe called for 8oz of Crystal 40 and 7lbs of Muntons Extra Light DME. I used WLP-001 for the yeast.

Fuelie