Steeping time?

HI, I've got a few brews under my belt, one AG, but due to time constraints the next few will be extracts. But, I'm curious on the effect of time on the steeping of the specialty grains. I've done a couple kits (a wheat beer and an IPA) and most recommended steeping for 30 mins. I just got an oatmeal stout kit from AHS, and I noticed the directions say to steep for 15 mins. I was curious as to why there is a difference? What would a longer or shorter steeping time do to the brew? Thanks!

If you are using a kit...follow the instructions. The amount of color, flavor, and protein
extracted from the grain were considered when the recipe was written....you should stick to their guidelines if you are trying to get what they intended you to get.

What would a longer or shorter steeping time do to the brew?

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More tannins the longer the steep??

I figured I'd stick to the instructions, but 15 mins just seems so short; would you really get tannins at the proper temp?

i don't think so, you get tannins from a higher temp. i always steeped 30 minutes when doing extract, but 15 minutes will certainly do the trick.

No, with steeping grains that's not usually much of a concern. They only have so much color and flavor to give, though, so anything over 20 minutes probably isn't worthwhile. Kind of like making tea with a teabag- once the flavor of the tea is extracted, there really isn't much of a point in continuing to steep.
In a partial mash, you're using base grain which must convert, so a longer steep (mash) is done (usually 45-ish minutes).