Are these correct assumptions for the 2 step method?

After reading about the 2-step extract boil method I have made some assumptions, if anyone can correct or agree with them please do.

-Half of the hops and DME or LME get used in each of the two steps.

-The specialty grains should be steeped and used with the step one boil only.

-Starting the boil with 3 gallons of H2O should boil down to about 2 1/2 gallons after 1 hour, which is the final target of each boil.

-The step two boil should be areated prior to adding into the fermenter. (or is freshly oxygenated beer not good to add to fermenting beer?)

-The step two boil should be the same temperature before adding to the fermenter.

-A starter is not necessary if the 2 1/2 gallon first step is 1.057 or less, and step one will act as a starter for the step two addition if added about 24 hours later.

Any suggestions about something I may have overlooked?

I've never done a 2-step method myself, but much of what I have read has indicated that adding oxygen (through aeration or whatever) is a bad idea once fermentation begins. The gist of it is that yeast use oxygen for growth and reproduction until they run out of oxygen. Once they do, they use less efficient (but alcohol-producing) metabolic pathways. Your yeast should be well into their aerobic growth phase by the time you add the second part of your wort to the fermentor, so I don't think you should aerate the step two boil.

Otherwise, everything else sounds pretty good.

Fair warning, I've never used this method. That said, typically once fermentation has started you want to do whatever you can to limit the amount of oxygen that comes into contact with your beer. If you are adding more wort after fermentation has started, you are really just adding more yeast food. They are already alert and actively eating from your first wort, so they shouldn't need to be reactivated.

Personally, I would siphon the second wort into the first wort, keeping the end of the hose submerged in the the first wort to minimize splashing.

And yes, I would say that the second wort should be cooled to the first wort temp before combiining the two. If you don't you may stress the yeast.

The specialty grains should be steeped and used with the step one boil only.

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I thought you weren't supposed to boil the specialty grains, but steep at 150° (taking care not to exceed 160°) so as not to extract any tannins.

dotnetdotcom said:

I thought you weren't supposed to boil the specialty grains, but steep at 150° (taking care not to exceed 160°) so as not to extract any tannins.

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What this means is the specialty grains would be steeped at the correct temp and time, the grain bag removed, and then the steeping water would be used with the wort boil. In this case the boil would be the first of 2 boils, the second boil 24 hours later would not use any steeping water.

If you are using dry yeast, there is enough yeast in a packet to correctly innoculate a 5g batch. And I wouldn't add oxygenated wort to fermenting beer.