Specialty Grain

In doing a partial mash and using a specialty grain like caramel malt could you mash this with a base malt or should you steep it or does it depend on what your going for?

Walker, do you want to take this one?

be my guest. I've got a bug in some of my hardware I'm trying to track down.

-walker

If you are only looking to use a caramel / crystal malt, you can just steep it. You can add some base malt (at which it officially becomes a mini-mash), but it is not neccesary. You will get no appreciable gain from the crystal malts by adding in base malts. Adding base malts to your steeping (-> mini-mash) is believed to add more character to your beer, as some compounds are lost due to processing malt extracts.

Okay because when I did my Maple Pumpkin Ale I mased 2 pounds of 2 row and 1 pound of crystal. But I didn't steep them I did the whole mash process primarily to get the sugar as I wanted a high gravity beer. Here is the recipe

Ingredients

6.6 lbs. Munton’s Pale Extract
2 lbs. Munton’s American Style Pale 2 Row Malt
1 lb. Munton’s Crystal Malt
1 oz. Saaz hops
1 oz. Tattenanger hops
2 cans pumpkin
1.5 tsp. nutmeg
1.5 tsp. allspice
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 oz. fresh ginger
1 tps. gypsum (if needed for pH)
10 oz. maple syrup
5 gal. water
1 tsp. Irish moss
White Labs California Ale V Yeast WLP051

Brew Process

Brewed on 10/16/2005

Mash grain in 1 gal. water at 150-155 degrees for 1 hour
Sparge with 170 degree water 1.5 gal
Add wort to brew pot
Add cans of pumpkin, malt extract, and syrup
After first 25 minutes add Saaz hops
After next 30 minutes add spices and Tattenanger hops
grated in ginger at 10 minutes to go.
After brewing pour cooled wort into fermenter containing 2 gallons cold bottled water. Aerate wort while pouring.
Pitch the yeast at 76 degrees.

Will mashing these grains together have negative effect here?

voodoochild7 said:

In doing a partial mash and using a specialty grain like caramel malt could you mash this with a base malt or should you steep it or does it depend on what your going for?

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I'm not sure anybody really answered your question. If you're doing a mini-mash anyway, then yes throw your specialty grains into the mash. Those of us who aren't yet ready to mash are the ones who would steep the specialty grains. IMHO of course.

Thank you very much soon I hope I will have a tastey brew of my own. My first brew is in the secondary I grow impatient.

voodoochild7 said:

Will mashing these grains together have negative effect here?

Click to expand...

No, all grain brewers mash all of their grains together...that's the way it's supposed to be done.

voodoochild7 said:

My first brew is in the secondary I grow impatient.

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The best cure for that is to start another batch.

I've got to get this one out of the primary on sunday and a stout is in the works next