boiled grains!!!!!

sooooo my first batch i made a Belgian double. I thought everything went well, it looked extremely dark but it was my first so what do i know. im about 5 days in to fermentation and i was reading other recipes getting excited for my next batch, when i got a bad feeling and ran over to reread my Belgian directions. It says to steep gains at 155f for 30 min then add liquid to pot. I dumped the whole thing in! I boiled it for 45 min! well it smelled amazing and im not going to toss it just yet, but what can i expect? bitter? did i basically turn it into a higher alcohol stout? give it to me strait.
thanks

Welp, most will say that getting grain to temperatures up over 180 degrees will cause them to release tannins. This causes an astringent flavor which is described as being similar to sucking on a tea bag. I certainly would not dump it, it might turn out fine...give it time and taste it.

You might end up with some astringent off flavors. Since you're already 5 days into it though, I'd just let it ride. Did you take a gravity reading? I'm guessing this was an extract kit with steeping grains. It's unlikely your final ABV will be much higher then what the kit says, but no way to tell without the gravity readings.

If you did not steep then you will probably actually end up with slightly less alcohol...I don't think enzyme conversion occurs at 212 degrees

bobbrewedit said:

If you did not steep then you will probably actually end up with slightly less alcohol...I don't think enzyme conversion occurs at 212 degrees

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Don't think the steeping grains contribute much in the way of fermentables anyway, they're generally used to increase the sugars that will impart body, mouthfeel and head retention. They lack diastatic enzymes for conversion so would need to be mashed with base malts to extract any noticeable amount of fermentables, wouldn't they?

Yep, you were definitely supposed to steep it. For future reference, if there are ANY grains called for in an extract batch, the intent is to steep. Most will put their grain in a fine mesh bag and steep in water at 155* for 20-30 minutes. Remove the grain bag, allow it to drain, rinse it with hot water if desired and then combine that with your water to reach your initial volume. THEN go to a boil and add your extract.

The others are correct that it will probably taste a bit off, but that's the learning curve. There's little you can do now but live and learn. Taste it and if it's off, let it age for quite a bit. Aging can fix a lot of problems, but some problems are even out of reach for time.

Before you get too worried, read about decoction mashing.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Decoction_mash

Although this is not what you did, it's similar enough to alleviate some of your worry. Essentially, to extract tannins, you need not just higher temperatures, but also a pH which is likely higher than what your wort was at while boiling.

This is not to say it was impossible for you to extract any tannins; however, if it were me, I wouldn't be overly worried and wouldn't expect a mouth puckering astringent beer.

Good luck and let us know how it ends up.

Quadrupled said:

Before you get too worried, read about decoction mashing.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Decoction_mash

Although this is not what you did, it's similar enough to alleviate some of your worry. Essentially, to extract tannins, you need not just higher temperatures, but also a pH which is likely higher than what your wort was at while boiling.

This is not to say it was impossible for you to extract any tannins; however, if it were me, I wouldn't be overly worried and wouldn't expect a mouth puckering astringent beer.

Good luck and let us know how it ends up.

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good pointnestar:

When I was starting out, I found a recipe that called for the steeping grains to be boiled. Not knowing any better, I did boil the grains (for a full 60 minutes). The beer came out fine, with no astringency, so RDWHAHB. I couldn't because RDWHAHB hadn't been invented then, besides which, I didn't know that it could have caused a problem, so there was no reason to worry.

-a.

revco said:

Yep, you were definitely supposed to steep it. For future reference, if there are ANY grains called for in an extract batch, the intent is to steep. . .

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Unless it's a partial mash. But in his case, yes it was probably steeping.

I also agree with Quadrupled. Many folks routinely boil grains with no ill effects. The only time you really have to worry about tannins is if you think you might be over-sparging an all grain batch.

It's going to be beer.
You may get something that you like, or you may get funny flavors.
It's still going to be beer so let it go and give it a try. You've got nothing to loose at this point.

This isn't the last mistake you'll make!

Just an update i kegged it last night and im sipping on it as i type. I let it ferment about 2 and a half weeks but i was getting antsy and with it being my first brew it is even worse. I was planning on bottling it and letting it mellow but o well. It does have a slight astringent flavor, id describe it more of a burnt wheat flavor, almost bong water ish its hard to put my finger on but definitely burnt. its not horrible by any means but its no Westvleteren 8. my question is now that i kegged and carbonated if i let it sit in the kegerator will it still mellow. or does it need to sit at room temp without carbonation. also i was thinking about bottling a few for very long term storage just as an experiment to see how the flavors change.

could i add anything to the keg to cut the bitterness? maybe some honey or sugar? would i need to heat it to dilute? any ideas?

siler said:

could i add anything to the keg to cut the bitterness? maybe some honey or sugar? would i need to heat it to dilute? any ideas?

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If the taste you're describing as "bitter" is instead an astringency from the boiling of the grains, it might be a little better with some time but not much.

Honey or sugar would make the beer sweeter, but before you consider that try pouring some beer and and adding some honey or sugar to it. You might just then have a too-sweet beer with a grainy (husky) astringency, which would not be an improvement!

i just tried the honey and it helps but it still has a slight aftertaste. ill probably end up drinking it just out of stubbornness/cheapness but it will take a while. maybe i can get some friends over to help kill this thing, at least its better than bud light. if i added sugar/honey to the keg should i cook it down to a simple syrup?

Keep in mind if you didn't kill your yeast before racking your beer to the keg adding more sugars may trigger a second fermentation. With it being sealed in a keg could cause over carbonation. Just my 2 cents.

siler said:

at least its better than bud light.

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And really, that's all that really matters when it comes to home brew.

just for future reference does beer still age in the keg under pressure in the fridge?

Aging or the maturing of beer is a chemical process and it continues when it is cold but at a muuuuch slower pace. Your beer won't survive long enough to mature if you keep it cold as it will be too hard to resist just a little sip now and then to see how it is progressing, you know, a scientific thing.

I don't think boiling grains would give you a "burnt" flavor. Is it possible you scorched your extract / sugar when you added it? When I do an extract batch, I always kill the heat during the addition and make sure everything is well mixed before lighting the burner again.

Also, what kind of grains did you use? If it had any kind of highly kilned malt (chocolate, roasted barely, even crystal 120L, etc.) I could see how it might have some flavors that could be considered "burnt" until it had a little age on it. Try it again in a couple of weeks and let us know if it's changed at all.