1st AG - Caramel 60?

I'm going to brew my 2nd batch this weekend. My first was a partial mash and it went well. So this week i built my MLT and ordered Red Hood ESB (Red Hook clone) from midwestsupplies.com

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/red-hood-esb-red-hook-all-grain-kit.html

I got the package today. Both the website and ingredient checklist on the box state Specialty Grains: 16oz Caramel 60. I don't think i got that in the box, but honestly i don't know what it should look like. I emailed them but figured in the mean time i could learn what that actually is. Could it be in the large bag of grains? My reading leads me to believe its actually malt. The kicker is that the instructions do not list when to use the Caramel 60 anywhere, so is it not used in this recipe? If not, why is it listed as an ingredient?

Here is what i got



Any help/suggestions is appreciated!!

The crystal and 2-row is probably mixed together in that one large bag.

The crystal 60 is a grain, they likely milled it and threw it in the bag with your base grain.

You can check to see if it is correct by adding up all grain that you are supposed to have and weighing it. It should weigh the combined total of all grains.

If you had them mill your grain it's already in the bag. look around in the bag and see if you can see any grain pieces that are a medium brown color compaired to the white base grain.

Ahhh ok good deal thanks for the quick replies. There are medium brown grains mixed in with the grain.

You guys rock!!

Why would they mix them? One is a mash grain, the other is a steep.

hope2perc said:

Why would they mix them? One is a mash grain, the other is a steep.

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When doing AG, they all get mashed together.

hope2perc said:

Why would they mix them? One is a mash grain, the other is a steep.

Click to expand...

You are only steeping them in an extract + Steeping recipe. This is because without the base grains you won't really get any sugars from crystal.

TheMan said:

You are only steeping them in an extract + Steeping recipe. This is because without the base grains you won't really get any sugars from crystal.

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I think this is a little misleading.

Crystal grains offer flavor, color, and unfermentable sugars. To get those things out of the grain, you need to put them in hot water.

You can do this with a simple steeping as an extract brewer, or you can throw them into the mash as an AG brewer (because, after all, mashing is really just a more controlled steeping with more attention paid to temps and water volumes). Extract and AG brewers both get the same things out of crystal grains.

I *could* separately steep the crystal and mash the rest of the grain, but that just complicates the process and gives me no difference in the beer at the end.

They confirmed that they are indeed ground and tossed in with the other grains.

Thanks again everyone

Well, for cryin' out loud. Why didn't someone tell me this a bunch of batches ago???