jcarson83
Well-Known Member
I see a lot of recipes that calls for malts to steeped in a gallon or so of water and then sparged with 2 gallons. Why not just steep in 3 gallons of water?
If you are 'steeping' using steeping grains (assumed here) then what you describe isn't happening. Most steeping grains aren't adding any appreciable sugar levels to your brew. To do that you need to MASH grains that are different than grains used for steeping. In mashing, you do what you describe; in steeping, you add body, color and some flavor but no enzyme conversion really occurs.rod said:you steep at around 150-158 degrees to let the enzymes convert the starch to sugar.
then you sparge with 2 gallons to rinse the sugars free
edit - you type faster than i do
david_42 said:When I do extract with steeped grains, I just put the grain in a bag, toss it in the kettle with 6 gallons of water and heat to 150F. Then I let it steep for 30 minutes.
johnsma22 said:FWIW, I read an article in BYO about steeping specialty grains. It was written by Chris Colby. In the article he states that steeping specialty grains in too much water (dilute steep) will cause excess tannins to be extracted. The small amount of grains in a large amount of water is unable to lower the ph of the wort sufficiently enough to keep the tannins from being extracted. He recommends 2-3 quarts per lb of specialty grains in a separate pot on the stove. After the steep, just add the grain tea to the main boil kettle. If you choose to rinse the grain bag, do it with about .5 qts of water per lb of grain at or below the steeping temp. I've done this for several batches with great results.
John
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