water used for steeping?

Am sure this is covered in some thread in some forum, some where in this beautiful database but i thought one of you more experienced brewers could answer this for me much quicker.
New to PM recipes so bare with me...all the recipes i have read recommend steeping the specialty grains in a very specific amount of water, such as 5 qts. Is there a reason not to use more water then this? Also a similar amount is recommended for the sparge water. Can these amounts vary? In the end i always try to do full 5 gallon boils so i was wondering why i start with such a small amount?....
Seems like a fairly mood point but was just curious.
Thanks for any help.

A lesser amount of water in ratio to the grain keeps the pH from getting too high. While this is much more important in all-grain brewing it doesn't hurt in steeping/extract brewing.

BigEd said:

While this is much more important in all-grain brewing it doesn't hurt in steeping/extract brewing.

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I'm an Extract brewer and got always astringent after-taste as I steeped specialty malts at

the ratios above 3 quarts/lb .

Hector

hector said:

I'm an Extract brewer and got always astringent after-taste as I steeped specialty malts at

the ratios above 3 quarts/lb .

Hector

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So your recommending staying under that 3/1 ratio?.

BigEd said:

A lesser amount of water in ratio to the grain keeps the pH from getting too high. While this is much more important in all-grain brewing it doesn't hurt in steeping/extract brewing.

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So how does this work with BIAB where you aren't sparging and are mashing with all the water? So are the pH's higher with BIAB?

BIAB typically mashes with a base malt and the specialty roasted grains at the same time. Usually, the base malt addition is enough to adjust the pH where you need it, but some people do have to adjust the pH a bit up or down.

aiptasia said:

BIAB typically mashes with a base malt and the specialty roasted grains at the same time. Usually, the base malt addition is enough to adjust the pH where you need it, but some people do have to adjust the pH a bit up or down.

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Thanks.

Are you steeping, or are you mashing? The water/lb ratio is much more important for mashing.

The pH and alkalinity of steeping water is important to brewing success. In many respects, steeping water requirements are similar to sparging water. Both need low alkalinity to avoid extracting unwelcome components from the grain and to avoid raising the overall pH of the kettle wort. If the water has moderate alkalinity, then steeping with a low amount of water may help keep the wort pH from rising too much. If the water alkalinity is high, there probably isn't much alternative other than dilution or acidification.

Great to know!, ...glad I asked.
Thanks guys