Steep and Boil question - Need advice!

Hey guys,

I am doing the Imperial Bastard Stout recipe that can be found in the recipe section. I have 2 questions:

1) The recipe calls for the grains to be steeped for 15 minutes. Most recipes I have come across for a stout say 45 minutes. Would I be safe steeping for 30 or 45 minutes instead of the 15 called for? The recipe can be found below.

2) The boil time called for is 60 minutes. Would I be safe boiling this for 90 minutes? I was told by LHB that 90 minutes would pull out the toffey flavors more...which I would definitely not mind. Again...recipe can be found below.

Thanks in advance!!

evans5150

6.6lbs dark syrup malt
3lbs dark DME
1/4lb black patent
1/2lb crystal
1/4lb chocolate malt
1/2lb roasted barley
1lb Dark Brown Sugar
1oz Challenger hops (60min boil)
1oz Cascade hops (30min boil)
1oz Cascade hops (15min boil)
1/4tsp Irish moss
Irish ale yeast (White Labs) or equivalent

Bring 1.5-2gal water to 150ºF, steep grains (in grain bag) for 15min.
Remove grains and bring water to boil.
Dissolve all malt extract and honey, and return water to rolling boil.
Add hops according to schedule above for total 60min boil time.
Add Irish moss at final 15min.
Pour into fermenter with 3gal cold water (top off to 5gal if necessary) and pitch yeast at approx. 80ºF.

They probably suggest the shorter soak time because of all of the dark grains. Some AG brewers won't put dark grains into their mash until the last 15 minutes or so (this is supposedly to avoid getting harsh flavors from the roasted grains.)

I personally mash the dark for the full time, but to each his own.

Maybe soak the crystal for the full 45min, but the dark grains only for 15min?

As for the boil... you can boil as long as you want. 90 minutes is fine, and you might get more caramelization of the wort.

Yes and yes. If you boil longer, you will need to make up for the extra lost water. I don't see a 90 min boil helping you too much to bring out the toffee flavours with this though, that's more an all grain thing.

Gremlyn1 said:

I don't see a 90 min boil helping you too much to bring out the toffee flavours with this though, that's more an all grain thing.

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Not necessarily. Longer boils can give you caramelization of sugars in the wort (regardless of whether your wort is from AG or from extract).

Now... 90 minutes is probably not going to make a huge difference, but you can definately get more caramel flavor out with a long boil.

Or, you could take a little of your wort and cook it down in a small saucepan until it is really thick, then add that back to the rest of the wort. I did this on a scottish ale once and thought it worked well.

Thanks, guys. Appreciate the quick responses! I'm brewing Sunday afternoon so this will help.

Walker-san....I have unfortunately already mixed the grains into one bag when I bought them from the store. It would be dang near impossible to unseparate at this point. The crystals are 120L...verdict? 15, 30, or 45 minutes.

Like I said, I mash my dark grains for the full time and don't worry about it. I probably wouldn't have even read the directions on the kit and would have soaked all the grains for 45 minutes anyway.

I say soak it as long as you want. 45 should be fine.

Awesome, thanks. Yeah...I had pretty much planned to soak them for 45 but then saw the directions and began to wonder why. This is only my 10th or so batch of beer so I'm still a little green. Thanks again to both of you! Much appreciated!

Walker-san said:

Not necessarily. Longer boils can give you caramelization of sugars in the wort (regardless of whether your wort is from AG or from extract).

Now... 90 minutes is probably not going to make a huge difference, but you can definately get more caramel flavor out with a long boil.

Or, you could take a little of your wort and cook it down in a small saucepan until it is really thick, then add that back to the rest of the wort. I did this on a scottish ale once and thought it worked well.

Click to expand...

Sorry, I was posting from my phone and wanted to keep it short. The reason I said that was because as you suggest, 90 min isn't likely enough to do much of anything and I would assume he is doing as full a boil as possible, which also will work against caramelisation.

With extract, I'd be a little afraid of boiling a small portion of the wort down on the side lest I burn it rather than caramelise. Much less chance of that with AG.