Malt conversion question

Do these malts need to be mashed to be converted?
biscuit malt
caramunich malt
araomatic malt

Where can I find a list of malts that need to be mashed as opposed to just steeping?

Thanks,
JD

The wiki has a malts chart that should help.

Biscuit and aromatic need to be mashed. Caramunich does not: it's a Belgian form of crystal/caramel malt.

As a rule, the only malts that can be used effectively just with steeping are the various forms of crystal/caramel, plus the dark roasted malts (chocolate, black, roast barley).

Awesome, thanks for the guys.

Why does Jamil/Palmer book list this grains as steeping grains. I understand that the recipe's are extract but they have a grain conversion for the recipe listed and they don't mention that you have to mash them.

On previous recipes, I've added the speciality grains during mash out and my efficiency has been lower than I expected. Now I know why.

How can I figure out how long they need to mash to fully convert?

Can we see the whole recipe?

If I remember right, Biscuit and Aromatic are both either very low or totally missing enzymes, so they will need some regular base malt in the mash along with them to achieve full conversion.

dunleav1 said:

Awesome, thanks for the guys.

Why does Jamil/Palmer book list this grains as steeping grains. I understand that the recipe's are extract but they have a grain conversion for the recipe listed and they don't mention that you have to mash them.

On previous recipes, I've added the speciality grains during mash out and my efficiency has been lower than I expected. Now I know why.

How can I figure out how long they need to mash to fully convert?

Click to expand...

Even if they don't require mashing, just steeping, they still go into the mash. If you add them during mash out, you're not getting all the flavor and color you can out of them. They should be all mashed together, base malt, specialty grains, adjuncts, etc.

I am taking the base grain bills for a Belgian Tripel and Belgian APA and doing a parti-gyle on them. Both recipe's have a Pilsner base. The triple I have to mash a biscuit malt and the pale ale I have to mash aromatic malt.

I plan on adding the biscuit malt for the Pale Ale after I get my first runnings for the Tripel. I'm deciding if I should steep the aromatic malt in kettle with the tripel or if I have to do a mini mash to convert the aromatic.

Any idea how long it takes to convert the aromatic? I would be using the first runnings - not just water. Either in a mini mash or steeping in the kettle.

Any idea how long it takes to convert the biscuit? I would be adding before the mash step for the second runnings.

Anybody got an idea how long to convert these two?
Thanks.

Mashing takes as long as mashing takes, typically around an hour but it depends on your choice of schedule (hotter shorter mash produces a less fermentable wort, cooler longer mash produces a drier end product).

Just make sure you have plenty of enzymes from the base malt when you do this. I'd be worried that if you only add the aromatic after taking your first runnings, you will have already rinsed off the bulk of the enzymes so there might not be enough left to convert it. Also if you do a mash out step, or sparge with the usual 168 degree water, that will kill of the enzymes entirely.

If in doubt, you can test with iodine to see when conversion is complete.

I'll probably do a mini mash on both grains in each kettle.
I'll add my steeping grains after my first runnings for my second brew.
I'll post up the results.