Mashing base malts and steeping crystal

[timdillon36]

I have a 5 gal set up and also a 15 gal rig. My MT for the small rig is a 12 g square cooler that works great. The big MT is still a work in progress but I love my giant new BK. I am planning a brew that will b In the 12g range (I brew in 4s and not 5s, don't ask)

20# is about max for my smaller MLT and my total grain bill is about 26#

Would I be ok to mash the base grains w/o the special grains and then just steep the specialty grains In the first runnings.

 

[kh54s10]

I have put 21.25 lbs in a 10 gallon water cooler mashtun. I have a good 2 1/2 inches left. With just a bit thicker mash you should easily fit your 26 lbs in your tun. Otherwise I have heard that steeping dark malts give a smoother taste. So either way....

added: steeping the grains should give color and flavor but a little less in fermentable sugars. So your OG might be a little lower.

 

[chickypad]

You will get more yield from crystal malts mashing them with a base malt as opposed to steeping, but you could do them separately. More importantly what kind of beer is this supposed to be and what are the specs? 26% crystal malt seems excessive for any beer.

 

[sky4meplease]

Without the buffering power of the specialty grains your mash PH will be impacted.

 

[Gibberoni]

Im with Chickypad here. You have way too much crystal and dextrines in there. With 11% dextrine, you will have a head that will last forever!! haha. Now if you were doing this because you planned on extracting less sugars from them by steeping, then you might be okay. But as stated above, you will throw off the mash pH, but it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

 

[IslandLizard]

+1^

But why not mash your "overage" in the smaller kettle? Then either add to the mash tun for lautering + sparging if there's enough volume left, or lauter + sparge, discard then lauter + sparge your kettle mash.

Carapils and lower Crystals (<120L) really benefit from mashing. The higher ones (>180L) from steeping. The darker the steeped liquor (dark roasted grain/malt) the better it is to add to the boil at the end, like in the last 5 minutes or at flameout to prevent astringency and boiled coffee off-flavors.

And keep an eye on your mash pH. Do a 1/2 pound test mash when in doubt. Then add to your main mash at the end, so no grain is wasted. Keep notes for the next time.

 

[timdillon36]

Thanks for all the input. I was basing this on a Founders Centennial IPA clone I had found just doing a search for centennial IPA.

Then I drank one a few nights ago and decided I liked the hops part but not so much on the malt side. So I am going to modify this with less crystal as well as mash it all together.