Roasted barley--mash or steep?

[Token]

I've been trying to expand my horizons and brew something other than IPA's and pale ales. I've been leaning a little toward lighter stouts. I want to brew a simple Guinness Draught type beer, but am not sure if I should mash or steep the roasted barley. Didn't think about it until I read it should be steeped to minimize the astringincy. Hmmm? Basic recipe info is..

5 # Maris Otter
2 # Flaked Barley
1 # Roasted Barley
2 oz EKG
1 vial White Labs 004, Irish Yeast

5 gallon batch.

 

[Yooper]

That's a good question! I always have put my roasted barley and black malts in the mash, but I've been doing a lot of reading and many others are either steeping the roasted, or adding it during the sparge. That would ensure good mash pH, plush avoid any astringency/harshness, and I was thinking about trying that for my next stout.

I think I'd add it for the sparge, rather than steeping it separately.

 

[Token]

I'm leaning toward the sparge too.

 

[maffewl]

Personally, I have fell in love with cold-steeping the dark grains and adding the "dark grain tea juice" with about 15 left in the boil. It makes for a much more mellow flavor that isn't so harsh.

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I've been steeping, but that's becasue I usually do a split batch where half ends up pale ale/IPA and the other half stout. Should work about the same either way whether you add it for the sparge or steep it. Definitely better than mashing IME.

 

[Yooper]

For you steepers (is that a word?), how cold is "cold steeping"? And for how long? Do you stick to a standard 1.5 quarts/pound?

(Sorry to steal your thread, hope2perc, but inquiring minds want to know!)

 

[maffewl]

This is a good write up from Beersmith: (Approx. 4th paragraph from end)

http://beersmith.com/blog/2011/11/17/brewing-beer-with-dark-grains-steeping-versus-mashing/

Here's another good write up on the process:

http://hbd.org/clubs/cascade/public_html/brewing/index.html

I do a variation of the two. My process is to use 2 quarts of filtered water per pound of dark grain. Place the grain in a bag (I use a nylon bag from Lowes). And insert the grain into the water. Where I differ though, is if I want a really mellow flavor, but keep the color, I place the container with a lid on it (water+grain) in the fridge and leave for at least a day, sometimes two. Then just pull the container out, let the bag drain and you have a dark grain "tea". I also usually use at least 1.5x the amount of grain called for, sometimes up to 2x. Then I usually add the "tea" to the final part of the boil at around 15 min. left in the boil, slowly of course to try to minimize the temperature disturbance.

And of course "steeper" is a word... you saw it on the internet didn't you.

 

[Token]

I'm perfectly fine with thread stealing when it results in so much wonderful information!

 

[Token]

UPDATE:

I steeped in hot water for a while (15 minutes?), then I added that to the boil for about the last 10-15 minutes. It worked real well. Nice, smooth Irish Stout.

Also, I love that yeast! If you want to try washing yeast for the first time, this is a great one to use. It's also real nice in that it totally locks onto the bottom of the fermenter. Practically nothing in the bottling bucket or bottle, but the beer IS carbed. And it makes for a pretty interesting Milennium Falcon IPA!

Yup, good experience all around.

 

[geobeery]

Nice idea. I've just prepared this using a coffee cafetiere!

 

[TrickyDick]

I did the steep roasted barley thing on my last stout. It worked great, and it's the best (Irish dry) stout I've brewed to date. I used hot water in a 3 quart beverage cooler at mash in. I just eyeballed the water volume. Probably should check my notes since its been a while since brew day. I added the roasted barley and all the liquid to the main mash during the sparge. I think it came out really really nice.

TD