Steeping Grains

[puravida286]

When using steeping grains such as crystal malt, should they be thrown in at the beginning of the boil or simply steeped in hot water (in a grain bag) before the wort is boiled and removed prior to adding the malt. Is there a disadvantage to boiling crystal malt for 45mins-1hr? This is definately a newb question but...SURPRISE, i'm a newb, haha, I have my very first batch on its 3rd day in the primary. BTW this site is great and I appreciate all of you experienced brewers helping everyone out!

 

[Fatabbot]

Is there a disadvantage to boiling crystal malt for 45mins-1hr?

You don't want to boil steeping grains. Tannins are the enemy.....

 

[UNOmar]

You want to steep grains in a grain bag prior to boil. This should be done at 150~170 degrees F for 20 to 40 minutes. This is the temperature at which the grains give up their malty goodness.
I can't remember the exact reason for not boiling the grains beyond that, but I think it has something to do with tannins.
This is an excellent tutorial or steeping (and everything else)
http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter13.html

 

[puravida286]

uh oh, during my first batch I boiled 1lb of crystal malt for 45 minutes! will this have a drastic effect on the taste of my brew?

 

[UNOmar]

Taken from http://www.howtobrew.com/section2/chapter13-2.html

...astringent tannin compounds (a.k.a. phenols) can be extracted from the grain husks. The compounds give the wort a dry puckering taste, much like a black tea that has been left to steep too long. The extraction of tannins is especially prevalent if the water is too hot - above 170°F...

I've never boiled grain before so I can't really comment on the taste. Likely, it will taste different than you may have expected, but that may not be bad.

 

[user 4295]

uh oh, during my first batch I boiled 1lb of crystal malt for 45 minutes! will this have a drastic effect on the taste of my brew?

It is sure to have a medicinal quality to it, but it may not be so pronounced that you will want to toss it. I almost made that mistake with my first batch after watching Alton Brown's homebrew episode many moons ago. He boiled his grains and I was going to do the same, that is, until the guys at my LHBS caught the error in Alton's recipe.

Also, if you will be doing full volume boils, you will not want to steep the grains in that large a volume of water. The small amount of specialty grains in that large a volume of water will not be able to lower the pH of the water sufficiently enough to avoid extracting excess tannins. A good rule of thumb is to steep in no more than 2-3 quarts of water per pound of specialty grains. You can then just add the grain tea that you just steeped to the main boil.

John