To Mash.. or not to Mash

[mdf191]

I am preparing to brew a version of Cheesefoods Caramel Cream Ale, and I have a technical question about mashing. His recipe calls for ..(1 pound Caramel 60L (steeped for 45 minutes at 150'-165'). Now i have never done a partial/mini mash recipe before, and im assuming from reading the recipe that is what im doing with this pound of caramel malt. With that beiing said, I have heard that Caramel malts do not need to be mashed? So should I be going full out in regular mashing style like in a cooler at steady temp for 45 min, or simply steeping in a grain bag in my brew kettle for 45 like I have done with extract + special grain brews? If I am going for the mash at steady temp and sparge for one pound of grain, are there any suggestions anyone can give on how I should go about it (ex. water amount that I should use)? I feel I have a good understanding from brew book, but any veteran advice is always helpful!

 

[DublOh7]

Steeping is not quite exactly mashing. Same temp range, but steeping isn't quite as picky about temp loss over time. Palmer says, "If you can make a cup of tea, you can steep!"

For 1lb of specialty grains in a grain bag, I'd put it into about 1 gallon of water at 150f, let it steep the 45 minutes, raise the bag, let it drain, shake it a little, and discard grains. Use the gallon to start your boil.

Enjoy!

 

[Professor Frink]

Steeping the 60L for 30 minutes in 1 gal. water at 150-160 degrees will be fine. If you're just using specialized grains like crystal 60L, mashing is not necessary, it really is only needed for mashing/partial mashing with base malts and malts that need to be mashed (flaked oats, flaked barley, etc.)

 

[DAAB]

The maltster has done the conversion for you with crystal, all you are doing is liquefying the sugars that are now in the grain and rinsing them off. This process isn't temperature critical although you get best results using water in the 150-160 range. If you stray though dont worry.