2-row/crystal steep

[trubador]

I received an Extract w/grain kit for a Pale Ale from Austin Homebrew. 7lbs of LME and 1/2 pound each of crystal 60L and American 2-row.

What's the best way to steep this. Normally I would "tea bag" it in 155 degree water for 45 minutes. What is throwing me off though is the addition of 2-row, I have never steeped this, I have done partial mashes with it.

It was my understanding that 2-row required a mash of some sort, why would AHS be putting it in for steeping?

 

[sonvolt]

why would AHS be putting it in for steeping?

Because it is cheap for AHS to put it in, and it makes brewers feel like they are getting something great.

I am only being half-sarcastic. I think that most extract brewers do not use the 2-Row that they get in a way that will add fermentables, flavor, etc. It does make the brew session seem a bit more involved and sophisticated, but I doubt it impacts the beer as much as some Biscuit or some Victory malts, etc. I wouldn't use it.

I may be wrong, but if you don't mash the 2-row appropriately, you may end up with some starchy haze.

 

[the_bird]

I may be wrong, but if you don't mash the 2-row appropriately, you may end up with some starchy haze.

That's what I was thinking, too.

I think what I would do is just extend the "steep" time out to a full hour, be extra careful about the temp (keep it within the 150-158 range), and actually DO a (real)mini-mash. You don't need to worry about a cooler or anything fancy, just sparge by carefully rinsing with some water that's about ~170 degrees or so. Just put the grain bag in a collander when it's time to rinse. You may end up getting some additional fermentables out of the 2-row that way, and it would seem that you would reduce the chance of starch haze (since you'd be giving those starches time to convert).

Does that make sense?

 

[trubador]

Because it is cheap for AHS to put it in, and it makes brewers feel like they are getting something great.

I am only being half-sarcastic. I think that most extract brewers do not use the 2-Row that they get in a way that will add fermentables, flavor, etc. It does make the brew session seem a bit more involved and sophisticated, but I doubt it impacts the beer as much as some Biscuit or some Victory malts, etc. I wouldn't use it.

I may be wrong, but if you don't mash the 2-row appropriately, you may end up with some starchy haze.

I am not concerned with the length of brewing session, the longer the better But I am concerned with putting 2-row in for a steep for exactly the reason you listed, not completely converting the sugar and ending up adding starch to the wort. I don't know for sure though and it is why I asked. I can go to my local HBS and get some cara-pils or victory or whatever. What, if any, are suggestions out there?

 

[trubador]

That's what I was thinking, too.

I think what I would do is just extend the "steep" time out to a full hour, be extra careful about the temp (keep it within the 150-158 range), and actually DO a (real)mini-mash. You don't need to worry about a cooler or anything fancy, just sparge by carefully rinsing with some water that's about ~170 degrees or so. Just put the grain bag in a collander when it's time to rinse. You may end up getting some additional fermentables out of the 2-row that way, and it would seem that you would reduce the chance of starch haze (since you'd be giving those starches time to convert).

Does that make sense?

makes perfect sense. I have done partial mashes before using the collander method for sparging and since this is such a small quantity of grain, it would work perfectly. But do you think that this particuar grain is "adding" anything to the resulting beer or should I replace it with some other specialty grain?

 

[the_bird]

Probably not, but it probably won't detract in any way either. I'm not really sure why they included it, honestly. I just did a pale ale (my first mash) last weekend that included some Munich, along with the pale malt and crystal (10L). I haven't yet used any "regular" 2-row, so hopefully someone with a clue can give better guidance.

 

[trubador]

actually forget my comments above about replacing the 2-row. They have mixed up the 2-row with the crystal allready in the grain bag. So I am stuck with it. The mini, mini-mash seems like the best option. Really won't effect the brewing process in any way, I'll just remove all the grains from the bag, add about 1.25 quarts of water in a pot, stir in the grains and steep at 150 to 155 for an hour. I'll then put in a collander and rinse with 168 degree water, and I'm done.

 

[Walker]

actually forget my comments above about replacing the 2-row. They have mixed up the 2-row with the crystal allready in the grain bag. So I am stuck with it. The mini, mini-mash seems like the best option. Really won't effect the brewing process in any way, I'll just remove all the grains from the bag, add about 1.25 quarts of water in a pot, stir in the grains and steep at 150 to 155 for an hour. I'll then put in a collander and rinse with 168 degree water, and I'm done.

Do you have Iodophor handy? You can take a small sample of your steep water and add a drop of iodophor to it. If it turns BLACK, you still have starch and should continue the mini-mash. If it doesn't turn black, all starch has been converted to sugar.

After that, it's just a matter of how much of that sugar you are able to rinse out of the grain.

-walker

 

[BootYtRappeR]

the 2 row will convert itself and some if not all of the starch in the crystal as long as - like the bird said - keep the temp between 150 and 158

the difference between steeping this and mini-mashing it is the efficiency you'll get from the sparge