Best method for steeping grains

[JonnyO]

While looking through recipes it appears that there are a couple of methods by which brewers like to steep their specialty grains. One way is to get the water up to about 168 deg., put the grains in, let it settle back to 150-160, cover and steep for 30 min. The other way is to put the grains in cold water, heat up to 150-160, cover and steep. Is this just personal preference, or is one method prefered over the other?

 

[SevenFields]

I always let my water get to around 150 before I put my steeping grains in.
I wouldnt put them in cold water, kind of defeats the purpose. Plus you have a risk of boiling them if you dont watch carefully.

 

[Grimm]

My last batch i heated the water till 165, let it settle to 152 put the grains in and steeped for 30 mins. With about 10min left I had to turn the burner back on to maintain a 150 temp. Then i pulled them out and let the water temp raise to a boil.

 

[SumnerH]

My last batch i heated the water till 165, let it settle to 152 put the grains in and steeped for 30 mins. With about 10min left I had to turn the burner back on to maintain a 150 temp. Then i pulled them out and let the water temp raise to a boil.

There's really no reason to worry about maintaining a temp if you're just steeping grains (unlike when you're mashing).

 

[bknifefight]

There's really no reason to worry about maintaining a temp if you're just steeping grains (unlike when you're mashing).

I was under the impression that boiling your steeping grains (or bringing them over 160*) would release tannins.

 

[axr]

I was under the impression that boiling your steeping grains (or bringing them over 160*) would release tannins.

+1 on tannin release with temps in excess of 165-170F. Palmer speaks of this in his book

 

[TipsyDragon]

i think its just preference but you have to remember that there is a difference between specialty grain and a partial mash. a partial mash has some portion of base grains in it and specialty grains don't. for specialty grains a steep at 160 +/- 10 for 30 minutes is ok. for a partial mash you need to mash the grains at a particular temp depending on recipe for 60 minutes. then steep at 170 in a second pot. then combine the two.

 

[SumnerH]

I was under the impression that boiling your steeping grains (or bringing them over 160*) would release tannins.

Yes, getting a reasonable starting temp is somewhat important.

I was just pointing out that if you start your steep at 152, there's no reason to worry about firing up your burner to get it to stay above 150 for the last few minutes. Maintaining temperature during a steep isn't worth the effort unless it's falling dramatically--dropping 5 or even 10 degrees during the steep isn't really going to matter (unlike in a mash).

 

[Grimm]

thanks for the info. I'm still a newbie and try to gather as much insight as possible. So should i be steeping at a higher temp, above 160?

 

[SumnerH]

thanks for the info. I'm still a newbie and try to gather as much insight as possible. So should i be steeping at a higher temp, above 160?

I wouldn't go much over 160F on purpose, though low 160s is fine if you wind up there. Anywhere in the 150s is what I'd aim for.

If you heat the water to 165F and then add the grains, you'll probably wind up at a reasonable steeping temperature (if not, you can fire up the burner for a bit to get into range) unless you have a huge amount of specialty grains--the more grain you add, the more you'll bring the temperature down.