Mini-Mash, Partial Mash and Steeping Specialty Grains

[AnOldUR]

Some recipes steep crystal and dark grains on the side to avoid astringency. Not necessary to include them in the mash.

 

[Yooper]

(It is no, isn't it? Once the flavors out, it's out?)
(Needless to say I haven't done all-grain yet. I've read up on it and ... will have to see it done before I can claim to have a grasp on it.)

Yes, it's "no". You can throw all your grains in the mash. But crystal malt will give color and flavor (and a few gravity points) whether or not it's in a mash or in just water.

Some recipes steep crystal and dark grains on the side to avoid astringency. Not necessary to include them in the mash.

Right. It's not necessary, but I always throw them in the mash as it's more convenient to put all the grains together and treat them the same way. You don't have to- but many do. It really truly doesn't matter.

 

[drainbamage]

I'm kind of at the point where moving from extract+steeped grains to partial mash is seeming like a good idea. I do have one other question on top of what has already been presented. Going back to the pale ale recipe, if you took the extract+steeping version with just the pale LME and the Crystal 10L, and kept the Vienna (say 1/2 lb.) to steep instead of switching to Munich LME, would you still get an appreciable color/aroma/taste from it, or would there not be enough to be worth it? I'm not talking fermentables...I realize you'd have to add some additional LME to compensate for the lack of the Munich.