My first partial mash.....Maybe

[ScoutMan]

Picked up the ingredients to try a Fat Tire clone that I found on the web. Part of the grain bill includes 1/2lb of Carapils malt and 1/2lb Munich malt. My LHBS says that these need to be mashed. The recipe says to "Steep" grains in 3 gallons of h20 at 154* for 45 minutes..... Is this not a mash??? Up until now, I have only done extract with grain recipes. Do I need to put in the grains at 154* and maintain for 45 minutes, or do I put the grains in and raise to 154* and then maintain for 45 minutes?? Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated..

Recipe:

5 lbs Laaglander plain extra light DME
.5 lbs 20* crystal malt
.5 lbs 40* crystal malt
.5 lbs carapils malt
.5 lbs Munich malt
.5 lbs biscuit malt
.5 lbs chocolate malt
3 AAUs Willamette Hops (60 min)
2 AAU Fuggles (20 min)
1 Tsp Irish Moss( 15 min)
1.33 Fuggles (end of boil)
Wyeast 1056

 

[the_bird]

That would be a mini-mash.

I don't think it matters when you add the grains, either right away or not until the water hits 154. Key is to not let that get too high, whether the enzymes would get denatured.

 

[david_42]

The recipe says to "Steep" grains in 3 gallons of h20 at 154* for 45 minutes..... Is this not a mash???

This is in fact a mini-mash, sort of. The big problem is none of the grains in the bill (other than Munich) will provide any enzymes and the carapils will put a lot of starch into the wort without conversion. I recommend putting the Munich, carapils and biscuit in a gallon of 160F water, then add just enough boiling water to bring the temperature to 154F. The rest of the grain, I'd steep in another pot at 170F.

If I was doing this, I'd add a pound of 2-row and mash everything at 154F.

 

[ScoutMan]

I recommend putting the Munich, carapils and biscuit in a gallon of 160F water, then add just enough boiling water to bring the temperature to 154F.
QUOTE]


Thanks for the help. Im not clear on the above statement. At my altitude, water boils at about 207F. How does adding water at 207F to 160F water bring the temp down to 154F? Am I missing something?

 

[the_bird]

When you add the grain to the 160degree water, you're going to drop the temp of the whole thing below the 154 target (don't ask me exactly how much - not a ton, because you don't have a lot of grain).

You then add the boiling water to get back to 154, the temp that you want to hold constant for 45 minutes to get conversion.