Rinsing grains?

[gfranks22]

I have been reading a lot of clone recipes which call for rinsing specialty grains after they are steeped. What does that mean?

 

[popgunandy]

when you withdraw steeping grains, they retain a significant amount of liquid that has captured the flavor. Rinsing the grain draws that out.

Think of it like a tea bag...if you pull it out of the cup and pinch it, more tea comes out. If you were to rinse it, even more would come out.

 

[jekeane]

It is a good idea to steep your specialty grains in a smaller amount of water than whatever your prevail volume will be. So say you are only boiling 2-3 gallons on your stovetop and then topping off in your fermenter you can steep you grains in a gallon or so of water then put your grain bag in a colander over your pot and pour over the remaining water for your pre-boil volume.

This is in effect a sparge or rinse of your grains that will get any extra sugars from the grains rinsed out into you kettle rather than leaving them behind.

 

[gfranks22]

Another thing a lot of these recipes call for is the temperature of the rinsing water to be 170 F. I thought water that hot was bad for grains, because it led to tannins in the beer.

 

[kh54s10]

Another thing a lot of these recipes call for is the temperature of the rinsing water to be 170 F. I thought water that hot was bad for grains, because it led to tannins in the beer.

It is generally accepted that 170 is the upper limit. I am not sure how important that really is. It takes a combination of temperature and pH that you are very unlikely to reach in a homebrew setting.

170 is also a temperature that will stop conversion in a mash. That really doesn't apply to steeping since you are not really looking for conversion of starches to sugar. You are mostly just getting flavors and color from steeping grains.

 

[gfranks22]

That's all I needed to know!