Specialty Grains and DME

[nlavon]

I am brewing the Palilalia India Pale Ale recipe from the New Complete Joy of Home Brewing, p. 180, using the Specialty Grains listed--crystal malt and malted barley.

Questions: Is the 30 minutes of steeping time for the grains is in addition to the 45-60 min of boiling with extract added and hops put in according to schedule? The recipe calls for adding the grains at the beginning of the boil and taking them out when the water starts to boil. Any thoughts on whether the water should be boiling before the grains go in?

In the AHA How to Specialty Grains, they discuss adding the second can of LME after the boil is finished. I am using DME, is there a reason to halve the extract when using specialty grains? Or is that just for that one particular recipe, I wonder?

This is my first home brew in about 20 years as I am returning to the practice after a long hiatus.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Iseneye]

With the proviso that I don't do extract:

-adding grains to boiling water sounds like a bad idea (possible Tannin extraction depending on pH).
-I thought when you steeped grains you put them in a mesh bag and then steep them at around 160f for 30 minutes. Then remove the bag and bring to boil.

 

[Yooper]

I must have a different version of Joy, because that recipe isn't in my book.

In any case, you will steep the grains first. I'm not sure what you have for grains (as they are generally all "barley"), but assuming you have crystal malt and base malt two row, steep (mash) them in 1.5 quarts of water per pound of grain for 30-45 minutes at 150-155 degrees.

Once that is over, remove the grains. You can pour liquid over the grains in a separate pot, or in a colander over the brewpot, up to your boil volume, and bring that to a boil.

Add 1 pound of extract per gallon of liquid in your pot, more or less. Stir well, and bring back to a boil.

Add your hops according to the schedule you have. Set your timer for 60 minutes when you start the boil.

When your timer hits 0, add the rest of your extract when you turn off the flame.

Adding the bulk of the extract at the end of the boil does several things- it keeps the color of the beer darker and has less of a "cooked extract" taste due to excess maillard reactions.

Extract has already been processed, and a quick pasteurization is all that is needed to use it.

 

[nlavon]

OK, thanks for all this. The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing I have is the 1991 edition, a second edition with the first one being 1983.

 

[Calder]

My book says "Add grains to cold water and remove when it starts to boil", second edition.

That used to be the practice. It is now recommended to remove grains at 170F to prevent tannin extraction.

After the grains are removed, add extract (some or all), bring to a full boil, add your first hops (Northern Brewer), and then start the timer. Boil for 60 minutes.

 

[chaosdunktheory]

It's worth noting that the line about leaving the grains in until just before boiling is still in the fourth edition, at least the first time it comes up in the "Betterbrew" section. Later on he recommends steeping for 30 min and pulling them out before 170.

Also, if you're just going by the book, I feel like he underplays the importance of chilling the wort quickly and proper fermentation temp control.

 

[nlavon]

I ended up heating the water to 150, adding the grains and then trying to keep the temperature below 170. Sometimes it climbed up, sometimes down, and I tried to vary the temperature for the time it was in there. Most of the time, it was okay.

I chilled the wort in the sink and with some ice and got it down to 74 within half an hour. I then pitched the yeast. Given the temperature in the house (about 72-74) I wasn't going to get it any lower.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[kh54s10]

When I do extract, I put the specialty grains in the water when I turn on the burner. I then heat for 20 minutes. I aim for 170 degrees as max. Usually I reach 170 and 20 minutes fairly close, if too warm I just turn off the heat and finish the 20 minutes. Then remove the specialty grains and start the boil. To keep the extract from getting dark I add 1/3 to 1/2 at the beginning of the boil and the rest when I turn off the heat.

Look into controlling your fermentation temperatures. Search "swamp cooler". 74 is pretty warm, fermentation creates it's own heat so your 74 might go as high as 84 which is not good.

 

[nlavon]

I think I am going to construct the Minimalist Wort Chiller using styrofoam, put the bucket in, some ice, and see how it goes. But I agree, I do need to get that temperature down.

 

[chaosdunktheory]

I use an insulated bag and 2-liters filled with ice to push down my fermentation temps. I had some pretty good success nailing a consistent 66-70 temp for my last batch, though it did take a little bit of micromanaging the ice to fight the rise in temperature due to active fermentation while not pushing it down too far to where the yeast would go dormant.

Temp control for most styles is really only important the first couple of days while the most active part of the fermentation is going on; once it settles down and the bubbling slows down or stops, and you're around your target final gravity from the hydrometer reading, you can let the temp come back up so the yeast can clean up after themselves.