Steep or mash my 2 row?

[kbidness]

I am brewing an IPA extract recipe. I'm using LME and my specialty grains are 1 lb crystal 15L malt and 1 lb. 2 row.

I milled the two grains together so now they are mixed.
The guy at my LHBS said using a pound of 2 row would help give this extract brew some body. His suggestion was to just steep both of them for 30 minutes at 152.

My question is should I steep the grains at 160 for a half an hour like most other steeped grains, or try to mash my 1 lb of 2 row (that's mixed in with my crystal) at 152 for more like 45-60 minutes and sparge.

The real question is: Is 2 row completely useless as a steeped specialty grain? Is trying to mash just one pound of 2 row pointless?

I'm probably over thinking this, but any advice would be great. And next time I'm just going to do a straight up partial mash.

 

[CCericola]

I am brewing an IPA extract recipe. I'm using LME and my specialty grains are 1 lb crystal 15L malt and 1 lb. 2 row.

I milled the two grains together so now they are mixed.
The guy at my LHBS said using a pound of 2 row would help give this extract brew some body. His suggestion was to just steep both of them for 30 minutes at 152.

My question is should I steep the grains at 160 for a half an hour like most other steeped grains, or try to mash my 1 lb of 2 row (that's mixed in with my crystal) at 152 for more like 45-60 minutes and sparge.

The real question is: Is 2 row completely useless as a steeped specialty grain? Is trying to mash just one pound of 2 row pointless?

I'm probably over thinking this, but any advice would be great. And next time I'm just going to do a straight up partial mash.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty certain steeping 2-row isn't gonna do much. You need to mash it to get any contribution to your body. The other grains you're using primarily for flavor/color so it's ok that you're not mashing.

 

[histo320]

What I used to do was steep in the oven for 60 minutes at 155F. After steeping I would do what I called a "mini-sparge" of about 165 with about 3 or 4 cups of water and pour it over the grains.

I believe in this way you will get some conversion since the temps and time are the same as a typical mash. My beers always turned out better using this method rather than steeping alone.

Just be sure to not make the water too hot or squeeze the bag too much (a little bit of squeezing is okay) because you risk tannins.