steep time and temp

[bramptonbrewer]

How long should I steep the chocolate malt and oatmeal for and at what temperature?

 

[mdindy]

155 for 30min

 

[bramptonbrewer]

Has anyone ever heard of cold steeping. Steeping for 24 hrs in the fridge?

 

[JJL]

Cold steeping doesn't have to be in the fridge. It can simply be at room temp. It's typically used for dark grain to reduce bitterness. I've done it. It works fine. Although I have wondered about whether or not it's really necessary to steep for as long as 24 hours.

 

[Sudz_Makenzie]

I cold steep frequently. Just set the pot on the stove, add water, a paint strainer bag and pour the grains in and let it steep over night. Next morning it's ready to go for brewing. When the water is added to the pot for boiling, just dunk the bag in the pot a few times to sparge it while the water heats up. then just pour the steeped grain water into the pot and brew on!

 

[B8A_AMYLASE]

personally I would practice for the day when you eventually go all grain. Do you want a lot of fermentables or are you going for sweetness in character. 148 for 30 in all grain theory will give you high amounts of fermentables and lead to a dry finish. Higher temps allow for a sweeter finish. Its just fun for me as an extract brewer to play all grain with my steeps.

 

[Calder]

When you steep, all you are doing is extracting some flavors, and any sugars. The Oatmeal has no sugar; I'm not really sure what it adds when steeped.

Heating the water helps to dissolve the sugars from the malt. There is no particular temperature that is needed, or any particular time. I bet 5 minutes at 150 is fine. Think of dissolving sugar in hot water; that's all you are doing.

You probably should try and stay below 170 F. Above that you can extract tannins from the grains if you have a high PH.