steeped too hot?

[SRTBREW]

Hi I brewed an extract london porter a few weeks ago. I used tap water which I boiled. The problem is I thought my water had cooled down enough to put my steeping grains in. IT HADN'T. When I measured the temp it was at 190 degrees. As soon as I noticed I pulled the grains out and let the water cool down to about 165 then put my grains back in to steep. The grains were only in there for about thirty seconds before I noticed. Is this going to affect the taste of my beer? When I transfered to secondary after a week I took a taste and it tasted a little like scorched grain. Will this go away with time?

 

[deharris]

When you steep hot, you'll extract lots of tannins from your grains, which probably accounts for the scorched flavor (could also be product of scorched liquid malt extract or run of the mill extract "twang"). Even using tap water, I can't see any reason not to heat the water to ~153 F, steep your grains, and then bring to a boil afterwards to remove chlorine/kill bugs. Then you'll avoid these problems. But you probably thought of that by now. Time often helps beer - the scorched flavor will probably mellow.

 

[trainfever]

Harris, where in Philly are you located? and what LBHS do you shop at?

 

[david_42]

30 seconds isn't long enough to be a problem.

 

[SRTBREW]

Thanks everyone. I'll let this one sit for awhile and see if it mellows. By the way how long should I age this one being a very dark beer before enjoying?

By the way relaxing, drinking a homebrew right now. gotta love it.