Steeping Grains for Full Boil

[igvandeventer]

I just purchased a 10 gallon kettle with a weldless thermometer to begin doing full boils with my extract brewing and do some BIAB.

How much water is a good volume to steep grains to utilize them for their full potential? 2-3 gallons then top off to 5.5-6 gallon full volume, or just steep in the full amount?

Cheers!

 

[rmyurick]

I don't think there's any problem with steeping them in the full amount. You get better extraction that way. I wouldn't go too high on temp. while steeping--keep it to 165 or less.

 

[feinbera]

Another reason to steep in the full volume would be to get a feel for working with seven gallons water – how fast it heats/cools, how easy/hard it is to move the kettle around if you have to, etc. – before diving into BIAB.

Wait, did I say seven gallons for 5.5 gallon batch? Yeah, you're gonna have to take into account probably about a gallon of boil-off in an hour's boil, plus maybe another half-gallon of trub left in the kettle (depending on how much hops you use, and how much of the trub you transfer to your fermenter, which is a matter of personal taste which I won't try to argue for or against).

Carefully measure your starting volume, volume into the fermentor, and volume left behind, so you'll have a better idea of your boil-off, it can vary a lot by burner, pot, even weather/wind conditions. If you assume a gallon an hour, you'll probably be off, but not by too much, and your careful note-taking will let you hit the nail on the head next batch.