Hi,
I brew 5-gallon extract batches with specialty grains, and I've always steeped the grains in the full volume of water (6-7 gallons). I heat the kettle to 160 degrees, draw off a half-gallon in a thermos, steep the grains (in a nylon bag) for 30-minutes in the kettle, and then put the bag on a colander and rinse it with the reserved water.
I recently read an article by Brad Smith about steeping in smaller volumes to avoid tannins. For my next batch, I'm thinking about getting a small cooler and steeping in that. I would still heat the full kettle to 160 and reserve a half-gallon in the thermos. But then I would drain off the appropriate amount of water in the cooler and steep in there. After 30-minutes I would remove the bag, rinse it with the reserved water, and add the steep water back to the kettle.
Currently, as soon as I finish steeping the grains, I add half of the required DME/LME to the kettle and bring it to a boil. If I steep in a separate container, I see no reason why I can't add the malt extract to the kettle while the grains are steeping. And I could take it a step further and resume heating the water in the kettle while the grains are steeping. This would save me some time, but I'm wondering just how far I can take it.
If I heat the remaining water (5-6 gallons) to a boil, I assume I would get an almost instantaneous hot-break when I add the steep water to the kettle. Is that good/bad/doesn't matter? Or I could just bring the kettle water up to 200 degrees or so, and then bring it to a boil after adding the steep water. Again, my main reasoning is looking at ways to shorten my brew time.
Is anyone using a method like this, and what is your advice on trying it? Thanks as always for the help!
I brew 5-gallon extract batches with specialty grains, and I've always steeped the grains in the full volume of water (6-7 gallons). I heat the kettle to 160 degrees, draw off a half-gallon in a thermos, steep the grains (in a nylon bag) for 30-minutes in the kettle, and then put the bag on a colander and rinse it with the reserved water.
I recently read an article by Brad Smith about steeping in smaller volumes to avoid tannins. For my next batch, I'm thinking about getting a small cooler and steeping in that. I would still heat the full kettle to 160 and reserve a half-gallon in the thermos. But then I would drain off the appropriate amount of water in the cooler and steep in there. After 30-minutes I would remove the bag, rinse it with the reserved water, and add the steep water back to the kettle.
Currently, as soon as I finish steeping the grains, I add half of the required DME/LME to the kettle and bring it to a boil. If I steep in a separate container, I see no reason why I can't add the malt extract to the kettle while the grains are steeping. And I could take it a step further and resume heating the water in the kettle while the grains are steeping. This would save me some time, but I'm wondering just how far I can take it.
If I heat the remaining water (5-6 gallons) to a boil, I assume I would get an almost instantaneous hot-break when I add the steep water to the kettle. Is that good/bad/doesn't matter? Or I could just bring the kettle water up to 200 degrees or so, and then bring it to a boil after adding the steep water. Again, my main reasoning is looking at ways to shorten my brew time.
Is anyone using a method like this, and what is your advice on trying it? Thanks as always for the help!
