I'm about to do an American IPA extract/specailty grain. I was wondering what's the largest amount of steeping grains you guys have used? I'm still stuck using mr beer kegs due to room for equipment so it'll be a 2.2 gal batch. I'm planning on using 2 different grains. I've used a full lb of a single grain in a Belgain IPA that turned out really good. Just curious of the max amount I should use.
Steeping grains?
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bredle
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I've only done about a pound as well (maybe a little more). How much does this recipe call for?
Well I'm writing my own recipe and I've already ordered the ingredients. Just tryin to decide how much to use. I ordered a lb of victory malt and a lb of caramel 40L. I wanted to use both but I didn't think I should use 2 lb in this small of a batch. I'll be using 3 lb of light dme for my base
^^^^^ is great advice
IPAs are supposed to be dry. Adding a lot of specialty malt will make it sweet. I'd suggest a max of 8 to 12 ozs of crystal in a 5 gallon batch, and a hefty amount of plain table sugar to help dry it out. With extract I'd go at least a pound of sugar in 5 gallons.
Victory really needs to be mashed. It may add a little flavor if you steep it, but really it should be mashed to get all its goodness.
How to mash. Try it. Take 0.5 lbs of Victory and 0.25 lbs of crystal, and add it to a quart of water (at 160 F). Try and hold it around 150 F for 30 minutes (stir occasionally). The grain temperature will drop the water temperature to about 150 F when you add it to the water. Holding the temperature anywhere between 145 and 155 is OK. Drain and then rinse in 170 F water to get all the sugars out. I find mashing smaller amounts harder than a larger amount as it is harder to hold the temperature.
Give mashing a try. If you fail, you are right where you would be with steeping. If you succeed, it will improve your beer, and give you a lot of confidence. For extract beers, I recommend mashing any grains at lower temperatures (148 - 150) to get it more fermentable to help offset the sweetness left by the extract.
Honey will work in place of sugar. It has less sugars pound for pound so you will need more for the same effect. Approximately 1.3 lbs of honey = 1 lb of table sugar.
It is more expensive. If you are wanting to use it because it might contribute to the flavor, you could be wasting your money, as most of the flavor will be driven off.
It is more expensive. If you are wanting to use it because it might contribute to the flavor, you could be wasting your money, as most of the flavor will be driven off.
FYI honey doesn't go bad, if it starts getting crystals just place it in some warm/hot water and they'll dissolve back into the honey.
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