Steeping in the oven

[BrooZer]

Is it possible to steep grains in the oven? It seems like it would be simple to heat some water in a pot to 160, add the grains and then put the oven timer on 30 minutes. After that, just strain the water into the brew pot.


I know steeping is not difficult but I can never maintain the right temp when doing it stove top. ALso, Im not a huge fan of holding the grain bag for 30 minutes. Thanks!

 

[mazdamike]

Yes it works so will a crockpot.

 

[Cheeto]

a Crock pot what a novel idea !!!
I have a 1 gallon pot hmm

 

[Reno Homebrewer]

ALso, Im not a huge fan of holding the grain bag for 30 minutes. Thanks!

If your brew pot has handles, tie the pull strings to one.

 

[greenleaf]

stupid new appliances make it so min temp is 170. good for mashing out, but not steeping. Stove top is what Ive been doin.

 

[solidghost]

i think the biggest problem is maintaining the correct temperature. i can never get the correct temp for a long period of time. kind of frustrating as well.

 

[mew]

Sure, it works great. I used to do it. Just pre-heat the oven to its lowest temp., then turn it off and put your pot in. Make sure you turn the oven off, though.

 

[BrooZer]

i think the biggest problem is maintaining the correct temperature. i can never get the correct temp for a long period of time. kind of frustrating as well.

Thats exactly the problem I have!

 

[BrooZer]

Sure, it works great. I used to do it. Just pre-heat the oven to its lowest temp., then turn it off and put your pot in. Make sure you turn the oven off, though.

How come you say to turn off the oven? Do you leave the lid on it?

 

[Yooper]

Once you close the oven, it stays warm for a long time. I do that when I have my bread rise, put it on warm, and then turn the oven off. Then add the bread.

if you leave the oven on, it'll be too hot. You can steep your grains on the stove, too, it's actually easier. All I do is steep them, and then turn the flame on it if gets below 145 degrees. It's not bad to do for 20-30 minutes.

 

[Yooper]

Oh, and you don't have to hold the grain bag for 20-30 minutes. You tie it closed, and leave it in the pot.

 

[BrooZer]

Once you close the oven, it stays warm for a long time. I do that when I have my bread rise, put it on warm, and then turn the oven off. Then add the bread.

if you leave the oven on, it'll be too hot. You can steep your grains on the stove, too, it's actually easier. All I do is steep them, and then turn the flame on it if gets below 145 degrees. It's not bad to do for 20-30 minutes.

Oh, see i thought it was supposed to stay close to 160 the whole time. I am currently steeping on the stove and the temp does fluctuate.

So you can just let the bag sit, i thought you were supposed to bob it up and down the whole time.

 

[BrooZer]

Also, isnt it ok to steep at 170? Can anyone see any problems with steeping in the oven?

 

[reshp1]

+1 for doing it on the stovetop

You don't need to hold it at a particular temp. There's no starch conversion going on in specialty grains, you're just rinsing the already converted sugars and color out of the grains. You should stay below 160-170 because any higher than that and you can start pulling astringent flavors out of the husks. You can hit 160, turn off the heat (or keep it on low) and let the bag steep for 30 minutes. You may lose 10 degrees or so, but it doesn't really matter. You also don't have to bob up and down the whole time, just give it a few at the end and you'll be good.

 

[Donasay]

You only have to hold the bag if you are direct firing the pot... when I was new I let the bag sit on the bottom of the pot while the burner was on only to wind up with a burnt out bag and water full of grain. If you get the pot up to about 160 ~ 165 and take it off of the heat, you should be able to let the bag sit for 30 minutes, it will only loose about 10 degrees, the steeping grains are mostly specialty grains and don't have active enzymes so temperature is not uber important, just keep it above 120 or 130ish there is a wide range.

 

[TexLaw]

You won't mess up your beer by steeping in the oven, but I don't know if that's the easiest way to do it. If it works for you, though, go for it.

And, when I steep grains, I also just dump them in the pot. If I ever need to fish them out, I use tongs or (if the bag is too heavy for that) one of those big strainers.


TL