Why do I always see that base malts "must" be mashed, but then see them included as grains for steeping in published recipes (BYO, etc.) or included in kits with specialty grains with instructions to steep at 155 with the spec. grains? What gives?
Steeping Malts
- Thread starter davcar74
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Basically speaking:
Base malt = starch + inactive enzymes
Specialty malts = sugars (already converted from starch) + starch (in some grains). No enzymes.
Some specialty malts have no sugar, like dark roasted grains, some have dextrin, like carapills.
When you are doing AG, you NEED to mash the base malt to get the bulk of your fermentables.
When doing a partial mash with grains that may contain some residual starch (Crystal is an example), steeping with a base malt will provide the enzymes to covert these residual starches to sugar.
Base malt = starch + inactive enzymes
Specialty malts = sugars (already converted from starch) + starch (in some grains). No enzymes.
Some specialty malts have no sugar, like dark roasted grains, some have dextrin, like carapills.
When you are doing AG, you NEED to mash the base malt to get the bulk of your fermentables.
When doing a partial mash with grains that may contain some residual starch (Crystal is an example), steeping with a base malt will provide the enzymes to covert these residual starches to sugar.
I see a lot of recipes that have Biscuit, Victory, Vienna, Wheat, Oats, and others, that say to steep, and really can't understand why they are in there. There is no sugar contribution without mashing. Can anyone say why they should be in a steeped recipe. Seems like a waste of money to me, and can impart starch haze in the brew.
Chocolate, Roast, Black all have sugars that can be extracted by steeping. Try a small amount in a gallon and measure the resulting gravity. BUT .... they also contain a lot of starches that need to be mashed to get everything out of them.
TromboneGuy
Well-Known Member
At what temperature are you steeping those grains? Because if it's around 150, then you ARE mashing them. We may just be dealing with semantics.
Huh? Your only mashing if you have a base malt and have conversion of starches to sugar. With steeping you get color flavor some sweetness.Although adding a base malt with your steeping malts can convert itself within 30 min but 60 min is suggested for completion of starch to sugar conversion with diastatic malt.
I have been confused about this too. The two AHS extract kits I have brewed included base malts in the steeping grains. My understanding is that if you are steeping at 155 with base malts then you would technically be doing a partial mash. Is this correct?
I don't think that roasted barley or any grain with lovibond higher than 200 (just throwing a number here) has any starch in it. Sugars, well, I should be more specific to say no "fermentable" sugars, still, very little sugars in my understanding .The fact that you add something to water and its gravity increases doesn't necessarily means that you are adding sugar.
What malts specificaly? If you have malts that cannot convert themselves diastaticlly then they need help from highly diastaic malts like 2 row or wheat or 6 row or marris otter or more. And yes steeping with base malts may make conversion within 30 min,which most consider "steeping" so if you have base malts you may as well go another 30 minutes or do an iodine test to check for starch/sugar conversion. This is usually the simple way of doing all grain or partial mash. Its really fairly simple but ph and water come in and you need a good ph like 5.2 during your mash wich you can get ph papers and bla bla bla. In generall you dont have to be specific about your water untill you want to get technical about it.
Thanks for the responses. What I have seen are receipes that tend to typically combine 2 row, pilsner, wheat in a steeping bag with specialty grains. The instructions are to steep at 150-155 for 45 min. More typical steeping instructions are 30 min, so I do generally see some extra time added when the base malts are included.
Doues the stra time alone turn the steep into a partial mash? I thought there was a rinsing/sparge step involved in a true partial mash.
Mainly, as an extract brewer, I am trying to figure out if inlcuding base malts has the potential to add anything to what I am doing (even if just flavor/feel if conversion does not take place) or if they could cause problems for me.
Doues the stra time alone turn the steep into a partial mash? I thought there was a rinsing/sparge step involved in a true partial mash.
Mainly, as an extract brewer, I am trying to figure out if inlcuding base malts has the potential to add anything to what I am doing (even if just flavor/feel if conversion does not take place) or if they could cause problems for me.
"Steeping" base malts (possibly mixed with other grains) in a grain bag at 150-155 degrees F for 45 minutes is essentially the definition of mashing using the brew in a bag (BIAB) technique. Several commercial extract kits, including the Brewer's Best Oatmeal Stout kit, use this technique (they refer to it as "steep to convert"). I've never tried to determine just how efficient this process is, but have used it repeatedly and it produces good beer.
Sparging rinses out sugars (and other things) from the mashed grains which would otherwise be lost. This is particularly useful when you use a lot of malt. However, you're using maybe a couple of pounds of malt & other grains in 2-3 gallons of water. Dipping the grain back back into this pretty dilute wort and letting it drain a few times accomplishes much the same thing. You lose some efficiency.
Note that people mashed without sparging for centuries.
Note that people mashed without sparging for centuries.
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