steeping specialty grains with extract kit

[jrc64]

Brewing up a pumpkin ale this weekend. This is an extract recipe with 1lb of specialty grains. Now the receipe says to steep the grains in 2.5 gallons of water until the teperature reaches 170 degrees.

First question, are they asking me to put the grains in the cold water and let them sit until the temp hits 170, and then remove them? Personally, I'd rather heat the water to around 165 first and THEN put the grains in for around 45 minutes.

Second question. I can get my stove to give me a good boil at around 3.5 gallons. Is it OK to steep the grains with 3.5 gallons instead of the suggested 2.5? Or do I steep with the 2.5 gallons, THEN add a gallon after the steeping is finished? I'm guessing there must be reason for steeping with 2.5 gallons in lieu of whatever your kettle can handle.

Thanks in advance for any help on this.

 

[OscarBrau]

Yes, typically the "heat to 170" means put the grains in cold and pull them once the temp hits 170. What I typically do is more like what you would prefer - heat to around 160, then add the grains. You probably don't need 45 minutes though - I usually do about 30.

Yes, you can steep in more than 2.5 gallons. I do 3-4 gallons. I'm guessing the kit suggests 2.5 because starting brewers tend to have 5 gallon pots, and they don't want you to fill it too high for fear of boiling over or something.

 

[AnOldUR]

When you steep specialty grains you're not looking for conversion of starches to sugars. That took place during the malting process. The goal is to get color and flavor from the grain along with some less fermentable sugars brought out when they were roasted. The ramping directions you got with your kit will work fine, but especially with darker crystal malts, steeping for more than about 15 minutes can start to extract harshness and at the same time is not accomplishing anything of value.

 

[eadavis80]

Yup - I heat water to 160, throw them in and let them sit in the covered kettle (I do full boils, so I steep in 6 gallons, so feel free to steep in as much water as you want), let them go 20 minutes, remove/drain and get that wort to a boil

 

[daksin]

No problem steeping in the 3.5 at all. I like to steep the way your instructions say: throw my grain in the cold water and then pull it out when the water reaches 170F, but you can also do a steep at 150-160F for 20 or so minutes. You really don't need 45 minutes of steeping time, though.

 

[brewcat]

Anymore I generally do a small mash in a separate pot. So something like 1.25 quarts water per pound of grain. Hold temps around 152-156 for 30 minutes or so. Then dump that liquid into your starting boil amount. You can then let the grain bag drain into a bowl and dump a few more times.