Steeping Temps for Non-Hops/Grain Additions?

[Iowa Brewer]

Hey all,

This weekend I’m brewing a witbier I’ve made a million times. I always steep the orange peel and coriander seed at 170F, but just realized that’s out of habit from whirlpooling hops.

Does temp matter much when steeping non-hops/grain additions? Are there ideal temps?

Cheers!

 

[VikeMan]

In general, the higher the steeping temp, the better the extraction. Unfortunately, higher temps also result in greater losses (through evaporation) of the volatile compounds you just extracted. There are lots of strategies, and "ideal" probably depends on exactly what's being steeped. But generally I like to steep for a fairly short time at a very high temp, and begin chilling not long after. For example, orange zest at, say, 3 minutes to go in the boil (or at flameout), and then right into chilling with little/no stand/whirlpool.

 

[balrog]

In general, the higher the steeping temp, the better the extraction. Unfortunately, higher temps also result in greater losses (through evaporation) of the volatile compounds you just extracted. There are lots of strategies, and "ideal" probably depends on exactly what's being steeped. But generally I like to steep for a fairly short time at a very high temp, and begin chilling not long after. For example, orange zest at, say, 3 minutes to go in the boil (or at flameout), and then right into chilling with little/no stand/whirlpool.

+1, exactly what I've come to with my orange peel/coriander.
My chill time for 5gal batch is typically 12-18 minutes, just as a data point.
I went from 10m addition of peel/spice, to 5m (left in boil), to flame out.
THe garage smells **MUCH** better when doing 10m, and I realized that it meant the volatile oils were wasted on the garage. And while the riding lawnmower most certainly enjoyed it, I really preferred to have all that in the finished beer.
I have not tried anything more like you suggest, @Iowa Brewer , chilling to 170, or something, for N minutes, to see what might be better. Flame out definitely helped me over 10m though.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

In general, the higher the steeping temp, the better the extraction. Unfortunately, higher temps also result in greater losses (through evaporation) of the volatile compounds you just extracted. There are lots of strategies, and "ideal" probably depends on exactly what's being steeped. But generally I like to steep for a fairly short time at a very high temp, and begin chilling not long after. For example, orange zest at, say, 3 minutes to go in the boil (or at flameout), and then right into chilling with little/no stand/whirlpool.

Sounds good, VikeMan! Thanks for this.

 

[Iowa Brewer]

+1, exactly what I've come to with my orange peel/coriander.
My chill time for 5gal batch is typically 12-18 minutes, just as a data point.
I went from 10m addition of peel/spice, to 5m (left in boil), to flame out.
THe garage smells **MUCH** better when doing 10m, and I realized that it meant the volatile oils were wasted on the garage. And while the riding lawnmower most certainly enjoyed it, I really preferred to have all that in the finished beer.
I have not tried anything more like you suggest, @Iowa Brewer , chilling to 170, or something, for N minutes, to see what might be better. Flame out definitely helped me over 10m though.

Ha! Yes, like to keep my mower happy, but my wife and friends more so. I'll give the 5min a go. Cheers!

 

[pvtpublic]

Just remember a couple of things:
- If you smell it, it means that you're losing your flavors and aromatics. Try to keep it covered as best as you can.
- Different ingredients have different methods of extraction, such as steeping, decoction, alcohol tincture, cold infusion, etc. Make sure you're picking the right method for each ingredient you're using for best results.

 

[IslandLizard]

I've been grinding up the typical large chunks of brewers' dried orange peel in a spinner-type coffee/spice grinder quite finely. Then add the little chunks/powder at 140F, let stand or whirlpool for 5 minutes before chilling down to pitching temps. Same for the coriander, which only takes a few pulses.

Mind, due to super efficient extraction, I only use about a 1/3 to 1/2 of the recipe's typical amounts.

 

[Rish]

+1 to @pvtpublic . I do tinctures for wits. Cover the orange and coriander separately with vodka, shake it a few times a day for a week, then add to the the bottling bucket/keg. You don't lose anything to boiling or being blown away with the CO2 and can adjust for taste.