Steeping vs Mashing: I don't get it.

[olie]

I've not done a full-grain mash yet, in part because I'm stuck with all the gazillion options for mash & lauter tuns**.

But, the more I think about it and run through the process in my mind, it sure seems to me that mashing is really just steeping done the very-very-hard way!

Is there some important difference I'm not getting? It seems to me that one could use a large grain bag instead of a false bottom and get not only the same end result, but eliminate problems like stuck sparge, simplify cleanup tremendously, etc.

My thinking (and my question is: at what point did I go astray? Where is this wrong?): You could set up a kettle with a false bottom, add your grain, pour over correctly-temperatured water, then drain-off the wort, OR you could put all that grain in a large grain bag, spread it over the bottom of the pot, pour over correctly-temperatured water, then drain off the wort, [re-]moving the grain bag as necessary to free up the outlet valve.

No? Is this crazy-talk? What key point about mashing am I missing, here?


Thanks!

-----
* It's ok, I'll work it out. I want to go all-stainless, and there are just a zillion options. This isn't the part I'm asking for help about. (Maybe in another thread, if I stay stuck for more than 1 night of online shopping )

 

[d3track]

You're talking about brew-in-a-bag. There's a subforum in the all-grain section for it. Like pretty much everything homebrewing, there is more than one way to get to the end goal.

 

[olie]

Ah, thanks! Is there a way to move this post to that subforum? Or should I just copy/paste there?

(Don't want to spam folks, if there's a way around it.)

 

[flars]

It's called brew in a bag (BIAB) when all the grain is put in a bag and then the water is added. Mash time is till about 60 minutes at a certain temperature with the mash water manipulated to achieve a mash pH of about 5.2 to 5.6.

 

[JohnSand]

I mash as you describe: a bag in a cooler, previously a bag in a kettle.

 

[d3track]

Ah, thanks! Is there a way to move this post to that subforum? Or should I just copy/paste there?

(Don't want to spam folks, if there's a way around it.)

just PM one of the mods, they will be able to help you out.

 

[RM-MN]

I've not done a full-grain mash yet, in part because I'm stuck with all the gazillion options for mash & lauter tuns**.

But, the more I think about it and run through the process in my mind, it sure seems to me that mashing is really just steeping done the very-very-hard way!

Is there some important difference I'm not getting? It seems to me that one could use a large grain bag instead of a false bottom and get not only the same end result, but eliminate problems like stuck sparge, simplify cleanup tremendously, etc.

My thinking (and my question is: at what point did I go astray? Where is this wrong?): You could set up a kettle with a false bottom, add your grain, pour over correctly-temperatured water, then drain-off the wort, OR you could put all that grain in a large grain bag, spread it over the bottom of the pot, pour over correctly-temperatured water, then drain off the wort, [re-]moving the grain bag as necessary to free up the outlet valve.

No? Is this crazy-talk? What key point about mashing am I missing, here?


Thanks!

-----
* It's ok, I'll work it out. I want to go all-stainless, and there are just a zillion options. This isn't the part I'm asking for help about. (Maybe in another thread, if I stay stuck for more than 1 night of online shopping )

How about thinking about mashing as being nearly the same as steeping with the only difference being the temperature needing to be within a smaller range. If you were to put some milled base malt into water that was heated so that the temperature fell to between 148 and 158 it will convert the starch to sugar. Thats all there is to mashing. Now you do need to separate the wort produced from the grains but if you had put them into a fine mesh bag you can just lift up the bag and let the wort drain out. That's BIAB. It really is that simple.

Please don't have the thread moved. It took me a long time to move to all grain because I didn't want to make a mash tun and didn't realize that all the equipment wasn't necessary. Leave this thread here so other new brewers can see it.

 

[Calder]

That's how I started with partial mash. Never liked leaving all those sugars behind, even with Crystal you leave behind half the potential sugars if you steep rather than mash.

For 4 lbs of grain I would heat up 6 quarts of water to 160 F, line the pot with a 5 gallon paint straining bag (available from any hardware store), and add the grains (temp drops to about 150 F). Maintain temp and stir occasionally for 30 minutes. While that was going on, I would heat up another 2 gallons of water in a separate pot to 170 F. Once mashing was done (~30 minutes), lift grains in bag, let drain for a couple of minutes and then add to second pot still in the bag. Steep/stir for about 5 minutes, then lift bag and set in a collander over a third pot to drain. Collect all liquid together (about 3 gallons) and start brewing.

And then it goes to 5 lbs, to 6 lbs to ........

Cheap and easy way to get started. 5 gallon straining bags cost about $2, but are reusable.

Just make sure you get your grains crushed. Trying to crush grains without a mill is almost impossible. I ended up buying a Corona mill with a large hopper for $30. Used the hand crank for a while, but eventually converted to run with a drill. Been using it for years and hundreds of lbs of grain. One of the best investments I made in brewing.

 

[jtratcliff]

Ding! Ding! Ding!

You've just independently re-discovered the Brew-In-A-Bag (BIAB) method! The Aussies pioneered it... they have an entirely separate forum for it... we have a dedicated subforum for it here...

But, yep! It's that easy!

 

[ESBrewer]

Yes, the process is almost the same but if we think what happens in a mash vs steeping, there is a key difference. In the mash the temperature dependent enzymes of base malts will convert starch to fermentable sugars (a core component in any wort), whereas in steeping process, you aim to extract mainly unfermentable flavor, body and colored compounds from specialty grains. Thus, when steeping, the temperature and time are not so critical (because you are not converting starch and thus not mashing). You still need to get the fermentables from malt extract or from a real mash. BIAB is a real mash that is done in a bag much like steeping and it can be an easy way to brew an all grain beer.

 

[seabrew8]

Look up grainfather.