To crack or not to crack?

[richenrygarcia]

I'm doing an ESB recipe that calls for Chocolate Malt and Roasted barley? The guy at the LHBS shop to not crack these specific grains as they are brittle and could ruin a batch. Do you all agree with this? Thanks

 

[Yuri_Rage]

CRUSH THEM! The guy at the LHBS has no idea what he's talking about. You'll get little to nothing out of steeping uncrushed grain.

 

[DeathBrewer]

yeah, roll a bottle over those suckers and get them good and crushed.

 

[david_42]

Crack them, crush them, but don't grind them.