Steeping grain procedure

[Kingguter]

Ok I am doing an Oktoberfest extract batch with steeping grains and I need some clarification. It says heat 2.5 gallons on water to 170 and steep for 30 minutes, or steep grains until heat reaches 170. So would I get better results if I allow the water to reach 170 before I put them in for 30 minutes, or if I put them in while it is heating up?

 

[DrummerBoySeth]

170 is danger territory... getting above 170 can cause tannins to get in your beer and give it a bitter taste. Most people suggest keeping steeping temperatures between 155 and 160. What I like to do is bring the temperature of the water to between 160 and 162 degrees, then turn off the heat. As soon as the heat is off, add the steeping grains and let them soak for at least 20 minutes (I usually soak 30 to 40 minutes.) Do not attempt to reheat during this time. If you must add heat, make sure the temp never goes above 165.

When 30 minutes is up, remove the grains (do not squeeze the bag, or you will get more tannins!) and start the boil...

It really is pretty easy. Not too sciency or anything.

 

[Fid]

Honestly I wouldn't worry too much about the tannin extraction.
Heres a thread explaining why.

As for which method of steeping is better... I'd say whichever works best for you. Plenty of people have had success with each method.
I've done both in the past. I'd say that the biggest advantage to heating the water before adding the grains and holding that temp for 30 minutes is that you can easily reproduce those results in the future or on a different system. Throwing the grains in and then heating the water to 170 could give you some different steeping times depending on the system. I know that my stove will take over twice as long to heat water to 170 than my outdoor burner will.

 

[Kingguter]

Ok thanks for the replies, makes sense

 

[billl]

You might try using a half gallon of 160 water to sparge the grains after steeping as well. There is a lot of flavor left in that bag after a 30 minutes steep. I don't know many all grain brewers that just stop after the first runnings, so that can be critical when trying to do extract version of all-grain recipes.

 

[kh54s10]

When I was doing extracts last summer I would put the grains in the water once it was hot? then I would continue heating until I hit 170° or 20 minutes. I almost always got the two within a few minutes. All the beers came out great.

Worked for me YMMV.

 

[MMJfan]

Here is a question regarding steeping. If I have a 7 gal. kettle and I want to heat 6 gal. of water and steep the grains in 6 gal. instead of 2.5, will that alter the outcome of the recipe in any way?

 

[AR-Josh]

I always squeeze the crap out my grain bags. No tannin extraction here. I wouldn't get any grain above 170 though. If all grain batches mash out at 170 and say never go above that, then there be dragons above 170. Never tested that though.

 

[kevinb]

I always squeeze the crap out my grain bags. No tannin extraction here. I wouldn't get any grain above 170 though. If all grain batches mash out at 170 and say never go above that, then there be dragons above 170. Never tested that though.

I always squeeze them as well.

 

[paleale]

i try to keep mine between 155 and 160. i also do my boil with only the wort from the grains. i add the hops as called for and add any lme or dme at flame out. my brews have been lighter in color since i started doing that.

 

[s0m3f00l]

i try to keep mine between 155 and 160. i also do my boil with only the wort from the grains. i add the hops as called for and add any lme or dme at flame out. my brews have been lighter in color since i started doing that.

Wow what a great idea.... And I was just coming in to ask why my extract brews keep coming out dark.

Thanks :rockin:

 

[AR-Josh]

You do get better hop utilization when you add all the extract at the end. So you may want to back off on the hops a little. At lest check it with a calculator before so you don't get surprised by an over hopped beer. I'm only repeating what I've heard and never experimented with adding all the extract at the end.