Firestone Walker Pale 31 extract clone

[russianriver29]

Just getting into home brewing.... so I'm pretty new at this stuff. Pale 31 is one of my favorite brews so I ordered the 5 gallon extract clone kit from Austin Homebrew and will brew it this week. I'm a bit puzzled with the instructions though because in addition to 7 lb. Extra Pale Extract the kit includes .5 lb Munich, .5 lb Crystal and .5 lb Maris Otter crushed grains (all packaged together in mesh bag) with the following instructions - " bring 2 gallons water to 155F, soak grains for 25 min, lift bag out of water, drain without squeezing, discard grains, add 1 gal water, and return to heat until boiling, and add the LME. The instructions are for a partial boil however I'm planning on a full boil with late extract addition of half the LME.

My question relates to the Munich and MO. I thought these are base malts that require mashing. Can someone explain what is accomplished with this recipe? Is it steeping or mashing? Any suggestions and enlightenment greatly appreciated!

 

[JDGator]

I'm fairly new to brewing myself and from what i can tell the only difference is the quantity. Small amounts require steeping and larger bills requiring mashing. Both just soak in water at a certain temp. Maybe the crushing or milling is different??

Someone with more experience can chime in.

 

[32Brew]

What you are doing is basically a mini mash. Munich and MO have "mashing enzymes" (diastatic power,) so holding them at 155° is a mash. With that small of a mash, there isn't a lot being converted, but it is still technically a mash. Even at 30min, you should have conversion, so you will be adding fermentables, with the MO and Munich as well as color and flavor with the crystal malt. With such a small amount, although it is a very small mash, I'd still call it steeping, since it is not making up a significant amount of fermentables.