Ideal steep temp?

[dunney]

Doing my first extract. Advice is to steep grain for 30 min in hot but not boiling water... What's the ideal temp??

 

[Bizenya]

I do mine at around 65-70C

 

[chemfish]

Same, 65ish for 30 minutes.

 

[Aaron1.0]

What kind of grain?

 

[Waratah67]

I heat to 70C. Flame out, Drop in grains. Close lid and don't touch for 30 mins. Stir. "sparge" with a little more water 60C-75C. Let drain with a sieve.

I don't imagine its as crucial as mash temp because you are mainly looking for flavor release (like in a cup of tea) not sugar release.

 

[Mardoo]

I "cold" steep overnight on the counter.

 

[HBHB]

The following article might answer some questions for you.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/lets-brew/cold-steeping-getting-the-most-out-of-dark-grains/

I think historically, most brewers have steeped up around Mash temperatures because it was thought to be better. Like all things brewing, it's constantly being reviewed and developments made.

In essence, (as far as I know) there isn't any real advantage to hot steeping. Though it is convenient and doesn't require any time spent on the brew the night before which cold brewing does.

We'll be running taste comparisons on hot and cold steeping with otherwise identical recipes in the Brew School group that starts tomorrow night, but results of that won't be available for about 8 weeks.

Hope the article helps.
Martin

 

[mrsupraboy]

The following article might answer some questions for you.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/lets-brew/cold-steeping-getting-the-most-out-of-dark-grains/

I think historically, most brewers have steeped up around Mash temperatures because it was thought to be better. Like all things brewing, it's constantly being reviewed and developments made.

In essence, (as far as I know) there isn't any real advantage to hot steeping. Though it is convenient and doesn't require any time spent on the brew the night before which cold brewing does.

We'll be running taste comparisons on hot and cold steeping with otherwise identical recipes in the Brew School group that starts tomorrow night, but results of that won't be available for about 8 weeks.

Hope the article helps.
Martin

Keep us informed

 

[HBHB]

Keep us informed

We'll run 2 experiments with this.

1. 2 x Schwarzbier for the Brew School class

2. 2 x Baltic Porter using 9 grains which i'll do at home

results will be posted.

Martin

 

[Waratah67]

The following article might answer some questions for you.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/lets-brew/cold-steeping-getting-the-most-out-of-dark-grains/

I think historically, most brewers have steeped up around Mash temperatures because it was thought to be better. Like all things brewing, it's constantly being reviewed and developments made.

In essence, (as far as I know) there isn't any real advantage to hot steeping. Though it is convenient and doesn't require any time spent on the brew the night before which cold brewing does.

We'll be running taste comparisons on hot and cold steeping with otherwise identical recipes in the Brew School group that starts tomorrow night, but results of that won't be available for about 8 weeks.

Hope the article helps.
Martin

What is Brew School?

 

[HBHB]

What is Brew School?

Without hijacking the thread, it's a structured 6 week part time course (1 night a week) we've been running continuously this year for a cost of $20 total pp. It covers everything from cleaning and sanitising to opening a pack of yeast & kit brewing, to extract brewing, grain steeping and grain brewing (BIAB). They get to taste about 30 styles of beer and make anywhere from 6-10 styles in that time. There'd be a fair few of the guys/ladies on here that have done it.

 

[Aaron1.0]

That was a very interesting article, thanks HBHB!

 

[HBHB]

The promised experimental brews are done. Was a bit warm to pitch the yeast tonight, so will pitch tomorrow morning early and ferment out.

The experimental brew ended up being a robust porter with an assortment of steeped grains to build on the flavours.

1 batch got cold steeped and 1 batch was steeped at 65 degrees (approx) then they were given a boil up before mixing the malt bases in.

Results will be some weeks away and will put them out to an audience of a dozen or so brewers to see what the verdict is.

Will post the full details later.

 

[HBHB]

Results are pretty much sorted with absolutely no scientific basis at all.

We ended up running 2 kit brews and identical steeped grain bills plus 1kg of LDME for each just to add some more character to the beers:

Brown Malt, Carafa Spec II, 120L Crystal and some Briess Carapils.

The cold steeped were placed in room temp water overnight @ 10:00pm until 6:15 the next night. Then the extract was boiled for 30 MInutes.

The hot steeped grains were steeped at 67 Deg C for 20 Minutes and then the extract boiled for 30 minutes

As expected the hot steeped one with the briess carapils had superior foam, stability and lacing. (Carapils tends to not give up much of anything with cold steeping)

The cold steeped one however was described by most as "a bit more flavour" "More mellow" "less bitter" and generally was preferred by 9 of the 12 we've spoken to about the results.

Like I said, no scientific basis. But may assist some to decide which way to go.

Martin

 

[technobabble66]

Thanks Martin,

Great to get some more anecdotal evidence to back-up the general belief cold-steeping is smoother, and i guess more flavourful due to the reduced harsher elements. Very interesting to hear that the Carapils is better hot-steeped.

So basically, the darker the grain, the more benefit there is to cold-steep.
While at the other end of the spectrum, palest/lightest crystal may be best to hot-steep to optimise the non-flavour benefits.

 

[superstock]

Is there no middle ground? Say steeping @ 40'.

 

[HBHB]

Is there no middle ground? Say steeping @ 40'.

What ever floats your boat.

Is there a need to be neither?

 

[manticle]

Depending on how long your steep is, 40 might encourage/accelerate the growth of bacteria. When I cold steep, the mix is covered in the fridge. Hot steep is hotter than most bacteria enjoy (and much shorter)