these may be nubish questions but nontheless im going to ask
1. ill have the grains milled by supplier but the carraamber is a steep grain so should this only be cracked?
2. do i steep caraamber seperate to rest?
3. what temp am i looking to mash at and for how long(assuming mashing is just prolonged steeping of crushed grain rather than cracked for steep, from research conducted this is the conclusion ive come to)?
4. do i dump the grain sock into a bucket of warm water to sparge out some more sugars?(i am assuming yes but like i said, i ask nonetheless)
5. ferment temps? have tempmate setup so temps no longer an issue. im assuming its closer to lager temps for this style?
6. EDIT: sorry, also what brand of pilsner malt? there are quite a few available from craft brewer
i know further research and hours of reading could quite possible lead me to answers but from the search results im getting atm there is too much info to pick through and i still realy dont know what im looking for. ao again i apologize for the what may seem like silly questions.
cheers guys
1. Milled = Cracked or Crushed or what ever you wanna call it, so no, all the same thing - Ross will sort it!
2. No, chuck it all in together, mashing is sort of like a controlled steep... so if you are soaking grain at the right temp anyway - all in together!
3. Anything from 64-67 depending on what kind of beer but for your first, ANYWHERE in that range will be fine - How long? At least an hour, but an hour is fine.. Try and maintain temp best you can.. wrap in towel/blanket etc... And yes, your research seems correct.
4. You can 'teabag' away if you dandy,, can't hurt - just do a brew or 2 to understand what you are actually doing by mashing grain.
5. I assume it is a lager, so if you can control ferment to lager temps and have the patience for true lagering than go nuts!
6. Malts do vary a lot but for your first mash, if its grain it will be better than not grain so, if it was me, JW is fine... its only a base malt - don't stress it!
BTW: The yeast is 3787 - don't tell anyone.
2c.