New Specialty Grain Technique?

[boingk]

Hi guys just wondering if this has been done before. I weighed out my grain for some K&B's that are going down this afternoon, and divided each batch into a ziplock bag. I figured it'd be easy to steep them in the bag instead of two saucepans and filled each one with piping hot tap water. After a bit of agitation, I sealed them up and let them sit. Heres a pic, 200g Crystal & 50g Amber on the left, 200g Munich & 50g Wheat on the right:

So, has anyone done this before? Just curious as to whether it'll be worthwhile continuing.

Cheers - boingk

 

[Fourstar]

i'd just do them in a pot... whats so convenient about doing it in ziplock bags?

I'd be scared of the seam splitting on the bag to be honest.

 

[Pennywise]

Are those plastic bag things heat tolerable? Sound's like a ripper of an idea if you need to get a few done at the same time but don't have the pots, I'd just be concerned about the water/grain ratio.

Edit: I spose you'd need to sparge into a pot anyway

 

[floppinab]

Hmmm, yep not to sure of the value there, I guess you'll either just try to undo a tiny bit of the ziplock to "lauter" the grains, or maybe a few pin pricks in the bottom then pour in some sparge through the top. Also

200g Munich & 50g Wheat on the right:

Those two aren't specialty grains and by the looks of the cloudy appearance of your wort in that bag might not be converted too well from your tap temps.

 

[Fourstar]

conidering the default/recommended setting on hot water is around 60deg...... (atleast mine anyway)

I might not even be close to converting.

 

[Tony]

YEah as said......... the Munich and wheat will need to be mashed and will just make your beer cloudy with starch if you put it in the brew.

Fingers crossed it converted enough to not be a problem.

Shall we call it BIAPB

cheers

Edit: speeling

 

[Plastic Man]

That's interesting. A few mates and I do a bit of light weight mountain bike touring and cook our dinner and breakfast in zip lock bags, (pour boiling water into bag which is prepacked with dried food and wrap in beanie for 10 mins - lightwrighta nd no washing up !!). It's pretty common so the bags should handle the temps OK. Google "freezerbag cooking" and you get a pile of info on it. I'd never thought about using it for steeping though. Good idea !! As suggested above you could poke a few holes in the bag when done and drain into pot.

 

[Fermented]

Nifty idea but holding the temp stable through the process would be my only concern. Oh - that and perhaps not enough volume of water for the amount of grain. It's usually about 10:1, isn't it?

The plastic itself is stable enough as the glass point (when the resin grains become gooey during drying prior to injection / extrusion) is >130C and final process temperature is >220C.

Cheers - Fermented.

 

[zebba]

I'm guessing the amber and munich are caramber and caramunich, so there shouldn't be a problem?

 

[Bribie G]

BIAPB???
BIAPB???

Aarrrgghhhhhhhh

 

[bum]

It'd be a good idea for any cold-steepers. Be much better that way in the fridge (if you're sure you could trust the bag).

 

[manticle]

Nifty idea but holding the temp stable through the process would be my only concern. Oh - that and perhaps not enough volume of water for the amount of grain. It's usually about 10:1, isn't it?

The plastic itself is stable enough as the glass point (when the resin grains become gooey during drying prior to injection / extrusion) is >130C and final process temperature is >220C.

Cheers - Fermented.

For mashing it's generally 2.5 - 3 L per kg of grain. For steeping it's not as relevant but that's a good rule of thumb

 

[boingk]

Whoa, wasn't expecting more than one or two responses, cheers guys! Especially for the info on freezer bag cooking and melt point...good stuff. I'm into hiking but can't stand going without my Trangia, some coffee stuff and a shake-up pancake mix. Golden stuff, waking up on Mt Koz and cooking pancakes and coffee...ahh...

Back on track, it all seemed to work ok. I let the fellas steep while I was bottling and sanitising, then sparged them both into pans and added hops when the liquid started to simmer etc etc. Seemed ok, and the spent grain wasn't alarmingly sweet...think I mighta gone ok on this one! Bizarre, I know.

Anywho, its all done and dusted. Might do it again, might not. BTW, its Steeping In A Bag; SIAB

Cheers guys - boingk

 

[Plastic Man]

:icon_offtopic: Boink - know what you mean about Mt Koz. Last 2 trips have been to Valentines hut and Shlinks Hilton. Its a great part of the world.. On a more important note - how do you carry your home brew when hiking? (you can only take light weight so far...)

 

[boingk]

[off topic]

My pack averages around 15~17kg, not lightweight by any means. That said, I don't skimp on much and thats including several days worth of food and 2 or 3 litres water. First trip I went up to Koz I took a sixxer of Strongbow cider, then bludged some ice from the bar at the top after buying a beer. The stuff stayed frozen til noon the next day when it got to 30 something degrees. It was gold! Might have to take homebrew next time...

You take many luxuries?

[/off topic]

The starters were made from the grain liquor and kicked off with a bang despite year or more old kit yeast [had been refridgerated]. Fermenters are sitting well with good, vigorous fermentation so they definitely like whats been put into them. Might not be such a bad method after all...but only time will tell ;D

CHeers - boingk

 

[Plastic Man]

[off topic] Maybe we should start a "lightweight" hiking thread in the pub section. We are reasonably lightweight but don't skimp on the alcohol. Last trip we each took 2 x 500ml cans of Killkenny, (all we could get - cool them down in a convenient stream), a bottle of red each decanted into one of those platypus style collapsible bottles, and 350ml of port in a small PET bottle, (kids poppa bottle). You certainly sleep well !!! [off topic]

 

[Trough Lolly]

There's absolutely nothing wrong in experimenting with new mash / steep techniques and kudos to you for having a go.

But to be perfectly honest, by the time you fill the bags with grain, add water, carefully seal, pray the bag doesn't split or worst, impart undesirable flavours from the plastic, go cold too quickly, fail to convert or extract sugars from the unagitated, closely packed grain and starch molecules at the bottom of the bag, empty the contents without making a sticky mess and end up with a hazy beer due to incomplete conversion.....well, I would grab two large saucepans and do the job on the stove where I can maintain temps with direct heat.

Anyway, have fun!

Cheers,
TL

 

[Bizier]

Continuing :icon_offtopic:

I went camping for a few days a while ago and brought some 70% Plum Brandy along. Light in weight but full in strength. Less than quenching, but definitely welcome after a hard day trekking.

Maybe next time I will go with a crushed coke bottle filled with Lagavulin - just mix with a drop of creek water.