Specialty Grains

[tbasten]

Hey Guys,

I am moving into Extract Brewing and a have a question regarding the grains. I have a recipe (Witbier) that requires 1.23kg of Cara-Pils and .04kg of Aromatic. I have heard that some specialty grains can't be steep but have to be mashed.

My question is with the gains on this recipe, should i be steep the grain or should i do a mini mash? If I should steep, at what temp and how long? If a mini mash, how do i go about it?

Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Silo Ted]

Cara-Pils: Steeped
Aromatic: Mashed

 

[tbasten]

Great, thanks for that. I haven't mashed before so can someone suggest a temp and a duration for mashing?

Cara-Pils: Steeped
Aromatic: Mashed

 

[itguy1953]

You can buy Cara Aroma (aromatic) grain which does not need to be mashed. It is mashed in the husk as part of the malting process.

 

[Silo Ted]

For a small quantity, the small temperature variables wont make much difference to the body of your beer or attenuation of your wort unlike dojng a full mash. If its your first go, aim for about 64 degrees, hold it at that temperature for an hour (a small esky is good) the strain the liquid out and boil it for 30 minutes. Or if your using hops too, use that for your hop boil.

Do not boil with the grains still in your pot.

 

[earle]

In Brewing Classic Styles John Palmer lists some grains that must be mashed to extract the sugars but can be steeped to extract some of the flavour. My copy is on hand but if someone esle has their's handy they might be able to see if aromatic is on that list. I have a feeling it might on this list as I think I've got some in the freezer at home for steeping.

 

[Bribie G]

Craftbrewer (no affiliation) list the steeping or mashing requirements of all their malts.

 

[tbasten]

I think i heard him mention it during his "brew in a bag" Brew Strong Series but I wasn't 100% sure.

In Brewing Classic Styles John Palmer lists some grains that must be mashed to extract the sugars but can be steeped to extract some of the flavour. My copy is on hand but if someone esle has their's handy they might be able to see if aromatic is on that list. I have a feeling it might on this list as I think I've got some in the freezer at home for steeping.

 

[earle]

Craftbrewer (no affiliation) list the steeping or mashing requirements of all their malts.

I think these requirements relate to if you want to extract sugars.

 

[zebba]

In Brewing Classic Styles John Palmer lists some grains that must be mashed to extract the sugars but can be steeped to extract some of the flavour. My copy is on hand but if someone esle has their's handy they might be able to see if aromatic is on that list. I have a feeling it might on this list as I think I've got some in the freezer at home for steeping.

I have heard the same.

My biggest concern with mashing it is that it's only 40g! Getting 40g of grain plus 120ml of water to stick within a 60-70 degree mash range does NOT sound like fun! And if you were to mash it with the 1.2kg of carapils (which just needs a steep) then your probably not going to have enough enzyme to do a full conversion (i.e. you'd be effectively mashing 40g of grain in 4ish litres of water).

I think the suggestion to look at another steeping grain for an alternative looks the goods, cara-aroma being the obvious choice. Indeed, I'd wager dollars to donuts that this is what the recipe intended to be used.

 

[tbasten]

I was just given the suggestion to mash both the grain at the same time for 45min at 65c... Any thoughts?

I have heard the same.

My biggest concern with mashing it is that it's only 40g! Getting 40g of grain plus 120ml of water to stick within a 60-70 degree mash range does NOT sound like fun! And if you were to mash it with the 1.2kg of carapils (which just needs a steep) then your probably not going to have enough enzyme to do a full conversion (i.e. you'd be effectively mashing 40g of grain in 4ish litres of water).

I think the suggestion to look at another steeping grain for an alternative looks the goods, cara-aroma being the obvious choice. Indeed, I'd wager dollars to donuts that this is what the recipe intended to be used.

 

[zebba]

I was just given the suggestion to mash both the grain at the same time for 45min at 65c... Any thoughts?

Worst case scenario you're going to get the same result as doing what earle suggests and just steeping them both (which I reckon is a good suggestion). We're only talking 40g of grain, so worst case you've got a tiny bit of starch in the final product. I was under the impression that many people actually add plain flour to the boil for their wits to add some starch, so in actual fact it may end up better than if you figure out a way to do a "proper" mash with 40g of grain!

Summary: go for it. It won't wreck it, and it may actually be desirable.

 

[Pennywise]

In this case you'll be fine to steep, 40g is 2 parts of sweet FA and wont give you enough fermentables to be noticable in the final product, it's there for other reasons (I don't know why, never used the malt).

On another note, and this is just me, but that seems like a shedload of carpils. Mind sharing the whole recipe?

 

[Silo Ted]

I was just given the suggestion to mash both the grain at the same time for 45min at 65c... Any thoughts?

I'm with Zebba - just go for it and mash the whole lot. If youre stepping up your brewing method, you may as well start doing partials now, and work towards getting up to 2kg into a brew if your comfortable with your early success. I am sure to have some spare swiss voile laying around too, let me know if you want it and I'll post it.

 

[tbasten]

1.23 kg Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain
0.04 kg Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain

Boil
60 min 3 kg Wheat Liquid Extract (6.0 SRM) Extract
60 min 141.00 gm Saaz [4.20 %] (60 min) Hops
60 min 0.49 kg Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar
5 min 70.50 gm Saaz [4.20 %] (5 min) Hops
5 min 0.61 oz Orange Peel, Bitter (Boil 5.0 min) Misc
5 min 0.85 oz Coriander Seed (Boil 5.0 min) Misc

 

[zebba]

I think we need to simplify here.

My suggestion is the OP:
- Gets 8-10 litres of water up to somewhere around 65-70 degrees (both the volume and the temp are not important for 40g of aromatic and some carapils)
- Add the grains to the water and stir for a bit.
- Let it sit for half an hour to 1 hour. Every once in a while, check the temp and if it is getting low just add a bit of flame, stirring as you heat it up a little more.
- Strain out the water. When I was doing this stuff I just used a seive. If you have some muslin or something, even better. Try to remove all the bits of grain.
- Boil as per the rest of the recipe.

Using an esky and stuff for this is just overkill, imo. Fine suggestions, but I remember being overwhealmed by all the information as a beginner when really most of this stuff can be really bloody simple.

And I agree with pennywise - that seems like an awful lot of carapils. Probably to balance the sugar i guess...

 

[tbasten]

Thanks Zebba, Ill give that a try

 

[Silo Ted]

Using an esky and stuff for this is just overkill, imo. Fine suggestions, but I remember being overwhealmed by all the information as a beginner when really most of this stuff can be really bloody simple.

Point taken.

A saucepan and a fine colander is adequate for starters.