In the world of home brewing, the next step in the progression from kit brewing is steeping with specialty grains. Many home brewing ingredient kits are available that include some specialty grains and bags, so making the step to steeping isn't that difficult. If you can brew tea, you can steep.
Steeping grains allows you to introduce new flavors that might not be available with extract. The process of steeping is basically adding some grains in a bag to your brew kettle. You do not want to boil the grains, you just want to submerge them in warm water and let them steep. The exact same way that you would make tea.
This is done in home brewing because it will make better beer. It also gives the brewer more options when making beer. The proper water temperature for steeping is between 145F and 165F. You do not want to exceed 170F because anything higher and you run the risk of extracting the tannins from the grains, and these undesirable elements will add a bitterness and astringency to your beer. While tannins are good in wines, they are a major flaw in beer.
If you accidently exceed 170F, there is no need to panic. Many experienced brewers have made this mistake and their beers still turned out ok. But do try to avoid this if you can. Just like many mistakes you will make, remember DWHAHB--Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew!
There is some debate in home brewing circles as to whether the amount of water used for steeping matters. One thing to note is that we are talking about the water amount for steeping, and not mashing. In mashing, water temperature, water chemistry and time are all important factors. For steeping, these factors aren't quite as important (other than water temperature).
You have to make sure that the grains you are steeping are specialty grains and not base malts. You can steep specialty grains and base malts together, but then that is mashing. If you do these together you must make sure you take the proper steps to ensure you are mashing. Steeping specialty grains is done simply to add flavor and color to your beer. These grains have already been mashed, so they add no fermentable sugars to your wort. Mashing is done to base malts because they have not been mashed, they still contain fermentable sugars you want to extract. Mashing will extract them, steeping will not.
If you steep base malts, you will extract starches, not sugars, and this will negatively affect the flavor of your beer. Because steeping does not extract fermentable sugars, it is not mashing. Because of this, some brewers do not think that the amount of water used for steeping matters. Others swear that their beer tastes better by being careful as to how much water they use to steep.
This is something, like so much in home brewing, in which you can experiment with to see what works best for you. Remember, always take careful notes when home brewing! For the brewers that feel less water is best when steeping, the rule of thumb is to use less than a gallon of water per pound of grain.
According to John Palmer, author of "How To Brew":
"Water chemistry also plays a role in tannin extraction. Steeping the heavily roasted malts in a low alkalinity water (i.e. low bicarbonate levels) will produce conditions that are too acidic, and harsh flavors will result. Likewise, steeping the lightest crystal malts in highly alkaline water could produce conditions that are too alkaline, and tannin extraction would be a problem again. For best results, the ratio of steeping water to grain should be less than one gallon per pound."
Steeping grains allows you to introduce new flavors that might not be available with extract. The process of steeping is basically adding some grains in a bag to your brew kettle. You do not want to boil the grains, you just want to submerge them in warm water and let them steep. The exact same way that you would make tea.
This is done in home brewing because it will make better beer. It also gives the brewer more options when making beer. The proper water temperature for steeping is between 145F and 165F. You do not want to exceed 170F because anything higher and you run the risk of extracting the tannins from the grains, and these undesirable elements will add a bitterness and astringency to your beer. While tannins are good in wines, they are a major flaw in beer.
If you accidently exceed 170F, there is no need to panic. Many experienced brewers have made this mistake and their beers still turned out ok. But do try to avoid this if you can. Just like many mistakes you will make, remember DWHAHB--Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew!
There is some debate in home brewing circles as to whether the amount of water used for steeping matters. One thing to note is that we are talking about the water amount for steeping, and not mashing. In mashing, water temperature, water chemistry and time are all important factors. For steeping, these factors aren't quite as important (other than water temperature).
You have to make sure that the grains you are steeping are specialty grains and not base malts. You can steep specialty grains and base malts together, but then that is mashing. If you do these together you must make sure you take the proper steps to ensure you are mashing. Steeping specialty grains is done simply to add flavor and color to your beer. These grains have already been mashed, so they add no fermentable sugars to your wort. Mashing is done to base malts because they have not been mashed, they still contain fermentable sugars you want to extract. Mashing will extract them, steeping will not.
If you steep base malts, you will extract starches, not sugars, and this will negatively affect the flavor of your beer. Because steeping does not extract fermentable sugars, it is not mashing. Because of this, some brewers do not think that the amount of water used for steeping matters. Others swear that their beer tastes better by being careful as to how much water they use to steep.
This is something, like so much in home brewing, in which you can experiment with to see what works best for you. Remember, always take careful notes when home brewing! For the brewers that feel less water is best when steeping, the rule of thumb is to use less than a gallon of water per pound of grain.
According to John Palmer, author of "How To Brew":
"Water chemistry also plays a role in tannin extraction. Steeping the heavily roasted malts in a low alkalinity water (i.e. low bicarbonate levels) will produce conditions that are too acidic, and harsh flavors will result. Likewise, steeping the lightest crystal malts in highly alkaline water could produce conditions that are too alkaline, and tannin extraction would be a problem again. For best results, the ratio of steeping water to grain should be less than one gallon per pound."