Cold Steeping Dark Grains

MrBIP

MrBIP

Active Member
Premium Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2012
Messages
496
Reaction score
29
Points
28
I've been here ... reading ... lurking .. :)

Got something to question/discuss:
Will try to keep this reasonable in length:

Made a Porter a couple of times now, and I really like how it is: http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... lar-vortex

Had a very detailed comment on a score sheet from a contest suggesting that "... adding the roast late in the mash will help"

And then I commenced to doing some research and got into quite a bit:
- dark / roasted grains are almost fully converted in the malting process and really do nothing but steep in the mash anyway?
- with things like black malt and roasted barely, mashing will actually extract tannins in the mash (from the burnt husks), and bring them out in the boil, that results in astringency / harsh flavors?
- one can, a) add these types of malt at the end of the mash, when sparging (I batch), b) hot steep the grains (not above 170-175) and add to kettle or fermenter, or c) cold steep for 24 hours and then add to kettle or fermenter (<< some things to be done there to avoid wild things causing other issues if going to fermenter).?

So, what's been the experience with roasted barely, black malts, chocolate malts (?), etc.
How are you handling those in the brewing process?


MrBIP
 
Without going into it too much, the research I've done says cold steeping or adding dark grains to your mash just prior to mashout and sparging will give you a much smoother character without the harsh tannins associated with them.
Personally, applying this method,has in my Porter and Oatmeal Stout has won me gold metals in competition.
Give it a try and see if you like it.
Brian
 
I cold steep the day before and add the strained dark grains with 10-15 min left in the boil. Usually after I add my wort chiller ( 20 mins left ) and the boil starts going again, then I add my dark extract. If I use crystal malt, I add it at the end of the mash.
 
Thanks for comments on that one. A little over 2 years in and I never discovered this? :eek:
I've got an RIS and that Porter going end of this month so I'm going to do things a bit different with both.
 
I got this info from Gordon Strong's book, "Brewing Better Beer". I think he really made a lot of sense in most of the book. Some things I won't do, but I got a lot of good info from it. His mashing techniques were very interesting.
 
MrBIP said:
Thanks for comments on that one. A little over 2 years in and I never discovered this? :eek:
I've got an RIS and that Porter going end of this month so I'm going to do things a bit different with both.
Click to expand...

A little over 6 years and I've never discovered this. (or I did and completely forgot)
 
Ive brewed a bunch of dark beers and never had a bitter taste form any dark grains but might just be the amounts or type I used
 
Ditto here.... But there's always room for experimentation! I'm working on a 1.5 gal BIAB Baltic Porter and may steep the grains vs mashing them for 60 minutes.... in the second batch. There are too many variables in a brand-new recipe to go messing with process. Besides, I've never had any trouble with harsh bitterness in my dark beers using standard mashing with the dark grains in the tun, either.
 
I've brewed that Porter twice and I like it, but it's noted to have some astringency. I get very little of .. actually have to really "look for it". But, while some have called it slight, some have said it to detract from what is otherwise a very good beer. So, I'm thinking, ok, third time out, let's try this and see if it mellows it out.

From what I've read, I'm leaning toward cold steeping and then putting that "tea" in at the end of the boil... no more than five minutes left. Which I think should kill off any nasties that might be partying in the steep, but still limit the tannins that would create the astringency.

And it seems like very little extra effort to perhaps get something "smoother".
 
Did this today:
I put the roasted barely in "cold" steep yesterday at noon, doubled it from 4 oz to 8 oz and put it in one quart of water. Then today at noon, during brewing, strained it and rinsed it with another 1/2 qt, which gave me one quart, which I added at flame out, I let the wort cool longer from boiling to 180 than I normally would (about 20 minutes or so) to let that addition steralize/pasteurize. So, this is fermenting now.

After I strained the liquid, I checked the gravity, found it to be 1.033. I also tasted it .. it tasted very much like cold coffee to me.
 
I found my cold steeped Porter to be very smooth. I think I will double the amount of grains next time though. I also need to buy a bigger strainer as I was getting some grains in my extract. I didn't rinse them when I strained them to my pot. Are you supposed to rinse them? If so, how much?
 
SwampWater said:
Are you supposed to rinse them? If so, how much?
Click to expand...

First time I'm trying this, just figured it made sense to rinse them and get as much out of it as possible.
 
Well that was interesting .. and now I'll have to try the "hot steeping" method.
Wish I was set up to try three different methods at the same time, but that would simply not be feasible, so I'll have to trust that my process is reasonably consistent and rely on memory for tasting comparison.
Thanks for posting that.
 
Bottled the "cold steeped" porter today....
Of course things will continue to change, but... there's a really great "roasty" smell and caramelly/roasty flavor and certainly no "edge" or after-taste in it.
 
Well....
This porter "falls flat" relative to the previous batches with dark grains in the mash. It just doesn't have that "edge" that I would expect in a robust porter. (I'm not very good at describing flavors/smells). I listened to the entire podcast that GernBlanston posted and this result seems to match what they found. Brew schedule has Polar Vortex brewing again April 19 and I'll try the "hot steep" method with that. This batch is just ok. I'll drink it, and I'm not ashamed to share it, but I'm not impressed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Copyright © 2007-2024 Brewer's Friend, Inc. - Send Feedback - Terms - RSS Feed - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Back
Top