Steep Grain experiment ( extract)

[Krimbos]

http://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/r ... -red-ale-1

Ok. This was my first brew and it came out great ( of course).

I would like to repeat, but ths time I want to play with the steeping grains. I am not ready ( or interested) in all grain at this point in my brew career, just want to learn about ingredient effects ( see my One Hop experiment post).

Any suggestions? Hops are easy to play with. Grains not so much?

 

[Foster82]

Looks tasty, but I would probably drop the chocolate. With such a small amount it might come through as an off flavor. You might also consider a flame out hop addition, I was pleasantly surprise with amount of aroma the first time I gave it a try.

 

[Nosybear]

Another option: You can cold-steep highly roasted grains like chocolate. Procedure is simple: Put the grains (bagged) in about a quart of water and put the mixture in the refrigerator overnight. You'll steep out the "goodness" of the dark roasts without the bitterness that can be identified as an off-flavor. Do this with "chocolate" or "roasted" malts. You can steep any crystal malt and most "toasted" malts. You can steep Munich or Vienna malts but they do better mashed.

 

[Krimbos]

Nosy

Awesome idea! Never seen that before. Easy to do and quantify!

 

[Nosybear]

Of course, vary the amount of water with the amount of steeping grains.... Use more as you see fit! The liquid just becomes another addition to the boil.