When do you start steeping your grain. I have been told not to steep until your water temp is up to 150 degrees. Last time I started steeping it as soon as i put the pot on the burner. The beer turned out really good but just didn't know if I was putting the bag in too quick. Thanks, Dave
I think it just doesn't do a whole lot of good until the water temp is 150, that's perfect munching temp for the protein turning to sugar.
If you are only steeping, I assume that you are brewing an extract recipe with steeping of specialty grains, so it really isn't critical that you started with the grains in the water early. The specialty grains are there mainly for adding some color and flavor to your beer, and if you are steeping for only 20-30 minutes, not that much sugar gets converted, thus the temp isn't critical (although you don't want to get too high). Some of this steeping process can be looked at as if it is practice for when you transition to mashing for all-grain brewing.
I agree, a lot of the steeping grains I see in extract recipes are not very high in diastatic power and won't really benefit from being held at mashing temperatures anyway.
Starch conversion into sugars has already occurred with grains typically used for steeping. The point of steeping is to change the viscosity of the sugars to increase solubility into water. Solubility increases with temp. However, the same increase in temp increases solubility of tannins, which become soluble above about 170. Therefore, it's not so much about lower limits steeping, you can steep at room temp if you wanted. Rather it's about upper limits, don't go above 170.
150F is right in the "brewer's window", as both the Beta and Alpha Enzymes are active. https://missionarybrewer.wordpress....ers-window-what-temperature-should-i-mash-at/
Mashing at different temps can produce different results. And the chart shows, a-amylase, and b-amalase work optimally at different temps, but their is a window where they cross over @ about 150. It's my understanding (disclaimer: I haven't had biochem) that they both convert to starches to sugars. a converts to more complex and simple sugars, and b converts to simple only. They tend to complement each other as a does an initial breakdown as b finishes it off. Why care? The more simple the sugars the faster and easier the fermentation. But like I said, I haven't had biochem I'm going off what little I know in the area and hear-say. And I haven't been brewing long either.
There has been quite a bit of discussion about mash temperatures but @Bassnut54 asked about "steeping". "Steeping" is conducted when utilizing specialty grains (e.g., crystal, caramel, roasted, etc.) with the intent to extract flavors and color from the specialty grains. Brad Smith mentions: "Steeped grains will not add many fermentables to your beer (i.e. your original gravity will not increase much). Steeping grains, unlike mashing, does not convert the complex starches in the sugar into fermentable sugars, so only a small percentage of the steeped grain (< 10%) will ferment. However, since unfermentable proteins are added by steeping, the body of the beer will be increased." http://beersmith.com/blog/2009/03/22/steeping-grains-for-extract-beer-brewing/ As was posted by @Mothergoose03 above, the critical aspect of steeping is to not permit the temperature of the steep to get too high; high temperatures can extract tannins from the specialty grains and the resulting beer could suffer from astringency. I personally recommend that the steep temperature not exceed 170 degrees F. Cheers!
Thanks for all the great responses gentlemen. Tomorrow when I make my cream ale I will wait until the temp gets to 150 F and do my steeping for 15-30 and make sure not to exceed 170 degrees.
