29 replies to this topic

[Bevo]

I have all bases covered, sanitation and chilling the wort etc...I have been reading quite a bit, it is steeping the grains that I am now confused and worried about...The only other question I think that I have is about hop addition. If I add hops at 60mins do I need to take them out before I add my next round or just leave them in and add the next round? Sorry to beat you guys down with all these newbie questions but the faster Sunday arrives the more anxiety I have developed.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I have all bases covered, sanitation and chilling the wort etc...I have been reading quite a bit, it is steeping the grains that I am now confused and worried about...The only other question I think that I have is about hop addition. If I add hops at 60mins do I need to take them out before I add my next round or just leave them in and add the next round? Sorry to beat you guys down with all these newbie questions but the faster Sunday arrives the more anxiety I have developed.

what are you confused about steeping the grains?you just leave the hops in there for remainder of the boil once you add them in.

[BigDaddyD]

I have all bases covered, sanitation and chilling the wort etc...I have been reading quite a bit, it is steeping the grains that I am now confused and worried about...The only other question I think that I have is about hop addition. If I add hops at 60mins do I need to take them out before I add my next round or just leave them in and add the next round? Sorry to beat you guys down with all these newbie questions but the faster Sunday arrives the more anxiety I have developed.

You can easily mini mash that pilsener, but I wouldn't bother, just add an extra half pound of extract. Furthermore, I would add only half of your extract at the begining of the boil and save the other half for the last 15 minutes or so. Leave your hops in. You don't need to remove any hops, they are the 60 min. addition because they need to boil for 60 min. Google late extract additions, or just take my quick explanation, lower gravity wort aids in isomerization, the more sugars the harder it is for your wort to utilize the hops. Extract brewers tend to do partial boils which magnifies this effect since there is less water in the boil and all the sugar. Plus you will end up with a beer that is darker than you want. I know this is not going to help your anxiety but you want your first beer to be good, and no reason all your planning and research should yield you a beer that is not as bitter as you want, darker then you expected, and full of un mashed starch. Oh and as far as that pilsener goes, people at LHBS are not necessarily informed, not sure why he would suggest this, especially since your only other grain does not need to be mashed, but if you are going to use it, you only need about 10-15 minutes at 150 or so for conversion to complete, then you can heat it up to 165-170, dunk the bag a few times and pull it out, making sure it drains, but don't squeeze it, just hold it over the pot for a few minutes, switch hands to keep from going numb in one arm.

[consumptionjunction]

You are adding 1.5 lbs of pilsner malt to, I'm assuming, a five gallon batch. Assuming that the maximum number of gravity points (points per lb in one gallon of water) from pilsner malt is 37 (or 1.037):37 points/lb/gallon * 1.5 lbs = 55.5 points/gallonBut you are diluting this in five gallons. So, for a five gallon batch, that pilsner malt will contribute, at most, 11.1 gravity points. In other words, say you were expecting a wort with specific gravity of 1.050 without the pilsner malt (and only through the extract), by adding the 1.5 lbs of pilsner malt, you will have a SG of about 1.061. However, no one ever gets 100% efficiency from any grain. For your set-up, I think it's safe to assume 60% efficiency, maybe even less. Therefore, that 11.1 is really 6.66 (11.1 * .60) . Meaning you may expect a SG of 1.056.Instead of using the pilsner malt, you can add more extract. If you are using dry malt extract, you can expect 44 gravity points per pound per gallon. In five gallons, that will contribute about 8 SG points, meaning you're 1.050 would be 1.58. Gravity points for liquid malt extract varies much more - it is typically less than dry malt extract because there's still some water - and we may expect 35 gravity points. Meaning, in five gallons we may end up with a specific gravity of 1.055.Of course, you can also forgo the pilsner malt, steep only the crystal malt, and just get a lower specific gravity. However, you may have learned that hop utilization, and therefore the bitterness, will change with gravity. Though your gravity will not vary that much, if it is lower, and you keep the same hop schedule, you will end up with a slightly more bitter beer than you "intended." This will definitely be the case if you don't use the pilsner malt and don't add any extra malt extract.This may seem complicated at first, but you will learn quickly once you think through it once or twice. But what I want to stress is that this doesn't matter whatsoever for your case. It's your first beer, and if you are careful with sanitation and fermentation, it will taste great regardless. You may even like how it turns out and try to replicate it in the future. Do what we suggested earlier and just keep an eye on the temperature while you're steeping. Keep it below 160F for 30 minutes to an hour, and it will be fine.If you want more info on these topics, read through chapter three of How To Brew, by John Palmer.

[BarefootBrews]

Congrats on getting into the hobby of homebrewing. You have found a great resource of information on the board with a good number of advanced brewers. I agree with all the advice given thus far. However, we (board members) need to remember that this is the OP's very first brew session, and we can overload with information.Your recipe looks good for a first brew. I would not change the ingredients. It sounds like in some of your readings that you may be confusing mashing, mini-mashing, and steeping. For a first batch, I would go with steeping. Here is what I would do, keeping simplicity in mind.Crush your specialty grains...the 1.5 lbs of Pils and 0.5 lbs of Crystal. Do you have a mesh bag to contain the grains (if not, don't worry). Heat about 0.75-1.25 gal of water to 155 dF. Steep the grains for 60 mins. When you are near the end of the 60 mins, begin heating about 1 gal of water to 165-170 dF in another pot. This will be used to "rinse" your specialty grains. Remove your grain bag from the steeping and place it in a collander (or pour the wort/grain through a collander into your brewpot to separate the grain). Slowly pour the 165 dF water over the grains into your brewpot to rinse the grain. That is the most simple way to "steep" grains. The goal is to extract some of the characteristics of the grain to compliment your DME.Add the remainder of your brewing water to the already collected 2 gallons or so. Proceed with your 60 min boil and hop additions as planned. For a first brew session and having only 1.5 lbs of Pils malt I would not bother with a 90 min boil. Getting the brewing procedures and sanitation correct at this point is more of a concern for a first time brewer rather than DMS from a 60 min boil.To quote......relax don't worry have a homebrew.....

[Bevo]

Congrats on getting into the hobby of homebrewing. You have found a great resource of information on the board with a good number of advanced brewers. I agree with all the advice given thus far. However, we (board members) need to remember that this is the OP's very first brew session, and we can overload with information.Your recipe looks good for a first brew. I would not change the ingredients. It sounds like in some of your readings that you may be confusing mashing, mini-mashing, and steeping. For a first batch, I would go with steeping. Here is what I would do, keeping simplicity in mind.Crush your specialty grains...the 1.5 lbs of Pils and 0.5 lbs of Crystal. Do you have a mesh bag to contain the grains (if not, don't worry). Heat about 0.75-1.25 gal of water to 155 dF. Steep the grains for 60 mins. When you are near the end of the 60 mins, begin heating about 1 gal of water to 165-170 dF in another pot. This will be used to "rinse" your specialty grains. Remove your grain bag from the steeping and place it in a collander (or pour the wort/grain through a collander into your brewpot to separate the grain). Slowly pour the 165 dF water over the grains into your brewpot to rinse the grain. That is the most simple way to "steep" grains. The goal is to extract some of the characteristics of the grain to compliment your DME.Add the remainder of your brewing water to the already collected 2 gallons or so. Proceed with your 60 min boil and hop additions as planned. For a first brew session and having only 1.5 lbs of Pils malt I would not bother with a 90 min boil. Getting the brewing procedures and sanitation correct at this point is more of a concern for a first time brewer rather than DMS from a 60 min boil.To quote......relax don't worry have a homebrew.....

Thanks for this advise..When I add the remainder of my brewing water to my already collected 2 gallons, does it need to be the same temp as the already collected 2 gallons?

[Bevo]

Also if I steep for one hour, does this mean steep all my grains for one hour?

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

Also if I steep for one hour, does this mean steep all my grains for one hour?

ummm - yeah. I used to only steep for 30 mins though.

[Deerslyr]

ummm - yeah. I used to only steep for 30 mins though.

When I used to do extract, I would steep for 60... but only cuz thats what the instructions from the LHBS indicated.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

When I used to do extract, I would steep for 60... but only cuz thats what the instructions from the LHBS indicated.

yeah - I think I did 30 b/c that's what my instructions said to do. I think Palmer also mentioned 30 minutes somewhere so I just went with it.