Dead Ringer instructions say:
We brought the water to a boil, then steeped the grains. 40°F over what was needed.
What will the end result be like?
Kinda pissed, but I guess this just comes with learning.
You will have extracted some nasty tannins. I’d just roll with it and see what happens. It’s possible the yeast may clean it up for you a bit.
I bet you only make that mistake once. 
It’s possible to have extracted tannins. Did you taste the sample from the hydrometer tube? Next time put the steeping grains in the water while you heat it up. Take them out when the water temp hits 170*F.
Tannins are astringent and will have a similar effect to eating grape peels.
:cheers:
Definitely not worth dumping your batch. Let it ride out for three weeks then try a hydrometer reading and tasting. You live and you learn.
Cool
:cheers:
Am I a dummy, or is that kind of confusing? I guess not for the experienced brewer…
Well the instructions state “Steep for 20 minutes or until water temperature reaches 170*F.” It seems pretty straightforward. Thinking back, though, I watched the Brewing 101 DVD that came with my starter kit all the way through before my first batch and then step by step whilst brewing.
[quote=“themack22”]
Am I a dummy, or is that kind of confusing? I guess not for the experienced brewer…[/quote]
Don’t beat yourself up over it. There are a lot of things to keep track of your first time through the process. It’s easy to overlook something.
Heck, I still make boneheaded mistakes sometimes.
[quote=“kcbeersnob”][quote=“themack22”]
Am I a dummy, or is that kind of confusing? I guess not for the experienced brewer…[/quote]
Don’t beat yourself up over it. There are a lot of things to keep track of your first time through the process. It’s easy to overlook something.
Heck, I still make boneheaded mistakes sometimes.[/quote]
I only wish this was my first time.
:oops:
I suspect this is why most of my beers turn out poorly.
I always read that as “steep the grains for 20 minutes or until the temp comes down to 170.”
Oh well…onward!
[quote=“themack22”]
I only wish this was my first time.
:oops:
I suspect this is why most of my beers turn out poorly.
I always read that as “steep the grains for 20 minutes or until the temp comes down to 170.”
Oh well…onward![/quote]
AH-ha! I can see the instructions being interpreted that way.
Screwing up the steeping grains, most likely won’t ruin a batch.
The single most important improvement you can make to your beer, IMO, is to be sure to keep the fermenting beer at or near 65*F. This can be achieved by swamp cooling/thermal cooling or a fermentation chamber.
Do you have any way to control your fermenting temps?
[quote=“kcbeersnob”][quote=“themack22”]
Heck, I still make boneheaded mistakes sometimes.[/quote][/quote]
I just pitched my yeast starter stir bar into the fermenter the other day :shock:
On a related note to the OP: Dead Ringer is probably my favorite NB kit that I’ve made.
Keep us posted on the end result!
Ha! I did the same thing last Saturday. I had to put a post-it note on my carboy, so I remember it’s in there when I dump the trub/yeast following fermentation.
One of my more forgivable mistakes, really.
Great minds think alike - did the same thing… :cheers:
