Hey guys, quick question. Most clones and kits I have done their recipe calls for grains to be steeped in a specific amount of water - “Steep Grains in 2gal of water at 170defF.” Prior to bring full volume to boil. I have also heard people claim to boil 1/2galwater to 1lb of grain. Why do they suggest steeping in a smaller volume than the full boil? What’s the issue with just steeping your grains in 6 gallons of water prior to boil, after time allotted crank it up to a full boil?
Byo magazine Chris Cosby I think had a article on this. If I remember right. The reason to the smaller amount of water vs large amount was so the ph wouldn’t extract tannins from your grains your steeping.
You can do a “full wort boil” using extract and grains. And there are benefits to doing that.
Per the Northern Brewer Website…
For the most part, extract brewing can be accomplished on your kitchen stove with a boil pot that you may already have on hand, boiling 3 to 3.5 gallons of wort. However, boiling 6 or more gallons on your stove would require a larger pot than most folks have on hand, and your stove is going to have a hard time boiling that much water at a time.
If you’ve got an propane burner and a 10 gallon pot, go for it.
Cheers :cheers:
I used to steep the grains in a smaller pot as my main pot was heating. If I timed it right I could add the “grain tea” to the boiling brew pot and shave another 20 minutes off the brew day.
