Just a question of why you are supposed to stop steeping specialty grains at 170 degrees. What would happen if you steeped until boil? Are there off flovors that are produced? Or what is the chemical process?
If the temperature is over about 170F, you can extract tannins from the husks. These tannins can give an underiserable astringency to your beer.
Temperature in and of itself isn’t a problem, but if the pH is also high (>6, give or take) you run the risk of extracting tannins.
Ok thanks guys.
I was brewing an extact batch with steeped grains today.
It reminded me of a batch that I brewed that I forgot to steep the grains. I had already added the malt,was bringing back to boil when I paniced and just added to about 200 degree wort for about 5 min. Then I heated a small amount of water to about 160 in the microwave and steeped in that for about 10 min. then added back to my boiling wort. It seemed to turn out fine but I probably don’t think I would be able to distinguish what a tannin taste would be.
Thanks again.
