Nick Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Here is a fairly strange question, but here goes. Can i steep and strain grain and then freeze the liquid and add at my convenience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne (Captain Yobbo) Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Not sure how that would go it is best using stuff like that fresh and steeping grains to freshen your kit up to be freezed might ruin the freshness of it to be honest maybe some of the senior brewers might be able to answer that one better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I have never done it but I have read about people freezing wort to make starters. So you should be able to do it. But steeping isn't the most time consuming process. You may as well make it fresh as Wayne suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I have never done it but I have read about people freezing wort to make starters. So you should be able to do it. I would boil it after defrosting it though. But steeping isn't the most time consuming process. You may as well make it fresh as Wayne suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 That's weird. I edited a post and it created a new one [unsure] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi Nick. I personally wouldn't do it, not to say there is any reason why you couldn't. I just don't see the point of it. It's like, if you are bothering to do the steep, why not continue on & strain it into a pot, bring to boil, add hops, cool, throw into fermenter with other liquids/powders, fill to temp, stir & pitch yeast. To me doing a steep & freezing the liquid is like saying you are going for a run, get to the end of your street & then start walking back home declaring you will finish the rest of the run another day. It's like, why bother? P.S. Hairy so just delete the old one. [roll] Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 i know exactly what you mean Lust, but i am often time poor and try to fit in bottling and then starting a new brew at the same time. if i were able to steep a couple of days before and then add, it would be so convenient. its more of a question of can I, rather than should I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 You can steep in cold water overnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi again Nick. i know exactly what you mean Lust' date=' but i am often time poor and try to fit in bottling and then starting a new brew at the same time. if i were able to steep a couple of days before and then add, it would be so convenient. its more of a question of can I, rather than should I[/quote'] I figured it was a time related issue for you to suggest that. If it were me, I'd look at other aspects of your preparation for brew day, & how you might take time off of certain aspects of that, rather than the process of brewing good beer. For example, buying your ingredients in advance, having your fermenter & utensils sanitised & rinsed prior to brew day etc..etc.. If you're in a cycle like I am where I bottle a brew the same day as I put a new one down, having your bottles sanitised & rinsed before that day is a big plus in time you get back. I understand exactly where you are coming from Nick, in terms of the time you can lose on brew day/bottle day. Before I got myself organised, I can remember losing entire days spent purely bottling & brewing. I remember one day, I didn't even eat until 11.00pm! YES PM! Haha! [lol] So dedicated to the cause am I! [biggrin] Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne (Captain Yobbo) Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I run my own business and I always find time to bottle/brew beer often I bottle one day and the next I do my brew as I always do a hop boil 99% of the time. I wouldn't bother with freezing steeped grains I was reading on another forum about freezing crushed grains I know is different but they stated that it will absorb moisture and unwanted flavours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 You can steep in cold water overnight. that would work for me Hairy, i am starting a nut brown ale on friday night and i have 300gms of crystal that i could crack and soak the night before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 You can steep in cold water overnight. I am yet to try this but have read it all over the place - same results Hairy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne (Captain Yobbo) Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 You can steep in cold water overnight. +1 that is another option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 I have never done it but it should be the same. Most of the info on it is in relation to dark and roasted malts. The cold steeping doesn't seem to bring out the harsher astringent flavours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne (Captain Yobbo) Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Interesting Hairy I have never noticed any harsh flavours from hot water steeping. I have only steeped Crystal Malt and yet to try other types. Some of my best beers have had hot water steeped grain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Hi Wayno. Interesting Hairy I have never noticed any harsh flavours from hot water steeping. I have only steeped Crystal Malt and yet to try other types. Some of my best beers have had hot water steeped grain. Yeah but have you hot water steeped overnight? I am guessing not. I think it's a timeframe related issue we are talking about here, not the process of hot vs cold. [innocent] Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Some info on cold steeping on page 3. Steeping Grains Article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Some info on cold steeping on page 3. Steeping Grains Article Interesting read Hairy. Especially about the preferred cold steeping of darker grains. [cool] I've bookmarked that page & will refer back to it when I put down a dark brew or two in Jan/Feb next year. Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne (Captain Yobbo) Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Only 30 min hot water steeps.... Cheers for that link Hairy I also found that interesting too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted November 20, 2012 Author Share Posted November 20, 2012 it is a very interesting article and this is now my plan, feedback either way will be appreciated. i will firstly put 300gm of cracked crystal into a sterile coffee plunger pot and add 1.5ltrs of recently boiled water and stir to make sure all grains are wet. then i will put the pot into the fridge. the next night i will plunge and pour the wort into the FV with the K & K. Then i will rinse the grain with about 300ml of recently boiled water, plunge again and then add to the FV with the rest of the ingredients. this sounds simple, quick and easy to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 If I am understanding the process correctly, that is NOT something I would be doing with the crystal grains. [unsure] Anthony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne (Captain Yobbo) Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 If I am understanding the process correctly' date=' that is NOT something I would be doing with the crystal grains. [unsure'] Anthony. +1 You'd be well advised to read the link that Hairy posted. Either do a 30 min steep in hot water then boil. Failing that place the grain into cold tap water and let steep at room temp overnight and then boil prior to putting into the fermenter to kill off any bacteria. In my opinion if you do it the way you said you are more than likely going to introduce an infection to your brew. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted November 21, 2012 Share Posted November 21, 2012 it is a very interesting article and this is now my plan, feedback either way will be appreciated. i will firstly put 300gm of cracked crystal into a sterile coffee plunger pot and add 1.5ltrs of recently boiled water and stir to make sure all grains are wet. then i will put the pot into the fridge. the next night i will plunge and pour the wort into the FV with the K & K. Then i will rinse the grain with about 300ml of recently boiled water, plunge again and then add to the FV with the rest of the ingredients. this sounds simple, quick and easy to me. You have the 'sterilisation' part back to front. There is no need to have a sterile coffee plunger or pot; just make sure it is clean. Also, no need to boil the water first; tap water will be fine. The boiling should come at the end. After you have removed the grains and sparged, you should boil the liquid for 15 minutes to kill as many nasties as possible. Some people that hot steep won't bother boiling and just add it to the FV. I have done it a couple of times before with no problems but you have increased the risk of adding bacteria etc. But at least there was some hot water involved. I think if you steep in cold water overnight and then add it straight to the FV then you have significantly increased the risk further. You will most likely get away with it but one day it may get you. So it comes down to time/convenience vs increased surety. Personally I would boil it [rightful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 i made a nut brown last night and added 400gms of cracked crystal to 2 coffee plungers (200gm to each)i steeped for 30 mins with 70 deg water and used about 1ltr in each. i made sure the grain was well stirred at the start. i added directly to the FV and then repeated the process to rinse (is that sparging?). this time i only steeped for 5 minutes and added to the Fv. i then proceeded as usual. This works for me as i found steeping in a large pot and straining quite messy and time consuming. this works as its not much different to making coffee while brewing. i also liked being able to use the plunger to squeeze the wort out of the grain. the wort smelled nice and sweet and was a nice mahogany colour. is this technique ok or a bit dodge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 I'd have boiled it as well after extracting it from the grains rather than just adding it directly to the FV. I've never used a coffee plunger (we don't even have one) so I can't comment on that process except to say that it sounds like it worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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