Steeping Crystal Malt

[hamiltont]

@denny

@thomasbarnes

2. Keep your water temperature below about 168 degrees F when steeping. Higher temps can extract tannins (astringent - like sucking a tea bag) from the grain husks.

More important than temp is pH.  Many people steep the grains in as much water as they can, resulting in a high pH.  The grains have a natural tendency to pull the pH down, but if you steep in too much water the grain doesn’t have enough buffering power to do that.  For best results, use about the same amount of water as you would if you were mashing.  1.5-2 qt. of water per lb. of grain works great.

Here’s an quote from a prior post… When I brewed extract I always steeped with a gallon or two for this reason, PH. I was mistaken by saying acidic in an earlier post. Should be alkaline, or high PH.  But all of this depends on the brewer’s water.  Cheers!!!