I am reletively new to the art of brewing. I started brewing extracts in April and graduated to brewing all grain in June. For my second all grain brew, I brewed a cherry stout. A buddy of mine, who is a brewer, suggested that I cold steep my roasted barley and chocolate malts for about 24 hours before brewing to eliminate a harsh bitter taste caused by mashing these grains. I did this and the beer turned out great. My girlfriend has finally developed a taste for a craft beer....Unfortunetely it is Founders Breakfast Stout. Yeah, she has nice...but expensive taste. I love the beer too, so I am going to try to brew a clone. This will be my second all grain stout. My question is...Is there a significant difference in cold steeping the dark grains and what the result would be if I mashed them with the rest of the grains? Or am I just wasting my time with the cold steep?
Thanks,
Frank