[dzlater]

I want to brew this recipe
http://wiki.homebrewersassociation.org/InvisibleKittySessionRyeStout

In the directions it says this:

Cold steep dark grains in 8 liters of room temp water for 2 hours during setup, mash, and lauter
Mash in the rest of the grain with 27 liters water at 75*C for a target mash temp of 69*C.
Hold for 45 minutes.
Sparge with 20L at 93*C.

I have a few questions

What I have read says when you cold steep it is done for 24 hours, not 2?
I have also read there is no need to cold steep the carafa II since it is already debittered?

If I do cold steep at what point would I add it to the boil? The recipe doesn't say.

[fmader]

I used to cold steep all of my stouts and made great beers. Since I've gotten a hold of water and pH more, I mash everything and make great beer this way. The amount you would mash and cold steep is not linear. I would almost double the amount cold steeped than I would to mash. So if you were to choose to mash the dark grains, I'd cut them down a bit.

When I cold steeped, I'd at least go over night with it. I added the "tea" around twenty minutes left in the boil. This process adds a different dimension to calculating water, but it's not difficult to figure out. My mash would end up being thicker than normal. Also, don't forget to calculate for grain absorption in the steeped grains.

[hopfenundmalz]

At the last NHC I leaned that debittered grains only have something like 1/2 of the husk removed, so they are not entirely debittered. Some roasted grains are made from huskless types like wheat, so Midnight Wheat is good for color and minimal bitterness. Cold steeping is akin to cold brewed coffee, as you get some different flavor profiles.

I agree with Frank that mashing high, approaching 5.6, has resulted in some really nice dark beers without the acrid and bitter qualities I used to get.