whole unmilled raw wheat - how to mash

[jaybie]

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me how I should prepare unmalted unmilled wheat for use in place of flaked wheat in a wheat beer. Lack of planning means I don't have any flaked wheat for a brew tomorrow, but I do have about 4000 tonnes of ordinary wheat available.

Cheers, JB

[jaybie]

Having had a fairly fruitless look around the interwebs I came across this page:
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/f ... pic=3870.0

I reckon that I'm going to soak the wheat in a bit of boiling water until it's a bit softened then roll it (in a freezer bag) until the grain has burst. Hopefully that will gelatinise the wheat, and expose the starch, without turning the mash to concrete. If rolling doesn't work I'll boil it and "have at it with a potato masher".

[jmc]

Hi all,

Can anyone tell me how I should prepare unmalted unmilled wheat for use in place of flaked wheat in a wheat beer. Lack of planning means I don't have any flaked wheat for a brew tomorrow, but I do have about 4000 tonnes of ordinary wheat available.

Cheers, JB

What's the recipe you're voing to brew?
What % unmalted wheat?

[greenxpaddy]

No good unless you mill the grain. It has to be cracked open so the enzymes can work on the grain.

You could bash each grain with a hammer but it will take you some time!

[jaybie]

What's the recipe you're voing to brew?
What % unmalted wheat?

It's based on the various Hoegaarden clones found on this forum. 25% wheat.

Soaking until it's just soft, then putting it in the food processor does NOT work. The wheat just goes around the blades without really being cut at all.

[jaybie]

You could bash each grain with a hammer but it will take you some time!

I've just tried a pestle and mortar to crack the grains - effective but slow.

I reckon there is no substitute for a malt mill. You know what they say about the "7 Ps"

I'm going to use shredded wheat. It's 100% whole grain, it's gelatinised and it's cracked (thoroughly), in theory it should be fine. Fingers crossed!

[guypettigrew]

You could bash each grain with a hammer but it will take you some time!

I've just tried a pestle and mortar to crack the grains - effective but slow.

I reckon there is no substitute for a malt mill. You know what they say about the "7 Ps"

I'm going to use shredded wheat. It's 100% whole grain, it's gelatinised and it's cracked (thoroughly), in theory it should be fine. Fingers crossed!

Bizarre! Shredded Wheat as in the breakfast cereal? Honestly?

Guy

[jaybie]

Bizarre! Shredded Wheat as in the breakfast cereal? Honestly?

Guy

Yes, I can't see why not. It's just wheat that has been mashed up and dried. Of course, sod's law prevails and I don't have enough breakfast cereal, so I'm going to use spelt flakes as well.

Short on time now today, so hopefully I can get into it tomorrow. Progress reports are inevitable.

[greenxpaddy]

I have heard of weetabix being added to mashes, but you should account for the salt content!

[jmc]

I dont recommend weetabix. Mine set like glue. I cant give a link as using phone.

Do a search on my posts if interested

I've heard shredded wheat has less problems but Ive not used them myself.

Personally I would separately boil unmalted wheat for 15mins to gelatinize and add that to mash when its cooled to 65-70c.

[jaybie]

I dont recommend weetabix. Mine set like glue. I cant give a link as using phone.

Do a search on my posts if interested

I've heard shredded wheat has less problems but Ive not used them myself.

Personally I would separately boil unmalted wheat for 15mins to gelatinize and add that to mash when its cooled to 65-70c.

I don't have any Weetabix, so that won't be a problem!

Will boiling open the grains, or is that a job that needs to be done after boiling?

[jaybie]

Well I've done it - 25% raw wheat in the mash, which was made up of half Shredded Wheat and half rolled spelt.

Mash-wise it went OK, could have used some rice hulls as it was getting on for stuck, but not impossible, and not unusual for a mash with a high wheat proportion. OG seems normal - 1044, I was expecting 1045 at 80% efficiency.

Flavourwise it seems normal but the proof of the pudding is in the drinking after brewing as they say. I normally ferment this for about a week and then 2 weeks bottle conditioning before I crack into it, however it improves over the next 2 months. I've never found out how long it will improve for as it never lasts long enough!

[greenxpaddy]

You should do a protein rest with a high unmalted wheat addition

[alix101]

stick them in a hop sock and whack with a rolling pin

[jaybie]

You should do a protein rest with a high unmalted wheat addition

I didn't do one. Just a simple single infusion mash. I'm not totally clear on the purpose of a protein rest; can you enlighten me? I understand the idea of allowing the larger proteins to break down, but I just don't know what the purpose is.