Anybody ever used pasta as an adjunct

**wilserbrewer** · 01-08-2009, 03:09 PM

I have a couple pounds of pasta in the pantry, mini pasta like orzo, considering over-cooking it and tossing it in the mash w/ say 4-5 lbs of two row and maybe some rice hulls.

I'm thinking wheat (from the pasta) beer w/ some coriander and orange peel...maybe grapefruit.

Anybody been down this road? Am I crazy, the pasta is just refined wheat I think. Trying to avoid a trip to the LHBS to get some wheat.

**Bobby_M** · 01-08-2009, 03:16 PM

You have any ethnic grocery stores near you? The Indian place in town has all kinds of wheat products for dirt cheap, flaked, germ, etc.

Ølbart · 01-08-2009, 05:46 PM

I know about a guy who made a wheat beer that way (with spaghetti), even getting a 3rd place in a competition. The recipe is here, in Norwegian. Quick translation of the relevant parts:

OG: 1.048
Pre-boil wort: 27 l
Final volume: 24 l

Malt & adjuncts
3000 grams 60 % Pilsener malt 3 EBC
2000 grams 40 % Spaghetti, cheap ? EBC

Mashed at 90 min 65 ºC.

20 grams Hallertau Perle 3 % alfa pellets 60 min
5 grams bitter orange peel 15 min

Bottom fermented with yeast cultured from a bottle of Hoegaarden @ 9 °C.
Mashing was slow because the spaghetti didn't dissolve well, had to be done twice to get negative result w/ iodine test. [Crushing the spaghetti into small pieces before boiling would likely help.]

The brewer described the beer as 'weird', but I think that might have been for the ingredients rather than the flavour.

**wilserbrewer** · 01-08-2009, 10:54 PM

Thanks for the info Olbart. Not sure I'll try it, just everytime I see these two bags of "excess" pasta I have sitting gathering dust, I get the urge to mash em.

eschatz · 01-08-2009, 10:58 PM

There is a thread about using grocery items as adjunts and even bases in beers.

Check it out.

turtle · 05-20-2011, 05:45 PM

related thread: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/critique-my-spaghetti-wheat-245874/