Braid

Recipes 

What exactly does flaked grain do for beers that the regular grain won't? And are flaked oats the same as the rolled oats you can get at the grocery store?

Freezeblade

Recipes 

flaked oats are the same as rolled oats. In flaked grain, the starches are pre-gelationized (sp) so it is mash read, where if you buy raw wheat or raw oats they need to be cereal mashed to do this (basically boiling). Flaked grains introduce proteins that lead to a smoother mouthfeel and help head retention, but can also make a beer cloudy if used above 7 percent or so of the mash.

__________________
Primary:Russian River Redemption clone, Kelly's Melomel, Graham's English Cider 22-23
Clearing:Apple Wine
Aging:Public House Dry Stout, Procrastination Porter, Mr. Brown Ale, Westvleteren 12 Clone, Mead, Duvel Clone, Graham's English Cider 6-21, Belgian Draak Strong Ale, Fig Melomel, Acerglyn, Restorative Tonic Metheglyn

flyangler18

Recipes 

Flaked grain isn't malted, so it doesn't have any diastatic power to convert itself so it has to be mashed with a base malt.

Flaked barley is used for head retention, body and mouthfeel; same as flaked oats (rolled oats from the grocery store). Proteins, lipids and starches are all present.

giligson

Recipes 

grain are passed through hot steel rollers that gelatinize the proteins so that you can just toss them into the mash without having to do a separate cereal mash - saves time.
Only certain grains are normally available flaked:
oats, wheat, rye, corn.

__________________
We who are about to Brew, salute you!

Braid

Recipes 

Thank you for the quick replies!!! I can understand the oats, wheat, rye, and corn, but I'm doing a recipe that calls for a lot of flaked barley. In a previous post i asked if I can just use regular milled barley and got a definitive "NO". The recipe is for a Guiness clone and I'm just wondering exactly what the flaked variety does that the regular won't. Is it just the mouth feel? Will it help in making it darker? Oh sooooo many things to learn!

flyangler18

Recipes 

Flaked barley is a classic ingredient in dry stout, approximately 20% of the grist. It will contribute to strong head retention and mouthfeel. There's no color contribution, that all comes from the roasted barley. You just can't make a dry stout without flaked barley.

giligson

Recipes 

check this thread
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/cereal-mash-explained-81106/

__________________
We who are about to Brew, salute you!