four row

why is four row barley considered unsuitable for brewing? sorry if this has been answered. but i searched the site and even googled for a while. all i found is that it is, no reasons why. thanks.

Four-row barley is actually a loose six-row barley. Six-row barley is used in brewing when high diastatic power is needed, like when brewing with lots of adjuncts.

Here is some reading about the differences:
http://www.madisonbeerreview.com/2009/11/in-praise-of-6-row-barley.html

I believe the chinese use 4 row extensively (probably for feed?), you may try searching for chinese barley if you are interested in it.

John Palmer's How to Brew book talks about this (I think that's where I read about it). You can search for the free version online.

damn. i looked up all three suggestions and couldn't find anything. thank you all though. i did read that four row is actually a loosely structured six row. and that it is unsuitable for brewing. but thats it no reason why. im guessing it has to do with the phenols maybe. it said six row had higher percent, so maybe the loose six (four) has too much. i don't know. could it not be used as an adjunct? im not trying to put it in my beer i just want to know. thanks again everyone

Who said it was unsuitable for brewing? I've heard people say 6-row is unsuitable for brewing too, which isn't true.

You could brew with freaking pumpkin seeds if you wanted to, but some things are better than others.

Why ask why? (Bud Dry)

I wouldn't hesitate to try some, you could roast it. If you're real ambitious malt it, do you have some?

I work in the grain industry, have farmed, am a tester for a malt research group, and I have never heard of 4 row
http://www.bmbri.ca/PDF/Whither 6-row barley.pdf
Note they say there is no such thing as 4 row.
From what I can find, it is a loosely structured 6 row, and would be a very old variety. I think if you had some, you might think of it as a 6 row, and use it as such, but even then, I don't think you would get the results you hoped for. If it is an old 6 row variety, it probably has very high protein values, not good for malt, and the enzyme levels might not be what we like in malt.

Nateo said:

Who said it was unsuitable for brewing? I've heard people say 6-row is unsuitable for brewing too, which isn't true.

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everything i've read on it. (not being a smart ass) i was just reading about differences in two and six row and it said that there was a four row (actually a loosely structured six row) that was considered unsuitable for brewing. i've seen several places that say this (and only this.) and was just wondering if it didn't have enough starches or to much protein or not enough enzymes or what. would it taste bad? i was just kinda wondering what they ment.

lurker18 said:

I work in the grain industry, have farmed, am a tester for a malt research group, and I have never heard of 4 row
http://www.bmbri.ca/PDF/Whither 6-row barley.pdf
Note they say there is no such thing as 4 row.
From what I can find, it is a loosely structured 6 row, and would be a very old variety. I think if you had some, you might think of it as a 6 row, and use it as such, but even then, I don't think you would get the results you hoped for. If it is an old 6 row variety, it probably has very high protein values, not good for malt, and the enzyme levels might not be what we like in malt.

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ok. so maybe not that you can't use it, it just isn't very well fitted?

really sorry for posting three times in a row. (maybe i should go one more, then i would be unsuitable for brewing) someone asked if i had some four row. no i was just wondering. thanks again everyone

Like it was said earlier, you could brew with anything that has starch that can be converted to sugar, and have some base malt for enzymes. Potatoes make beer, but it would take a lot of practice and knowledge of what you are doing to make good beer. This old 6 row (4 row) would make beer, but it might not be all that good, and with the time and effort put into making the beer, you know there are better alternatives out there. Beer has been around for far longer than these new barley varieties, highly modified malts, etc so it can be made, but I think i would rather have a BMC than a beer made like they did 2000 years ago.

lurker18 said:

, but I think i would rather have a BMC than a beer made like they did 2000 years ago.

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i disagree. i think it would be cool to try a beer like it was originaly. but i'm getting what your saying. its not so much that nothing would happen with the four row. just that not much good would happen. thanks!

rycov said:

why is four row barley considered unsuitable for brewing? sorry if this has been answered. but i searched the site and even googled for a while. all i found is that it is, no reasons why. thanks.

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According to the BJCP Study Guide: "An intermediate variety, called four-row, is in fact a six-row variety. It is not widely used in brewing due to the high protein content of the kernels."

However, six-row is also high in protein and is obviously still suitable for brewing. If I had to guess, I'd say four-row is only slightly less suitable than six-row, so go ahead and brew with it. Be sure to let us know how it turns out if you do.

JTylerSingletary said:

According to the BJCP Study Guide: "An intermediate variety, called four-row, is in fact a six-row variety. It is not widely used in brewing due to the high protein content of the kernels."

However, six-row is also high in protein and is obviously still suitable for brewing. If I had to guess, I'd say four-row is only slightly less suitable than six-row, so go ahead and brew with it. Be sure to let us know how it turns out if you do.

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My Dad who grows a lot of his own food just harvested some of his barley that he uses for making bread and its four row barley. He said he will give me 30 lbs to brew beer with. I've never malted before but I'm tempted to try it just to see what the results would be. I'm goins to look into it and if I do I'll be sure to post the progress and results. Interesting topic!

Excellent, post results please.

Taken strait from Gregory Noonan's Brewing Lager Beer " Four-row barley is commonly grown and malted in Northern Europe where it has long been prized for its hardiness in the cold climate. It is not widely used elsewhere, however, because of its steeliness and low yield. It is actually a six- row barley that appears to form four rows rather than six because of its thin, elongated head."