talleymonster

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You're not the only one....it happens a lot.

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The Pol

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I want to know why....


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Primary- Circle City Haus Ale
Secondary- Orange Cascade APA (dry hop)
Keg1- Centennial Blonde (On tap)
Keg2- Oktoberfest (On tap)
Keg3- Christmas Spice
Keg4- Fire In The Hole
Keg5- AIR
Keg6- AIR
Keg7- AIR
Keg8- AIR

Chriso

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Never paid attention to which my specialty grains came from... They just come in bags... From HBSes.... - but my base grain pref. is 2-Row.

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david_42

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I've never paid any attention. It matters for the base, but for specialty grains, I buy whatever is available.

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Remember one unassailable statistic, as explained by the late, great George Carlin: "Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!"

Beerrific

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Reviving this thread....

I was listening to an episode of The Jamil Show, Can You Brew It and they were interviewing a brewer from Lagunitas on cloning their IPA. He was saying that 6-row is sometimes preferred for specialty grains specifically caramel and roasted malts. Here is the reason, I am expanding from what I understood from the brewer:

When you are making specialty malts the colors and flavors that make these malts distinctive and really what is sought in the malts comes from the Maillard reactions. Maillard reactions occur between amino acids (building blocks of proteins) and sugars. If you use a malt that is lower in protein (like 2-row) you are limiting the degree to which these reactions occur. So, they choose to use 6-row which has a high level of protein.

I am not completely sure if this increased protein makes a huge difference in the flavor of the final beer, but I think it would be interesting to do a side-by-side. Maybe tasting the malts side-by-side would be noticeable.

FBC

Recipes 

for the home brewer making a 5 gallon batch it really wont make much difference. you will not gain anything by going to a 6 row specialty malts such as black patent and crystal, chocolate and roasted as they have no enzymes anyway. Meaning they contribute to the flavor, body and color only. The distinction between 2 row and 6 row remains in enzyme levels and diastatic power, which is the ability to break down starches into sugar. So your best bet is to go with 6 row if you are going for an IPA or something with a high Original Gravity. for a 5 gallon batch of brew you would need about 8-10 LBS of 6 row malted barley (high enzyme). North American 6 row is typically 160 degrees Lintner vs 120 for two row.

For your specialty grains, your money is better spent on getting freshness.

Frisco Brewing CompanyÒ

BarleyWater

Recipes 

The differences in the DP is what is negligible when using mostly base malt, as most homebrewers do. The high degree of modification in our malts today leads to a very rapid and complete conversion in the mash. To get full conversion, a total grist DP of about 40 is all that's needed, so 2-row or 6-row, either way your going to get the same degree of conversion. Also, un-crushed and stored away from humidity, it will stay fresh for a very long time.

That said, 6-row can contain up to 5% (usually a bit less) more protein, which can have both good and bad affects. Like the guys form Lagunitas stated, it can give more maillard reactions, and when using darker grains, you want a little more maillard reactions to occur. It also does have a bit higher enzyme concentration (not in specialty malts), more foam positive protein, and more FAN for good yeast health. But, 6-row also has less extract potential, and can have more DMS. So even though the original post was I while ago, I still vote for whatever is cheaper.

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