GF grain roast

I couldn't find a color guide for all the GF grains I was interested in, so I ran an experiment last weekend and decided to share the results. Sorry about some of the pictures being blurry, I was using my cell phone.

All of these grains were dry-roasted whole at 350 F for 15 minute intervals and steeped in near-boiling water for 20-30 minutes (after grinding, except for Amaranth). Here's what kind of color I got from them (sorry I got impatient). From some of the other posts, I was expecting more of a show from buckwheat (i.e. darker color). Does more time in the brew pot make that much of a difference?



Amaranth

• 0 min : Tasted a little nutty with a slight sour taste
• 15 min : Tasted like an asian peanut sauce (strong flavor)
• 30 min : Tasted like roasted peanuts (also burnt)

Buckwheat Groats

• 15 min : Popcorn taste with a hay odor
• 30 min : Malted rice flavor (like "rice crispy milk"), slightly burnt flavor
• 60 min : Stronger burnt flavor from 30 min

Millet

• 15 min : Slight popcorn taste
• 30 min : Tasted like an asian peanut sauce (medium flavor?)
• 60 min : Stronger version of 30min

Oat Groats

• 15 min : Oaty / earthy, bubbles
• 30 min : Oat flavor with more bite, less bubbles
• 45 min : Oat flavor with even more bite / less bubbles

Quinoa

• 15 min : Mild peanut taste, slight burnt taste
• 30 min : Stronger peanut flavor, no burnt taste
• 60 min : Tastes burnt

Red Quinoa

• 0 min : Tastes earthy
• 15 min : Tastes a little burnt
• 30 min : Tastes a lot burnt

Cheers!

Your post reminds me of this: http://aggieotis.blogspot.com/2008/10/malting-gluten-free-grains.html

ChasidicCalvinist said:

Your post reminds me of this: http://aggieotis.blogspot.com/2008/10/malting-gluten-free-grains.html

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Thanks, looks like a good reference if I ever decided to step it up a notch and start malting

It would be interesting to see wet roasting and comparisons with roasted barley. (If you can do it safely) Also to see varies ways of roasting would be good. I use an oven, bread maker, and popcorn popper for different roasts.

Otherwise, good stuff!

Osedax said:

It would be interesting to see wet roasting and comparisons with roasted barley. (If you can do it safely) Also to see varies ways of roasting would be good. I use an oven, bread maker, and popcorn popper for different roasts.

Otherwise, good stuff!

Click to expand...

That's interesting, dude. What does the popcorn popper do to the grain? I have seen one for quite cheap in the supermarket...

Its how I get super dark roasts. Around 300L or so without burning the grain. Its great for black ipas and some english styles. I can't quite get the roastiness I want for stouts yet.

Buckwheat is crazy in that thing. It will start to expand and turn into this weird goopy mass. After it cools it goes back to normal. I wonder if I'm starting to create buckwheat popcorn.

Awesome. That's me buying one, then. Perfect excuse. Would use a lot less gas too. What does it do to millet? Started trying it again as I am trying to do a wheatard friendly Sam Adams Boston Clone, and using all millet. Malted 1kg of it. It wasn't that great, but with practice and better tools I will do good.

I guess I could get some dark roasts from it, then use a 1lb of treacle with it for extra darkness. The stouts I have been using have been using WAY too much treacle in. This could help.

Dude, is your popcorn maker electronic or one for on the hob?

Its doesn't do millet as well. I've never taken millet that dark. Its too light. It just blows all over the place and doesn't roast anywhere as fast.

Its the electric kind. Just the small countertop kind. Got it for like $20. A hopper style or nut roaster might work better.

Yeah, saw an electric one on Amazon for about 11 quid. So sounds about right. Might have to give it a try. Not seen any nut roasters, but we do a search for them.

I roast my grains in a skillet, stirring constantly with a spatula. I've taken millet pretty gosh-darn dark that way, but can't comment yet on the flavor as I'm still wafting it to mellow it out. Although I wonder if that's necessary, as the lack of a husk should hypothetically prevent much of the harshness and astringency that people complain about with roasted barley. I did a black IPA with sprouted quinoa that I roasted that way, though, and it came out nice and chocolatey. Of course, I also used a little bit of candi syrup to help along the color...I don't seem to be able to get the grains to contribute a significant amount of color, even when I roast them suuuuuper dark. Heck, I full-on carbonized some buckwheat the other night (got distracted during the roast by my roommate's puppy, and stopped stirring it at the very end), and just for giggles I steeped some of it for a while before throwing it out, and only got a very light brown color off it. I just don't know what I gotta do to get a nice black color without resorting to candi syrup, burnt honey, or molasses!

You could do it in a skillet. I did for awhile. Then I got lazy and bought a popcorn popper.

It gives a slightly less burnt taste and I don't really need to waft the grains. Being huskless is a good and a bad thing. I tend to use way more roasted grains in my recipes than a barley based recipe needs. I still can't get the color or the roastiness. Its getting close but its still a work-in-progress.

I also made a black IPA recently. It came out AMAZING! Its very dark. Slightly roasty. Hop presence is great. I just have to bottle it. I will post a recipe and a picture to give an idea of the color I achieved. I did cheat a little with some D-90(didn't feel like making my own).

Yeah, I have done some flaked millet in a frying pan before, but I couldn't be bothered standing there waiting with it for that long. I normally put it in the oven but sometimes it can be a bit of a pain in the arse getting it off of the tray. Especially when it's a crystal malt. Next thing you know it's grain everywhere and I am being beaten by SWMBO because she trod on an AWOL grain. It's all fun and games. Haha So if I can limit the bruises in some way, that would be great.

I agree with the grain colour, though. No matter how hard I try it always turns the water a murky brown colour and that's it. I always have to add molasses or treacle for stouts, and different coloured sugars for other beers. Personally I am trying for a treacle stout, but the amount I have been putting in has just killed it. Next one I make will only have a pound of it in.