Raw vs Flaked Wheat

Hey all,
Well I have had success recently with my first batch ever and it being a wee heavy AG batch at that. It's excellent. I have a Helles Bock in my secondary right now as well.

Anyhow, I'm getting ready to start my third batch and was curious what the difference was between flaked wheat and raw flaked wheat was. My homebrew store is more geared towards extract brewing so they don't have much advice to give. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Joe

Wheat is the raw grain as harvested by the farmer and is unsuitable for brewing on its own, Wheat malt is wheat that has been malted by a Maltster. Malting involves soaking the raw grain in water until it swells then germinates. It is allowed to grow under carefully controlled conditions which causes the breakdown of cell walls and releases enzymes that the brewer will use later on to convert the starch to sugars.
Since wheat doesn't have a husk, wheat malt can cause problems when it comes to the sparging process so typically the highest proportion of wheat malt in a mash will be 51% for a wheat beer. Othe beers often have smaller proportions of wheat malt because it is an aid to good head formation.
Raw wheat isn't used much in brewing. A better option is flaked wheat which had been pre-cooked to gelatinise its starch although this can only be used as a minor component in a recipe because its enzymes are destroyed in the cooking process.


(I'm not this good. I stole if from Yahoo answers!)

You can still use raw wheat. You'll just need to mill it properly, and most likely do a cereal mash.

Thanks guys!

Well the deal is this... The homebrew store I go to only seems to carry the malted flaked wheat. They had no idea what my recipe called for which was raw wheat flakes. Unfortunately the recipe does not go into detail what the ingrediants used were, nor does the book. The book it was in mentions flaked wheat in it's ingredients section but that's all. So I'm kind of puzzled. The recipe is for a Belgian Wit. It calls for 4 pounds of wheat flakes (among other things..). Anyhow any further information is appreciated.

Cheers!!

Joe

MTBREWDOG said:

Thanks guys!

Well the deal is this... The homebrew store I go to only seems to carry the malted flaked wheat. They had no idea what my recipe called for which was raw wheat flakes. Unfortunately the recipe does not go into detail what the ingrediants used were, nor does the book. The book it was in mentions flaked wheat in it's ingredients section but that's all. So I'm kind of puzzled. The recipe is for a Belgian Wit. It calls for 4 pounds of wheat flakes (among other things..). Anyhow any further information is appreciated.

Cheers!!

Joe

Click to expand...

Joe,

The reason a recipe (especially in a witbier) would call for unmalted wheat is that it offers a more authentic wheat flavor to some brews. If you decide to use unmalted wheat (as is traditional in witbier), you'll need to do a cereal mash where you take the wheat and do a cereal mash (usually w/ 10-25% 6-row) doing rests at 122, 150, and boil to gelatanize. Generally, malted and unmalted wheat provide different flavors. For more info on raw what in witbier, listen to this podcast from the brewing network: http://s125483039.onlinehome.us/archive/Jamil03-13-06.mp3

If your LHBS doesn't carry flaked wheat, try a health food store. Whole Foods has an enormous selection of flaked and milled grains, for instance.

Raw wheat:


Flaked wheat:

Malted wheat:

(click to make really huge)

Thanks again guys!

I just brewed that recipe with flaked wheat. I know it will change it slightly but I could not find any raw flaked wheat. I really liked the flavor that it produced in the wort. We'll see how it turns out!

I see raw wheat, flaked wheat, and malted wheat but no raw flaked wheat. Is there such a thing? I'm going to go puruse the local whole foods store and see what they've got to offer.

Cheers,

Joe

I though torrified wheat was raw wheat that has been air heated until it pops (like popped corn).

Flaked wheat is torrified wheat that has been crushed flat.

Malted wheat is wheat that has been malted (per above).

Raw wheat is a bread thing and I have never heard of its use in brewing.

I really wish we had a maltster on the forum to clear this kind of stuff up....

From Briess' site

Part of our Insta Grains® product, line Torrified Wheat is short for Insta Grains® Soft Red Wheat Whole Kernel. That's what you'll see printed on the label, but don't worry. It's simply Torrified Wheat. Our Torrified Wheat has been heat treated to break the cellular structure, allowing for rapid hydration and malt enzymes to more completely attack the starches and protein. Torrified Wheat can be used in place of raw wheat when making Belgian-style White and Wit beers. Advantages over raw wheat include normal conversion time and higher yield.

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Flaked wheat is still raw wheat; it has been pre-gelatanized which makes it suitable for a single infusion mash or for a minimash. Raw wheat is very difficult to crush, and requires a protein rest or cereal mash to gelatanize the starches.

While many argue raw winter wheat will make the best Wit, flaked wheat is also quite acceptable. Wheat malt is OK in a Wit grist as long as you use at least 25% raw wheat. Using all wheat malt in a Wit won't give you the tartness you should get in a Witbier.

I agree with Sacc and have also heard from a few pro brewers that using too much raw wheat (torr or flaked) can give an unwanted toasted flavor to your beers. The balance is key to get that tangy slightly acidic taste from the raw wheat.

Thanks guys!! I appreciate the clarification! I will be transferring my Witbeir tonight to my secondary. So far she's looking GRRREAT!

Cheers,

Joe