pearled barley?

I went to a health food store to see if they had flaked barley, rye, and oatmeal because of a suggestion I read in one of the threads here. I didnt see flaked barley but I did see pearled barley. Can pearled barley be used in brewing? Will it be fermentable?

this is from the HBT wiki:

"Germination is key to the malting process; therefore, professional maltsters source their grains with a minimum germination of 98%. Only unprocessed barley, which has not had the husk removed, will germinate; "pearl barley" or other husked, processed grains commonly available in supermarkets are not suitable for malting. The chaff should be removed from barley before malting. "

It will work as an adjunct similar to flaked barely. Just crush it.

"Germination is key to the malting process; therefore, professional maltsters source their grains with a minimum germination of 98%. Only unprocessed barley, which has not had the husk removed, will germinate; "pearl barley" or other husked, processed grains commonly available in supermarkets are not suitable for malting. The chaff should be removed from barley before malting. "

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Thanks. I googled around for a straight answer but couldn't find one. I read that it wasnt possible then I read if you boiled it the starch would convert into sugar (something like that).

It will work as an adjunct similar to flaked barely. Just crush it.

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I did read something similar to that in my searching. So basically it just adds body to the beer right?

Unmalted barleys do require mashing to convert the starch to sugars. If you want to get some fermentables out of them, you will have to do a partial mash, go all grain, or get your hands on some diastatic malt extract.

-a.

ajf said:

Unmalted barleys do require mashing to convert the starch to sugars. If you want to get some fermentables out of them, you will have to do a partial mash, go all grain, or get your hands on some diastatic malt extract.

-a.

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ahh cool. So I can get some fermentable sugars out of it. At the same time it will build some body to my beer. Thanks.

Jsamp said:

ahh cool. So I can get some fermentable sugars out of it. At the same time it will build some body to my beer. Thanks.

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yes, just like flaked barely, wheat, oats, maize, rice and rye (adjuncts)
For the most part anything unmalted is an adjunct and can add fermantables to the beer if there are enough diastic enzymes to convert, which generally there always are.

z987k said:

yes, just like flaked barely, wheat, oats, maize, rice and rye (adjuncts)
For the most part anything unmalted is an adjunct and can add fermantables to the beer if there are enough diastic enzymes to convert, which generally there always are.

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If you are doing an extract with steeping grains, where would the diastatic enzymes come from?

-a.

Is it possible to get your diastolic power from non malt products such as honey or apples which do contain amylase enzymes but I don't know how to figure up the math on such products .

I roasted some in the toaster oven to use in a stout once.