New Question about "2-Row" Crystal Malt

Anyway it was supposed to read "Newbie Question"

So I did a "partial mash" the other day. I figured I would goto the store and get some 2-row malt, and mash 1 pound of malt and 1 pound of oatmeal for my oatmeal stout. Anyway followed directions (This was my first PM too) and got what I thought was a nice thick mash goo out of this. I then proceeded to boil as usual with my extracts.

Only problem is a I used 2-row crystal malt. I thought all I needed was 2-row and just grabbed what I saw. Am I to assume after further reading that all crystal malt (Whether its labeled 2-row) or not actually contains no enzymes? (Dammit) It isn't that big of a deal... It will still be beer (And I have made oatmeal stoats just by steeping the grain for 30 minutes before....this should only increase the oatmeal taste since it was "mashed for almost an hour ...


Anyway Now I have a bag of Muntons 2-row Pale Malt in preparation for my next batch.

Also the amount of trub on my carboy is almost to the 1 gallon mark. I had no clue I would get that much trub from a partial mash. Or is it only because I didn't actually "Mash" anything?

Well really...there are only 2 kinds of barley: ones that grow in an arrangement of 2-rows or ones that grow in 6-rows. Hence why many of our malts like to say they are 2-row (which is more preferable for the brewer).

Now, yes, with crystal malts, they don't have many enzymes for mashing. Do you know what Lovibond rating your crystal was? The darker the lovibond, the more the 2-row malt was "stewed" and kilned (which caramelizes sugars that gets converted: rendering them unfermentable). With the lighter crystals, there can be some slight chance of having some fermentables, but it's still nothing like your base grain (just regular malted 2-row).

But the main thing I'd double check on is what kind of oatmeal you used. Did you use flaked oatmeal? If so, you should do OK: the other varieties of oatmeal tend to need some cooking. The other thing is that oatmeal itself is adding oils to the beer to add body and mouthfeel: don't expect an oatmeal taste.

Actually, there is 4-row as well, but it is not used much for brewing.

kevmoron said:

Actually, there is 4-row as well, but it is not used much for brewing.

Click to expand...

Well you learn something new every day

Most all grains (for brewing) are 2-row. I think the main thing that makes it confusing for the begining AG brewer is that a specialty grain can still have "2-Row" in its name...main thing is to keep in mind that if there's the name "chrystal" "cara" or anything other then "pale" usually means there's some other treatment that's happened to that particular malt.

You' ve got lots of starch and protein in the fermenter, since no conversion occured. I noticed that massive trubs will compact if you leave them for 4 weeks or so.