Flaked Barley Appearance/Wrong Ingredient?

A while back, I made an all-grain Dry Stout. Since this was only the 2nd AG batch I've ever made I just figured I didn't know what I was looking at. But after tasting the batch, I'm more convinced that an ingredient swap could have been present.

I've only seen pictures of flaked barley in a mail order catalog, so I really have no basis for comparison. The flaked barley that I received looked exactly like flaked oats (oatmeal). The taste of the beer is more towards a brown ale and not stout-like. It also has a very chalky flavor that I contribute to an extra addition of gypsum that I probably didn't need.

So maybe I'm asking if flaked barley can look exactly like flaked oats, or if I may have gotten a wrong ingredient? It seems like the picture of flaked barley that I saw had hulls present?

This is what Flaked Barley looks like. It's Thomas Fawcett & Son's brand from England. I pulled it from my 55# bag.

Your picture looks similar to the picture I've seen. I think I got the oats.

Flaked oats and flaked barley look very different, if you're at all unsure I'd say you got oats.

bradsul said:

Flaked oats and flaked barley look very different, if you're at all unsure I'd say you got oats.

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Really? I've never been able to tell the difference by looking at them. Too many variables involved with how they're rolled, what's done with them before they're rolled (husks on? husks off?) and so on.

If you're unsure, just grab a pinch and pop it in your mouth. Oatmeal will taste like raw oats, which are quite tasty. Flaked barley will taste like chicken crap. It has a compound in it that breaks down when it's cooked or heated, that makes it taste like that. This is why the raw-foods people don't eat raw barley, but oats are one of their faves.

Personally, I love oats in any form except beer. But, oatmeal stout isn't the worst thing you could end up with five gallons of.

Also, flaked oats and flaked barley do the exact same thing to your beer (they taste different, but the effect is the same -- make it thicker) -- if your stout doesn't taste like stout, that's not why! Look at your roast barley additions. To do a dry stout, you should be getting 10-15 percent of your grainbill in roast barley.

Good luck!

EdWort said:

This is what Flaked Barley looks like. It's Thomas Fawcett & Son's brand from England. I pulled it from my 55# bag.

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That doesn't look anything like the flaked barley that I use. Mine looks remarkably like flaked oats, but just a tad darker.

-a.

Well you learn something new everyday. I've bought tons of flaked barley and it's never looked like anything other than what EdWort posted.