cereal adjuncts, barley and thrashing

morning all, 3 questions if i may..

where do you lob the adjuncts into the process, in the mash or the boil. the books i have are both silent on the subject but one suggests that any sugars go in the boil halfway through.


Next up whats all this 2 and 3 row barley malarcky and what is the practical upshot ?

just one more.........

I have read that 2 days into fermentation that the head is skimmed and the whole works given a good sound thrashing to re aereate it.. sounds a bit dodgy to me,( certainly not PC) anyone else do that.? To be fair never have much trouble with fermenting, I pitch a hefty yeast starter but just wondered if it would affect flavour or speed.

would be most grateful for the benefit of your knowledge, wit and wisdom please.


cheers. stegnest

There are various adjuncts that can be used in the brewing process so depending on the type they should be added at different times. Grain adjuncts would be processed in the mash or steeping them in hot water and then removed for the boil. You do not want to boil grains. Sugar and syrup adjunts are added to the boil. They can be added at different times depending what flavor you are looking for in your brew. Here is a nice little explanation of some adjuncts> http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/malts.php
I have never heard of 3 row barley. Most modern malt is 2 row modified barley these days. Maybe you are thinking of 6 row barley.
Can't help you on the last question. I don't do it and my beers or OK.

Sugars (if you use them) can be added to the boil.
Most other adjuncts need to be added to the mash as they require the enzymes in the mash to convert starches into fermentable sugars, or a prolonged soaking and sparging to extract colo(u)r and flavo(u)r.

Two row barley is what is used to make beer all over the world. Six row barley is only used in America (as far as I know). Most people only use two row, and I would be surprised if you could get six row in the UK.

Some people skim the krausen. Most leave it alone. Skimming increases the risk of infection. The reason for skimming is to prevent off flavo(u)rs being introduced by the krausen, but this is a non issue unless tyou leave the brew in a primary fermenter for a very long time (more than three to four weeks).

Thrashing is definitely not necessary, and could result in oxidation. With some highly flocculant yest strains, it is possible for the yeast to settle down hard, and the fermentation to stop prematurely. In this case a gentle stir can help to resuspend the yeast, and start the fermentation going again. (I've only had to do this once in thirty years.)

Hope this helps.

-a.

Thanks very much indeed. stegnest

The difference between 2-row and 6-row is that 6-row has a much higher diastatic power and is therefor better to use if you are using a high percentage of adjuncts such as rice. It's moslty used on a commercial scale and not really necessary for homebrewing.

besides the much higher enzyme content of 6 row it will give you a grainyer flavor then the 2 row.

I got the recipie for my latest brew from a 99 gallon comercial recipie and downsized it on promash. All my basemalt for this beer is 6 row as per the recipie. I also use 6 row in my cream ale since it is a very American malt and cream ale is a very American style

Good points Pumbaa, I should have specified in my post that 6-row isn't generally needed in hombrewing for it's conversion power. If you want the flavor of 6-row, use 6-row!

cheers folks, American beer styles are something of an undiuscovered country for me at present.. althogh naturally eager to learn and take on whatever practical field research this may entail!!