"fake malted gf crystal" idea - anyone tried?

[Miraculix]

Hi everyone

In gluten free brewing one of the major show stoppers is high gelatinization temperature and often low Enzyme levels plus the fact that unmalted grains are lacking the malty tasty. So I was pondering about that and had an idea yesterday.

Why not try to "fake malt" gf grains in a similar way it is done to crystal malt, with the exception that the enzymes to convert the starch into sugar are added manually.

For example, one could boil hulled millet to gelatinize the starch, then (partially) dry it and then rehydrate it in an enzyme solution to get the enzymes into the grain.

Afterwards one could continue with a typical crystal protocol, getting the grains out of the water, heating the grains to enzyme activity temperature and when fully converted roast /toast it to taste.

Afterwards the grain should be fully converted and should have gained some flavour, depending on the temperature that was used. So no mash necessary.

It would be also possible to use pre gelatinized grains like instant oats or rice flakes to skip the first boiling step. I also saw quinoa flakes and buckwheat flakes somewhere...

What do you guys think about this?

Did anyone actually ever tried this?

 

[Legume]

I have made pseudo crystal malt from rice and millet many times.

Cook grain in rice cooker, lower temperature to whatever is appropriate for your amylase, add amylase and a bit of water, close rice cooker and incubate, toast partially converted grains in the oven.

It works well, and makes good beer, but is time and energy intensive. This process used to be part of all my recipies.

Now I prefer to buy malted rice (Eckert), as this product is better than what I can make at home and is available in many different color/flavor options.

 

[Miraculix]

I have made pseudo crystal malt from rice and millet many times.

Cook grain in rice cooker, lower temperature to whatever is appropriate for your amylase, add amylase and a bit of water, close rice cooker and incubate, toast partially converted grains in the oven.

It works well, and makes good beer, but is time and energy intensive. This process used to be part of all my recipies.

Now I prefer to buy malted rice (Eckert), as this product is better than what I can make at home and is available in many different color/flavor options.

Thanks for the info!

I am in the UK and afaik, there is no shop around that sells malted rice or other malted grains.

I wanted to malt my own millet and was able to get it quiet cheaply, but unfortunately it is hulled and so it won't sprout anymore. Now I have to figure something out for those 4kg

Good to hear that it worked for you, will try to copy your approach. I was a bit afraid that during the mash, the rice would turn into a gooish substance and that it wouldn't be possible to roast it afterwards anymore.

Does it keep the grains more or less intact?

 

[Legume]

I use non malted hulled millet as base malt (mashed with added enzymes). You could give it a shot with the millet you have.

As for the pseudo malt, my best results were with brown rice, cooked just as you would if you were going to eat it, then incubated with enzymes for a few hours prior to roasting.

I would often mix some rolled oats with the somewhat wet half converted brown rice (post incubation). The oats soaked up the sugar filled liquid. I would then toast the whole mess in the oven to make what I called brewing granola. It worked well as a substitute for crystal/specialty malts in a mini mash.

For what it's worth, I don't eat oats anymore. I don't think they are completely safe for celiacs.

 

[Miraculix]

That sounds good!

I did read through a lot of the other threads here in the gf corner yesterday , you seem to be fairly experienced and did provide a huuuge amount of knowledge in all the other threads. Thanks for that! Learned a lot!

The oats are a good idea. Luckily I am not celiac, just like to play around with all the possibilities... Also think that grains in general are not an optimum human food...

... But neither are hops, so I am also trying a lot with gruit beer, will post something about this when I developed the first good recipe. At the moment I am at the "many small batches testing" stage. A good tasting rice gruit would be something I wish to develop.

I agree, oats are something I would avoid if I were celiac. But maybe rice flakes would work as well? Maybe they need a bit more soaking time, overnight in the fridge should be OK though.