Grocery Store Ingredients?

[dnr]

I recently made a purchase of Pilsener LME and stocked up on hops that were super on sale.
I don't do grain brewing yet but am trying to get more involved.
I know I could grab oats, cereal, maybe some other grains from a local grocery store (in CT, US).

Any ideas of what I could add to a Pilsener LME brew?
I am planning to add golden berry/gooseberry, vanilla, Centennial, Willamette and Crystal hops.
I'll be figuring out the additions when I dial this in a little more.
This is my hop selection, just in case.

Thanks in advance.

 

[IslandLizard]

Pilsner LME being your base, by using steeping grains you create variety (styles). You can brew pretty much any barley based beer with that from the lightest Pilsners, Ambers, Pale Ales, Scottish Ales, Belgians, Fruit beers, etc., to the darkest Porters and Stouts. Even sours.

The beers you can't brew just with extracts and steeping grains are the ones that depend on grain-based adjuncts such as flaked (or raw, or rolled) oats, wheat, rye, barley, corn, rice etc. as they need to be mashed. A mini mash or partial mash is fairly easy to do and you'll need to include a diastatic malt to that mash. That would extend your range tremendously. For example that allows you to brew rye or wheat beers, even some American Lagers.

With those hops you can brew a large variety of beers too. Now IPAs would need a small boatload of typical IPA hops. Centennial is the only real IPA hop in your inventory. Willamette makes nice American Pale Ales. I don't know Crystal or Newport.

 

[dnr]

@IslandLizard
I see grits, ferra, oats, cornmeal, quinoa and all sorts of other stuff being used. I would happily do a partial mash if I can grab something from a local grocer. Whole Foods carries a bunch of grains.

I just am curious if there's something I should look out for. I'm working on a recipe with purple cornmeal to kind of replicate a Chicha, adding golden berries and maybe vanilla.

 

[Velnerj]

Yes you will need enzymes (a&b amalyze) to break down the starches in those grains and the easiest way to do that is to borrow them from barley in a mash.
Secondly you have to decide what you want the grains to bring to your beer. Usually they offer very slight flavor (if any) due to there being a small percentage of the grist. But they can play a role in mouth feel, ABV, head retention, clarity and color.
What would like these adjuncts to bring to your beer?

 

[RM-MN]

Rough rule of thumb, one pound of malted barley will have enough excess enzymes to convert the starches in one pound of unmalted grain. That will make a mini-mash.

If you had a 50lb sack of malted barley you could add 50 pounds of flour (don't do that, you will have trouble separating the grains from the wort) and get beer withe the equivalent ABV of making it with 100 lbs of malted barley. Change that to 50lbs of malted barley and 50 pounds of feed barley.......you get beer.

 

[dnr]

I am looking at trying a partial mash with my LME. I think it would be a good way to dip my toes in all grain, which I plan on moving to. I have done some research so far. I know that oats add a creamy mouthfeel. Like I said, I was interested in an Incan Chicha-inspired beer. Typically, they used chewed purple corn into a mash for boiling, getting enzymes from the saliva to break down the corn.
But I want to get a little experience with grains, that nice indigo color (maybe), a fun experiment and more understanding of adjuncts.
I am building a recipe with that in mind.

But if I can pick up grains from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, or even Stop & Shop...I would like to know whether it would work and for what purpose.

so yeah...

 

[Velnerj]

I am looking at trying a partial mash with my LME. I think it would be a good way to dip my toes in all grain, which I plan on moving to. I have done some research so far. I know that oats add a creamy mouthfeel. Like I said, I was interested in an Incan Chicha-inspired beer. Typically, they used chewed purple corn into a mash for boiling, getting enzymes from the saliva to break down the corn.
But I want to get a little experience with grains, that nice indigo color (maybe), a fun experiment and more understanding of adjuncts.
I am building a recipe with that in mind.

But if I can pick up grains from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, or even Stop & Shop...I would like to know whether it would work and for what purpose.

so yeah...

Corn will basically add to abv and to sensitive tasters some flavor. If you're using blue or purple corn there will obviously be a color contribution. The dextrose from the corn might even dry the beer out too.

 

[IslandLizard]

Also keep an eye on the gelatinization temperature of any grain adjuncts you want to add.

All grain (whole or milled) needs to gelatinize first, before enzymes can break them down in the mash.

If the gelatinization temp of the (milled) grain is higher than that of the mash temp, those grains need to be cooked (boiled) first for an hour or so, or cereal mashed.
For example: Corn/grits, rice, steel cut oats (groats).

Most rolled or flaked grains, such as your "Old Fashioned" or "Quick" oats, from the supermarket or rolled/flaked barley, rye, and wheat from your brew store or bakery supplier IS already pregelatinized due to the rolling/flaking process where they are steamed then run between hot rollers. Heat, moisture and pressure are key there.

Flaked corn (not to be confused with corn flakes you have for breakfast) you can buy at your brew store really need to be cooked/boiled or cereal mashed before they can be used in the mash to maximize their extraction potential. The resulting gluey liquid can then be used as your mash water, when cooled down to your strike temp.

 

[dnr]

Awesome. Thank you!
So would I be okay to get Purple cornmeal, or would I do better to try something different for a first partial mash?

Dryness, a little color and a slightly higher ABV is exactly what I want from this brew. I'm also adding light brown sugar. I'm looking forward to this funky brew.

 

[dnr]

This is a list of great I find on Whole Foods site. I always see their "grain silo" aisle.

 

[IslandLizard]

Awesome. Thank you!
So would I be okay to get Purple cornmeal, or would I do better to try something different for a first partial mash?

Dryness, a little color and a slightly higher ABV is exactly what I want from this brew. I'm also adding light brown sugar. I'm looking forward to this funky brew.

I don't know how much purple cornmeal you'd need to get a purplish cast into your beer. Does that color wash out of the grains and end up in your wort? If it does, you also need to keep your wort/beer as light (light!) as possible. The yellow color of the malt will cause the purple cast to become red as it reduces the blue component.

Even when using 40% flaked corn (pre-boiled) in the mash for one of my Saisons, the corn flavor is barely perceptible. But if you need a reference of corn flavor in beer, Miller Lite has it. IIRC, they use 60-65% corn.

 

[dnr]

Very nice. Thank you so much. I have a recipe I think might work. I'm still going to fine-tune it, as my fermenter still has my Earl Grey Ale in it.

Very appreciated!

 

[IslandLizard]

Whole Foods site. I always see their "grain silo" aisle.

Not that my single experience tells all, and it may have been merely an isolated incident:

But a few years ago I did get a severe weevil infestation in the few 1-2 pound bags of a variety of grain I had bought from Whole Foods' grain aisle silos... Literally, the bags were moving and weevils were crawling out looking for their next food source and breeding ground! My dog noticed the rustling, and looked very concerned. That tipped me off something was going on... and voilà!

So when you buy them, inspect, and use pretty much right away. Don't try to store them for a longer time!

 

[dnr]

Not that my single experience tells all, and it may have been merely an isolated incident.
But I did get a severe weevil infestation in the few 1-2 pound bags of a variety of grain I got from Whole Foods' grain aisle silos... Literally, the bags were moving and weevils were crawling out looking for their next food source and breeding ground! My dog noticed the rustling, and looked very concerned. That tipped me off something was going on... and voilà!

So when you buy them, inspect, and use pretty much right away. Don't try to store them for a longer time!

Or...I could just have more protein in my beer!

 

[dnr]

 

[Barakn]

I've had chicha in a cornfield in the Sacred Valley of Peru. It was blonde, not purple. Chicha morada is made from purple corn, but it's not fermented. Also, the purple comes from anthocyanins, whose colors are pH dependent, and at the low pH of fermentation, I would expect the color to change from purple to red or orange.

 

[dnr]

I've had chicha in a cornfield in the Sacred Valley of Peru. It was blonde, not purple. Chicha morada is made from purple corn, but it's not fermented. Also, the purple comes from anthocyanins, whose colors are pH dependent, and at the low pH of fermentation, I would expect the color to change from purple to red or orange.

I'm not expecting a bright purple. I could brew with Ube if I'm looking for that. I am just trying something different and based on an old recipe. I figured it would be fun and experimental to use grains I've never used for a different style. And I have a lot of hops that lend earthy, spicy flavors.