SRM from unhulled buckwheat?

[tblasio]

Hi, noob here. I malted a couple pounds of unhulled buckwheat, which seems to have gone well. Now I'm looking at that black hull on the outside and wondering what color I'm likely to get out of that. Anyone have any experience using unhulled buckwheat or have any idea how much color it might contribute to my final SRM? I'm planning to mash this buckwheat for 50% of a partial mash brew, the other 50% will be very light colored adjuncts (corn, rice, sorghum syrup).

Thanks!

Tony

 

[igliashon]

You will get approximately nothing. Malted buckwheat with intact hulls gives the exact same color as without the hulls.

 

[C-Rider]

Isn't malting a sprouting process? wouldn't that crack the hulls for the sprouts to try to grow?

 

[tblasio]

I mashed a handful this weekend to see what I would get, before I saw your reply igliashon, and it did indeed produce basically no color at all. I'm thinking that I will also roast some of the hulled groats I have to lend a little color and some additional flavor.

C-Rider, yes, it is a sprouting process and a short sprout did grow before I dried and kilned the buckwheat, but the hulls are still very much in tact, the sprout just seemed to come out the tip of the pyramid shaped seeds. In fact, I had to crack them a bit with a rolling pin to get them going in my little test mash.

 

[igliashon]

It doesn't matter how much you crack the hulls, they don't add color. And even after deep deep roasting, buckwheat seems to add much less color than millet or quinoa. Good flavor, though. Nutty and chocolatey.

 

[muench1]

To echo Igliashon, the color will result from the soluble portion of the grist. The hulls aren't going to contribute anything to the water, so they'll have no effect on color.

Out of curiosity, where are you getting unhulled buckwheat? It's a lot harder to find than groats, but will later/sparse waaaay better.

 

[tblasio]

Thanks guys, I'm gonna give it a go in another week or so, roasted some groats to go with it this weekend and want to give them a chance to rest.

Muench1, I got the unhulled buckwheat off of Amazon, 9lbs for $22, thought that was a pretty good deal. Here's the link:

 

[tblasio]

Huh, looks like the link didn't come thru, I used the insert link tool too. Maybe I have to "go advanced" to insert a link? Anyway, if you just search "unhulled buckwheat" you'll see it pop right up. Certified organic as well, if that matters to you.

 

[tblasio]

Link to unhulled buckwheat on Amazon:
[URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000E7TTKQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1392034955&sr=8-1"[/URL]

 

[tblasio]

Last try: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000E7TTKQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1392034955&sr=8-1

 

[C-Rider]

Thanks guys, I'm gonna give it a go in another week or so, roasted some groats to go with it this weekend and want to give them a chance to rest.

Muench1, I got the unhulled buckwheat off of Amazon, 9lbs for $22, thought that was a pretty good deal. Here's the link:

Don't forget the $10 shipping