6 Row and such

[passedpawn]

No mice in my brewery, but if I were a cat I'd want to live in a grain warehouse...
It all gets boiled in the end.

Actually, german brewers used to have cats in the brewery just for the purpose of limiting problems with mice/rats. The resulting problem was the cats loved to sh!t in the grain then, but at least they didn't eat it. Heard this from Kai Troester, who read it in old german brewing publications.

Is there a reason to add 6 Row to a recipe, or is 2 Row adequate enough to use solely as a better base malt of the two?

I've never used 6-row, but I doubt there is any good reason to use it. A long time ago, 6-row produced a much smaller kernel (less "plump"), which made it less desirable for brewing. But the modern grain is nearly the same size as 2-row. Still, it's mainly used as animal feed. One advantage of 6-row is it has higher diastatic/enzymatic power, the ability to convert starches to fermentable sugars during the mash. So if you've got a bunch of grains that have no diastatic power (e.g., rice, all crystal malts, dark malts) then 6-row would be useful. This is why, I think, that Bud et.al. used it in their light lagers.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

A long time ago, 6-row produced a much smaller kernel (less "plump"), which made it less desirable for brewing. ... This is why, I think, that Bud et.al. used it in their light lagers.

The real issue is that as your photo sort of shows, the way the grains are arranged in a 6-row ear means that 1/3 of them are significantly smaller than the others, which makes them a bit of a nightmare to malt/mill consistently, particularly when making speciality malts. 2 row ears are less cramped, so the grains are more consistent in size.

From what I can tell, US brewers started using 6 row because that was simply what was being grown locally, then they came to appreciate the extra diastatic power that allowed them to use rice/maize.

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

From what I can tell, US brewers started using 6 row because that was simply what was being grown locally, then they came to appreciate the extra diastatic power that allowed them to use rice/maize.

The U.S. only had 6-Row to work with early on, and it would not very consistently yield a sparkling clear light colored beer or ale until the discovery was eventually made to cut it with corn or rice. Though the cost situation may be quite different today, these adjuncts were originally used out of necessity, and not as a cost saving measure.

 

[skw]

Actually, german brewers used to have cats in the brewery just for the purpose of limiting problems with mice/rats. The resulting problem was the cats loved to sh!t in the grain then, but at least they didn't eat it. Heard this from Kai Troester, who read it in old german brewing publications.

I grew up on my grandpa's farm in Germany. Can't speak for brewers, but I can confirm that cats indeed mistake piles of grain for litter boxes.

 

[Dgallo]

I believe someone stated this earlier but if you’re new to all-grain brewing, I would focus more on learning the process and nailing your efficiency. Make some tried and true recipes until you understand how to build a grain bill based on your personal preferences. That way when you do try something new you will know for sure if it was/wasn’t an improvement and not dumb luck or a bad run

 

[BeerSavesLives]

I believe someone stated this earlier but if you’re new to all-grain brewing, I would focus more on learning the process and nailing your efficiency. Make some tried and true recipes until you understand how to build a grain bill based on your personal preferences. That way when you do try something new you will know for sure if it was/wasn’t an improvement and not dumb luck or a bad run

I do appreciate the reasoning in making a recipe that has been shown to result in a great beer but I have always been a forge your own path kind of guy. Never have I brewed a beer following a designed recipe. I have always researched recipes from the same style and then made my own recipes that reflect the same running themes and make sure to keep them in style if that's what I'm shooting for. I have yet to make a beer I can't drink. I feel like I've read enough brewing material to at least get a basic understanding of what each grain type is doing and how each impacts the beer in it's own light. So while I appreciate the suggestion, my question is would I really benefit more from trying an already formulated recipe and eventually tweaking it rather than started from my own and making adjustments on that? I understand the part about honing in on your efficiency but from all the things that I have read, people have brought the worst beer back from some big mistakes, so even if I do mess up at some point in the process (which I undoubtedly will) will it really be such a big deal to make my own mistake rather than someone elses? I just find it hard to spend money making copies when I started this hobby with the intent of creating something of my own.

But if there are some serious hurdles to jump in the difficulty gap from extract to all-grain, that would be enough to sway me to at least brew some settled recipes first. From what I've read and seen though, there isn't anything really different from extract brewing aside from letting grains steep in 145ish-160ish degree fahrneheit water for 60-90ish mintutes. Of course this is an oversimplification of the process but I will add all of the bells and whistles after I get a few batches down.

 

[Dgallo]

I went from extract and seeping grains doing half volume boils and then topping off to all grain. All grain is certainly more involved and more difficult than that. The entire mash/sparge will be new. Your hurdles would be not hitting your temps in mash and sparge. Your mash ph being incorrect. Water volumes being off. Getting a stuck mash or sparge. All fixable but all will impact your efficiency. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand wanting to do your own thing and experiment, which you will do continuously throughout this hobby, but there will be pitfalls during your first few all-gain that effect your efficiency. Also since you haven’t worked with 2-row as a basemalt you will not know if 6-row aided your beer in anyway.