Barley puffs instead of flakes

[smilingbender]

Hi,

I wanted to dry out a recipe of an Irish Stout which called for barley flakes. I couldn't find barley flakes but I got my hands on barley puffs. I wanted to know whether the puffs are a suitable substitution for the flakes. It says on the packet that the ingredient is just barley grains. Roasted Barley Puffs, it says.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[mrdail87]

Never heard of barley puffs, I'm afraid. Actually, I did a Google search for "roasted barley puffs" in quotes and this post is the only result lol.

Could you post a picture of them? And maybe a few pics of the packaging? The package might give some clues as to what goes into making them.

 

[IslandLizard]

Sounds like they're torrified, treated with hot air to gelatinize the starches. That way you don't have to do a cereal mash with them.

If they're roasted, how dark are they?

Alternatively you could do a cereal mash with milled unmalted barley, either kernels or rolled. I'm not really sure what the flaked or rolled raw barley adds that you can't get from (malted) 2-row. Perhaps mouthfeel and foam retention?

 

[smilingbender]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1417875967.662666.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[smilingbender]

Never heard of barley puffs, I'm afraid. Actually, I did a Google search for "roasted barley puffs" in quotes and this post is the only result lol.

Could you post a picture of them? And maybe a few pics of the packaging? The package might give some clues as to what goes into making them.

Yeah I've posted a picture of what it looks like. I read both the processes of making flakes and puffs. The initial procedure looks like the same. But flakes contain some moisture while puffs contain very less moisture.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[IslandLizard]

Yup, they're torrified, like wheat or rice puffs. The roast is very light, so you could use them, as long as they aren't stale. But there's not much in that package...

Strange you can get this "fancy" cereal product and not raw barley kernels or rolled flakes. You have no location listed, where in the world are you?

 

[smilingbender]

Never heard of barley puffs, I'm afraid. Actually, I did a Google search for "roasted barley puffs" in quotes and this post is the only result lol.

Could you post a picture of them? And maybe a few pics of the packaging? The package might give some clues as to what goes into making them.

Yeah I've posted a picture of them. I actually read about both the processes of making flakes and puffs and the processes seemed similar. The difference is that flakes contain some moisture while puffs contain very little moisture.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[smilingbender]

Yeah I've posted a picture of them. I actually read about both the processes of making flakes and puffs and the processes seemed similar. The difference is that flakes contain some moisture while puffs contain very little moisture.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[IslandLizard]

What happened to the picture? It disappeared!

Ah it's there, higher up.

 

[smilingbender]

Yup, they're torrified, like wheat or rice puffs. The roast is very light, so you could use them, as long as they aren't stale. But there's not much in that package...

Strange you can get this "fancy" cereal product and not raw barley kernels or rolled flakes. You have no location listed, where in the world are you?

Hahahaha! I'm from India. I CAN order for barley flakes online but I just got these easily. So you mean to say torrified barley is the same as barley puffs? I guess I'll try using these in one batch. Maybe a small quantity as a trial!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[IslandLizard]

India, OK, we get your country's products here in Indian specialty/spice shops. Love them.

How much does your recipe call for? Are you doing an all grain or extract brew? For a 5 gallons batch you'd need at least a pound to notice the difference, even 2# is not too much.

 

[smilingbender]

India, OK, we get your country's products here in Indian specialty/spice shops. Love them.

How much does your recipe call for? Are you doing an all grain or extract brew? For a 5 gallons batch you'd need at least a pound to notice the difference, even 2# is not too much.

Hehe..I know that our spices can be very 'burning' in the morning!

Yes I'm doing a 5 gal batch. The recipe calls for 2 lb of barley flakes. But now I've got puffs. And the packet of puffs which you saw weighs a 100 grams (3.5 oz). They are very very light in weight. Which means I'll need around 10 packets of these


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[IslandLizard]

I like hot and spicy food. Makes me feel alive and energetic.

Here's a discussion of why they use raw barley in beer/stouts. It is indeed for head retention and body/mouthfeel.

You are doing all-grain right? Cause these puffs need to be mashed to get the starches to convert to sugar.

 

[mrdail87]

Sounds like they're torrified, treated with hot air to gelatinize the starches. That way you don't have to do a cereal mash with them.

If they're roasted, how dark are they?

Alternatively you could do a cereal mash with milled unmalted barley, either kernels or rolled. I'm not really sure what the flaked or rolled raw barley adds that you can't get from (malted) 2-row. Perhaps mouthfeel and foam retention?

Yep, Flaked Barley is for mouthful and head retention.

You could try a cereal mash as lizard suggested, but I can't guarantee how the puffs will work out.

I'd really suggest substituting it with something like oats or carapils.

 

[IslandLizard]

Yep, Flaked Barley is for mouthful and head retention.

You could try a cereal mash as lizard suggested, but I can't guarantee how the puffs will work out.

I'd really suggest substituting it with something like oats or carapils.

The beauty of torrified grains is they do NOT need to be cereal mashed. The heat puffed them up breaking the starch matrix, so water and enzymes can easily get to the starches which are now readily available for them to gnaw on.

The cost of torrified products is higher than raw, rolled, or flaked, so that's the trade off. They do have a slight biscuity taste to them, which is advantageous. But they also stale quicker because of the larger surface exposure to air.

Definitely taste them before buying a larger amount.

They still need to be milled and mashed as usual, though, or he'd be adding a whole lot of starch to his kettle. Hence the double check.