Beer without malt

[Ninoid]

Does anyone try to make beer without malt?
For example, cereals (flaked barley or wheat) for body and simple sugar for alcohol?

 

[day_trippr]

You wouldn't be able to actually convert the adjuncts in such a concoction, so what you'd end up with would be a starch-laden alcoholic something that would not be "beer"...

Cheers!

 

[Kent88]

That sounds like it wouldn't work so well. I don't see many beer brewers going above 10%-15% simple sugar in a beer, I assume because the flavor gets weird if you use more. Plus there would be a big lack of enzymes, which might be an issue if you use a lot of cereal grains to get some kind of grain flavor.

 

[Ninoid]

Homebrewing hoped no boil extracts from can is 1,5kg and use 1kg simple sugars in additions.
This is cca 40% of simple sugar.

I find this old thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/brewing-with-raw-barley-and-enzymes.509225/

 

[Lefou]

You might find more information in the Gluten Free Brewing threads ...

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I am interested in someday using other starches to make beer like beverages. I have a big mesquite tree in my back yard. The pods are sweet and mildly bitter. Maybe add some sage or jojoba if additional bittering was needed. The main starch would be local grown fresh corn. But I will probably use amylase if I try it, that way the starches actually convert. I might try making a low ABV mesquite beer, but I need to be careful because the little black seeds in the pods have poisons in them.

 

[Ninoid]

Honestly, I did not mean to make beer without barley and hops, but without malted barley.
For example, the first thing that comes to mind, take unmalted barley (crushed barley for cattle food) and put it on the protein rest in mash for half an hour and then continue normally as with malt.

Was this someone who tried?

 

[Yooper]

Honestly, I did not mean to make beer without barley and hops, but without malted barley.
For example, the first thing that comes to mind, take unmalted barley (crushed barley for cattle food) and put it on the protein rest in mash for half an hour and then continue normally as with malt.

Was this someone who tried?

You would need something to convert the starch. You could use malted grains, or add amylase enzymes.

 

[RM-MN]

You would need something to convert the starch. You could use malted grains, or add amylase enzymes.

Without something like the enzymes in malted barley to convert the starches you end up with a starchy booze that would be called "hooch", not beer.

 

[Miraculix]

@Legume invented quite a well working system with alpha and beta Amylase using unmalted millet as the base grain. This should also work well with unmalted barley. You can find more information on this topic in the gluten free forum!