- Joined
- Feb 16, 2012
- Messages
- 3,364
- Reaction score
- 4,275
- Location
- Either in the brewery or on the road
So I came across this 'new' product being marketed by Northern Brewer and was curious if anyone has tried it or brewed with it. The Briess website has an interesting PowerPoint slideshow presentation of the grain and I think I'd be interested in doing a pilot brew to see if there's anything behind the hype. What it appears to be is a custom crush that separates most of the husk material from the endosperm and acrospires of the individual grains and boosts the friability of the mash by about 20%. The lack of husks decreases tannins and results in a sweeter, maltier wort with a higher brix per unit of volume, so you can produce higher gravity beers with less grist. The coarseness of the crush doesn't diminish the extraction of sugars, while also allowing a greater amount of gummy adjuncts like wheat or oats without getting a stuck sparge (they claim up to 50% wheat with no slowing of the lauter).
Apparently the process (endosperm mashing) has been around for a few hundred years in German brewing but there are limited references in the brewing literature. I know I'd never heard of it before. Maybe what's old is new again? Anyway, just curious if anybody has any experience with this grain. They claim that it has applications not only in high gravity beers but also in session brews, which is the hook that piqued my interest. I'm thinking a hoppy IPA ( >45 IBUs, < 4.5% ABV) with 20% oats/wheat/maltodextrin to lend mouthfeel and body. Thoughts or suggestions?
Apparently the process (endosperm mashing) has been around for a few hundred years in German brewing but there are limited references in the brewing literature. I know I'd never heard of it before. Maybe what's old is new again? Anyway, just curious if anybody has any experience with this grain. They claim that it has applications not only in high gravity beers but also in session brews, which is the hook that piqued my interest. I'm thinking a hoppy IPA ( >45 IBUs, < 4.5% ABV) with 20% oats/wheat/maltodextrin to lend mouthfeel and body. Thoughts or suggestions?