Buckwheat questions

[Spoon184]

So I malted my on buckwheat based off the directions here http://www.glutenfreecraftbeer.com/#!__malting-buckwheat
I currently have 10lbs malted and plan on using all of that plus some candi syrup to produce a type of brown of some sort(still working on that)

The article on malting didn't go into great detail on grinding the grains. I have seen different threads on grinding Quinoa and other small grains and it sounds like they grind them down close to a flour texture. Is this the same for Buckwheat? I currently have a corona grinder.

Also my next question is the mash schedule I have seen different ones and the one from the site that I found was just 148-152 for 45-60 mins.

I've also seen people that use different enzymes at different points to extract more sugars.

Question is how small to I grind the buckwheat? What mash schedule do I use? What is a good enzyme to use and when?

Thanks in advanced!

 

[glutenfree]

I usually try not to grind it to a flour but sometimes (especially if you used groats) it just isnt possible to keep it from happening. I give it a nice Beta-glucan rest at around 40 C for 25 mins with a protein rest at 55 C for 25 mins, this is andrew lavery's method of using gluten free grains. I also usually hold my mash at 65 C for 90 mins and add a little amylase enzymes in the mash as well because of the low enzymatic strength of home malted and gluten free grains. following andrew lavery's mash scheduel i have managed to brew with tons of different GF grains and have success. amounts of water used are based on grain bill of course.

1. Adjust water pH to 6.0 with citric acid.
2. Heat 7.0 lt water to 43C and mix in crushed malt.
3. Add 1/8 tsp of sodium metabisulphite for oxidation control.
4. Beta-glucan rest at 40C for 25 minutes, stir every 10 min.
5. Mash pH settles out to 5.4 – OK.
6. Infuse mash with 3.0 lt of boiling water.
7. Protein rest at 55C for 25 minutes, allow it to settle for last 15 min.
8. Decant off 3.0 lt of clear liquid from the top of the mash.
9. Place the decanted liquid in the fridge.
10. Infuse mash with 2.0 lt of boiling water.
11. Heat mash to 70C and hold for 20 minutes for partial conversion.
12. Bring to boil and hold for 5 minutes.
13. Cool mash to 70C.
14. Add decanted liquid to mash to achieve mash temp of 65C.
15. Hold 65C for 90 minutes.

 

[glutarded-chris]

My advice is to cereal mash the buckwheat first! Otherwise the buckwheat turns to goo and will make wart separation a mess.

I like buckwheat because of the body and head retention. Others say it does not add much taste, but I use it in patial mash and i think it smooths out the sorghum twang nicely. I use it in combination with millet at about 30% buckwheat.

 

[EvanLouis]

Adjusting water Ph is different depending on where you are correct?

 

[igliashon]

To get any significant fermentables out of buckwheat, a decoction mash or enzymes are necessary. Malted buckwheat has a gelatinization temperature that is significantly higher than the temperature at which the amylases become denatured. Andrew Lavery's general process should suffice.

If you malted the buckwheat with the hulls intact, you'll want to crush down to a coarse grit consistency. My advice is to use a roller mill and make two passes, as the first pass will separate the grain from the husk and the second pass will crush the grain to the appropriate fineness. If the hulls are not on the grain, might as well grind to a fine grit or coarse flour consistency, you're gonna have a nightmare lautering on your hands anyway and are gonna need a f***-ton of rice hulls, so grind fine to increase extraction.

I suspect that you will be disappointed with the flavor and diastatic power of pale-malt buckwheat, though. If my experience with Colorado Malting Company's buckwheat malt is any indicator, about the only way to coax any flavor out of it is to make crystal malt…but even that doesn't do much, considering very little saccharification takes place during the crystal-making process so you don't get much in the way of caramelized sugars. The only use I have for buckwheat in my beers is unmalted as an adjunct to improve head retention (the malted stuff doesn't do as well in that regard due to changes in protein contents), or else roasted really dark, as a stand-in for Briess "Midnight Wheat" to impart a smooth roast character to darker beers.

You are much better off malting quinoa if you have to malt something at home. It's more expensive, but its diastatic power is much better than buckwheat and it would appear that certain kinds can be mashed without decoction. I will say, though--the sprouted quinoa you can find at some healthfood stores is NO SUB for proper quinoa malt.

Malting your own millet requires getting your hands on white proso millet with the hull intact--I've never been able to find any on the retail market. Malting your own sorghum…well, I can't even find sorghum in any form but syrup anywhere in the continental US on the retail market. Quinoa is really the only retail-accessible grain that seems to offer the right properties for a base malt, though I don't have any personal experience malting it, myself.

But don't let me discourage you, you've got this buckwheat, you want to use it for something, give it a whirl…but plan to add sugars or extracts to get your gravity anywhere in a reasonable range.

 

[Osedax]

A lot of farmers call sorghum "milo". You might find it at a feed store. I can find it all over in PA. Sorghum is popular with the Amish. I've used milo malt from CMC. Wouldn't recommend...

Millet is the best and quinoa is a close runner up. Good luck though! :rockin: You might be the first to have real success out of buckwheat.

 

[igliashon]

Osedax--curious about your experience with CMC's milo…I've got a sample on the way, since they're selling it cheaper than any of their other malts, and if nothing else it looks "cost-effective" in terms of gravity points per $. What didn't you like about it? Flavor? Mash performance?

 

[Osedax]

I sort of ruined that batch. This was way back on my old propane system. I used malted rice and milo. The propane ran out half way through and my other tank failed. Ended up dumping all the hops in. I then decided to ferment the low gravity batch with Brett c from white labs. Came out strange at best. Low body and harsh. The rice gave almost nothing. Still tastes like sorghum twang and metal.

If mixed with other grains, it could definitely be a source of cheap gravity points. A higher mash temp is needed but easy lautering. I think I will try another batch and cut the milo with some grouse malt. I have a bunch of both.

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[EvanLouis]

Igliashon, do you grind the unmalted buckwheat and add it in the mash?

 

[igliashon]

I grind and then cereal-mash unmalted buckwheat, when I use it. Then I add the cereal-mashed porridge to the main mash. I'm tinkering with a white IPA recipe that uses a fair amount of buckwheat, as well as flaked quinoa, to get a really nice creamy head.

 

[EvanLouis]

What's a good cereal mash time/heat for buckwheat?

 

[igliashon]

I'd get it as close to boiling as you are comfortable, and then rest it for 10 minutes at least.

 

[EvanLouis]

Awesome. I don't yet have a corona mill but I do have a food processor. Will that suffice?

 

[Osedax]

Probably not but try.
Buckwheat is fairly large. I would do a test run first.

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[igliashon]

You will most likely ruin your food processor if you try to crush any appreciable amount of it. You'd be better off with a cheap coffee/spice grinder. Or a mortar and pestle!