Dry stout specialty grain question

[Steveruch]

I hope to actually brew one of these for St. Pat's day this coming year. I plan to do extract with specialty grains, specifically roast barley and flaked barley.
Can I just steep them or do I need to add some 2-row and do a mini mash?

 

[Yooper]

You can steep roasted barley, but should add some two-row for the flaked barley (otherwise you'd just get a starch haze from the flaked barley). If you add the same amount of two-row to your mash as you have specialty grains, that would be fine.

 

[Miraculix]

What´s the reason for the flaked barley? Imo, that does not add much to the taste and is not worth the hustle if you do not do a mash anyway. Just use some light extract and steep some roast barley und you´re good.

 

[Yooper]

What´s the reason for the flaked barley? Imo, that does not add much to the taste and is not worth the hustle if you do not do a mash anyway. Just use some light extract and steep some roast barley und you´re good.

Flaked barley gives great body (not common in a dry stout, but not a bad idea), and a nice tan rocky head that lasts forever.

 

[Steveruch]

What´s the reason for the flaked barley? Imo, that does not add much to the taste and is not worth the hustle if you do not do a mash anyway. Just use some light extract and steep some roast barley und you´re good.

Partly because of head retention and partly because what's an Irish stout without it?

 

[Miraculix]

I also heard this head retention thing but never eperienced it in my beers in a side by side comparison. Flaked wheat helped and wheat malt does as well though. I think the flaked barley was introduced into Irish stouts, just because it was cheaper than malt.