Feed store beer

[Kent88]

Well, I'm already on record saying this probably isn't a good idea. Best of luck to you. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Agent]

It's kind of a rhetorical question. Time is money, but it's obviously not a fixed cost. Everybody's time is worth what it's worth to them.

100%

I'll be honest in that I spend a lot of my time doing low-value things. Gardening, firewood, DIY everything, etc.

Of course I could also be on the shooting range where the dollar value of my free time would be profoundly negative.

But life is about valuing time in doing things you enjoy moreso than the strict dollar value.

 

[z-bob]

Unfortunately my local feed mill doesn't carry barley. They do have plenty of corn, wheat, and rye.

I home malted the wheat and rye which adds quite a bit more effort, but greatly improves its usability. I've used the corn numerous times, but the oil in the germ does affect head and the grain didn't store well. It's fine for spirits though...

With corn at $0.12/lb, wheat at $0.25/lb, and rye at $0.40/lb, you can certainly cut ingredient costs.

There it is. I was going to mention malting the grain yourself, but wanted to see if someone else said it first.

 

[mac_1103]

I did add a ton of enzymes

Which ones? Alpha amylase? Glucoamylase? Or both?

 

[MaxStout]

100%

I'll be honest in that I spend a lot of my time doing low-value things. Gardening, firewood, DIY everything, etc.

Of course I could also be on the shooting range where the dollar value of my free time would be profoundly negative.

But life is about valuing time in doing things you enjoy moreso than the strict dollar value.

Bracconiere was probably going the DIY malting route mainly to save some $$$, but I'd like to think he enjoyed it, too.

 

[B-Rad13]

It's got a pretty nice color

 

[AdjunctBrewer]

Good enough for my chickens good enough for me. Honestly this is what makes it fun for me just winging it following recipes and rules takes the fun out of it for me. So far I have done pretty good I haven't thrown away anything. The only thing I might throw away is the quick brew stuff I bought from more beer that stuff was no good well to be fair one was ok but one sucked don't ask me which was which

Being enamored with your own version of genius is ok, just have to remember we all sit on the shoulders of giants.

If you're ok with the money you've spent and you enjoy your process and the resulting beer, more power to you.

I think most folks in this thread would enjoy seeing pictures of the purchased grain (and the sacks it came in), and your process... milling the grains, the enzymes used, the mash and mash tun, boil kettle, fermenter etc...

They would also like to know more about your process, og, fg and fermenting temp - if measured. The water and yeast used and final beer sampling and pics.

It's not so much that you're doing something new or even unique, it is however out of the ordinary and perhaps inaccessible to folks in an urban environment with no access to feed grains.

You've in essence created your own recipe and the brewing process itself is a set of "rules" or steps that, out of necessity, are followed to make beer.

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

Wait and see if he dies first.

 

[InspectorJon]

Wait and see if he dies first.

Bracc did . . . or is it too soon to say that?

 

[Clint Yeastwood]

I just looked up "bracconiere." It's Italian for "poacher."

It's pronounced "bra-ko-nyerr-ay."

 

[Nate R]

Wait and see if he dies first.

Well.. i dunno... maybe we SHOULD have his reports now, just in case....?

 

[Nate R]

Bracc did . . . or is it too soon to say that?

Too soon.


Except that... i am 99% sure @braccy would have laughed his off,... so...... no? Not too soon!

 

[Nate R]

His primary goal seemed to be maximum alcohol for minimum cost.

Yes, 100% agree, as he stated this multiple times. However i think it also became like a game (a quest?) For him... just how much can he drive the costs down??
It was said once before (i think he even might have said it!). He was frugal, NOT cheap. (I saw him gift countless HBT memberships over the years!).

 

[B-Rad13]

Which ones? Alpha amylase? Glucoamylase? Or both?

I did both alpha and gluco

 

[MaxStout]

Yes, 100% agree, as he stated this multiple times. However i think it also became like a game (a quest?) For him... just how much can he drive the costs down??
It was said once before (i think he even might have said it!). He was frugal, NOT cheap. (I saw him gift countless HBT memberships over the years!).

Bracc was the Earl Muntz of brewing.

 

[madscientist451]

Is your time worth $0/hour?

My employer has provided unlimited overtime for the last 5+years. So If I take a day off work to brew some beer, go skiing or just sit in a lawn chair and watch the river roll by, its costing me a lot of money. Not everything in life is about dollars and cents. If the OP wants to brew with chicken feed, I say go for it and I'd like to hear about his experiments and try his brews.
To the OP: I probably would have gone with 33 to 50% malted to unmalted grain, but that's not based on any science, just conjecture.

 

[Tony B]

Well I did add a ton of enzymes on top of it. Well it's fermenting away Nicely

Best of luck with this brew. Please let us know how it turns out.

 

[mac_1103]

I did both alpha and gluco

Gluco is essentially thermonuclear warfare. You should expect a FG <1.

 

[InspectorJon]

Gluco is essentially thermonuclear warfare. You should expect a FG <1.

Gluco in the mash will leave some points. It will dry things out a lot more than without. I end up around 1.006 with a light beer I have been working on. The boil then denatures it. It only drives FG to zero or less if you put it in the fermentor.

 

[B-Rad13]

My employer has provided unlimited overtime for the last 5+years. So If I take a day off work to brew some beer, go skiing or just sit in a lawn chair and watch the river roll by, its costing me a lot of money. Not everything in life is about dollars and cents. If the OP wants to brew with chicken feed, I say go for it and I'd like to hear about his experiments and try his brews.
To the OP: I probably would have gone with 33 to 50% malted to unmalted grain, but that's not based on any science, just conjecture.

Depending how it turns out I might try it again without any malted grain and just enzymes. I'm really curious about the taste difference between malted and raw grains

 

[AdjunctBrewer]

Depending how it turns out I might try it again without any malted grain and just enzymes. I'm really curious about the taste difference between malted and raw grains

It's all been done before:

https://cool-cousin.com/

With the eco premise of saving water and producing less co2 by not requiring malting, however production of amylase enzymes also requires fermentation.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/raw-beer-100-unmalted-barley.674167/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/brewing-without-malt.698313/#post-9227615

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/brewing-with-non-malted-gf-grain.511380/

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/brewing-beer-without-malt-aka-maltless-brewing.316742/

 

[mac_1103]

Gluco in the mash will leave some points. It will dry things out a lot more than without. I end up around 1.006 with a light beer I have been working on. The boil then denatures it. It only drives FG to zero or less if you put it in the fermentor.

Depends on how long you mash/treat with enzyme. It's certainly possible to control glucoamylase by using it pre-boil, but it's also possible to convert everything without adding it to the fermenter. Not sure exactly what OP did - "cooked it for a couple of hours" isn't a lot to go on.

 

[InspectorJon]

Depends on how long you mash/treat with enzyme. It's certainly possible to control glucoamylase by using it pre-boil, but it's also possible to convert everything without adding it to the fermenter. Not sure exactly what OP did - "cooked it for a couple of hours" isn't a lot to go on.

So I have mashed wort with 60% pale 2 row malt plus rolled oats, malted oats and white wheat for 2 hours with gluco and can’t get it to ferment below 1.006. OG was 1.036. Do you have any recommendations on how to get it down a few more points without putting the enzyme in the fermenter?

 

[B-Rad13]

Bracconiere was probably going the DIY malting route mainly to save some $$$, but I'd like to think he enjoyed it, too.

I thought about malting but that seems like a lot of work.

 

[B-Rad13]

This was the yeast I used

 

[B-Rad13]

Here is the wheat I used

 

[B-Rad13]

Here is what they call crimped oats i guess they are like steam rolled

 

[B-Rad13]

Here is the whole oats

 

[beren]

Most feed grain is simply grain that hasn't had weed seeds removed from it. I have taken wheat and rye from my bins and used them to make beer. 2 row malted barley has sufficient enzymes to convert the starches in unmalted grain up to or over 50%.

And if not, maybe use some 6 row ;-)

 

[mac_1103]

So I have mashed wort with 60% pale 2 row malt plus rolled oats, malted oats and white wheat for 2 hours with gluco and can’t get it to ferment below 1.006. OG was 1.036. Do you have any recommendations on how to get it down a few more points without putting the enzyme in the fermenter?

No experience with oats or wheat (also not sure whether or why it would matter). But I can get a Brut IPA with corn and rice to ferment dry by mashing at <150F for an hour and then adding gluco and letting it go for another hour or more.

 

[AdjunctBrewer]

Looks like typical feed grade grain. Small kernel size and lots of chaff / weed seeds.

When you buy malt or seed grade grain you (typically) get plump kernels that have been run through a fanning mill other than the combine in the field.

With smaller kernel sizes it mostly likely requires mill adjustment and increasing the amount used in the recipe.

Looks clean as far as mycotoxins go but that requires lab test equipment. Visually you're looking for a red or white color fungus on the grain.

Be interesting to see some pictures of the crush on each of these grains.

 

[B-Rad13]

Looks like typical feed grade grain. Small kernel size and lots of chaff / weed seeds.

When you buy malt or seed grade grain you (typically) get plump kernels that have been run through a fanning mill other than the combine in the field.

With smaller kernel sizes it mostly likely requires mill adjustment and increasing the amount used in the recipe.

Looks clean as far as mycotoxins go but that requires lab test equipment. Visually you're looking for a red or white color fungus on the grain.

Be interesting to see some pictures of the crush on each of these grains.

I did have to crank down on my mill to get this to go through and it still didn't do great job on the barley I will do better on picture on my next run if this taste anything like a beer, I sampled it and it was pretty bitter.

 

[Kirkwooder]

I replace flaked corn with "chicken feed" cracked corn in every recipe that calls for it. I usually have a couple bags in the chicken coupe and it only costs $12 for #50 bag.

 

[AdjunctBrewer]

I replace flaked corn with "chicken feed" cracked corn in every recipe that calls for it. I usually have a couple bags in the chicken coupe and it only costs $12 for #50 bag.

1.) Flaked corn (steam rolled for pre-gelatinization)
2.) Cracked corn (milled corn)

Are two different forms of corn. #1 is ready to mash, #2 is not suitable for a mash unless the starches are made more accessible by raising to 150F - 212F (i.e. boiling) for 30 - 60 minutes and then conducting a cereal mash - or - perhaps using some enzymes (in the mash) but even then it would require more corn and time to get the same extract as properly prepared corn.

In other words, the amount of extract contributed by the cracked corn is negligible compared to a properly prepared corn (gelatinzed).

 

[B-Rad13]

Update for anyone who cares. Everything seemed to have turned out right except the beer is extremely bitter. I even tried mixing 50 50 with another Beer and still it was way too bitter. The hops I used said low alpha acids in the 5s Gemini and cashmere but I guess I used way too much in my boil so I am taking the beer and I will distill it today and see what I get. I'll update later

 

[fluketamer]

how long did you boil the hops?

 

[Dland]

How many ounces of hops for what volume of brew? If not over hopped, wondering if bitter taste could be from tannins from the grain & chaff.

 

[fluketamer]

i was thinking the same since he said he boiled for "a couple of hours" i was wondering if the tannins could have caused bitterenss also.

 

[B-Rad13]

Yea this is what happens when you just winging it. I will try again with a little more precision

 

[mac_1103]

I will distill it today and see what I get

I'm certainly no expert, but I have read that distilling hopped beer isn't a great idea. Maybe the alpha acids come off with the ethanol?