How to identify flavor impact of grains without actually brewing with them?

[mmonacel]

Here's what I'd like to do:

I'd like to be able to "taste" the grains for myself and determine what kind of flavor contribution / impact they would impart without actually going through an entire brew day. For instance would crushing and either cold or hot steeping certain grains in water provide you with a flavor profile that would be representative of how that flavor would come through after a typical boil?

Say I have a recipe I like, but I want to tweak it and find out what some Crystal 60 would contribute to it. Can I steep C60 and get a sense as to what kinds of flavors it would end up adding or not really?

Ideally, I'd just brew up another batch with that in it or run a SMaSH batch, wait the few weeks, and then find out for myself. Unfortunately I simply don't have time for that kind of experimenting. I'm looking to expedite my palate knowledge of various grains, etc. to help inform my recipe formulation.

 

[Revvy]

Get a french press coffee pot, and make some grain teas.

You could even scale down your grain bill to that size via percentages and taste some blends.

 

[Zeal]

You could just eat a grain of that grain type to determine what flavors it may add.

 

[Revvy]

Basic Brewing video also did a series of interesting videos on the topic.

January 28, 2008 - Specialty Grains
James and Steve steep up some specialty grains to compare how they look and taste.

click to view Mp-4Flash

May 15, 2008 - Base Malt Experiment
We get unexpected results when we compare unhopped beers made with three different base malts.

click to view Mp-4Flash

May 28, 2008 - Base Malt Experiment II
Our Base Malt Experiment continues as we compare beer with and wtihout hops.

click to view Mp-4Flash

August 8, 2008 - Base Malt Experiment III
It's the final installment of the Base Malt Experiment as we use liquid yeast to ferment beers made with and without hops.

click to view Mp-4Flash

 

[bruin_ale]

I know you asked about how to tell before you've actually brewed - but even when you brew with them it can sometimes be hard to tell what that half pound of whatever malt is bringing to the table. I've had it suggested to me that brewing small batches of beer where you go a overboard with a particular grain can train your pallet to identify particular flavors. Once you've identified a flavor, you can pick it out when it's more subtly blended into a more balanced beer. I've noticed that with particular off-flavors I've had, I can identify those when they are barely present - ie. I brewed a pale ale that fermented in the heat of summer and tasted like banana - now I can taste even the slightest hint of banana where it may otherwise be hidden to someone that hadn't tasted that before.

 

[mmonacel]

Awesome - just what I was looking for. Thanks!