I have an unlimited supply of unmalted barley

[lurker18]

Now I need some advice on what to do with it. I can get all the 2 and 6 row unmalted maltster selected barley that I want. I know I can start to malt it on my own, but that won't be happening anytime soon with the winter coming. What styles use unmalted barley. I have heard some stouts use it to thicken the body, and some of the wit beers use unmalted for haze. Where I work gives me the choice of all the unmalted grains that I can carry, so if there are also suggestions for unmalted wheat, rye, oats, durum wheat, please add them too.

 

[devilishprune]

You can do this, and one of your options is to use amylase enzyme in the mash to break down the starches present in the unmalted barley. Since unmalted grains haven't developed these enzymes, you have to put them in yourself.

Another option is to use part unmalted grains with part malted grains (enough so that the enzymes present will convert the unmalted stuff).

I have heard of all of those being used, except for durum wheat.

 

[lurker18]

Thanks. What would be the recommendations for % of malt that could be replaced by unmalted barley.

For the Durum wheat, I am planing on using it in a wheat beer this winter. Durum flour when baked has a very nutty taste to it, but not sure what it will be like in the unmalted form in a beer. I guess if it is no good, it doesn't cost me much but time and a pack of yeast.

 

[drummstikk]

Hi Lurker,
Where/how do you have access to unmalted barley?

 

[shelly_belly]

Roasted barley is unmalted. You up to roasting some?

 

[lurker18]

Hi Lurker,
Where/how do you have access to unmalted barley?

I work for the Canadian Gov't and we inspect every malt railcar going into port and every vessle goig out, so I get the samples after they are done with. The nice thing about this is it has already been chosen as malt quality, so if it is good enough to export to the maltsters, I guess I could use it.

 

[drummstikk]

Revive: Lurker, you can malt that stuff any time of year. Did you get around to playing around with some?

 

[wrench]

I'm also curious if anything came of this. If it were me, I'd start by trying to roast some as specialty grain. I'd recommend doing it outdoors for anything on the darker side. Roasting can throw off some strong smells and even some smoke.

 

[lurker18]

I have not done much with this, as I can get it every day of the year, so I am not in a panic. I do throw a pound or two of unmalted barley and wheat into almost every batch that I make, but I have not done a side by side to compare which is better. I may try roasting some this summer, I finally have a BBQ that is big enough to do it.
If I really wanted to, I could also get the enzymes from work to experiment with, but i have tasted several beers with 100% unmalted barley plus enzymes, and they are lacking something. Using 50/50 gets you very close to a drinkable beer, and not many would be able to tell the difference.

 

[lurker18]

Revive: Lurker, you can malt that stuff any time of year. Did you get around to playing around with some?

Coming from a Southerner. Up here we have had a very mild winter, only a few time did it get to -30 C (-22F), and I don't think malting does so good when it is frozen. If I did do my own malting, I think most of it would be done outdoors.

 

[rockfish42]

Here's an excellent thread on the subject, there used to be some good info from an Australian podcast but they pulled their archives.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/happiness-home-malting-107409/