Is Roasted Barley Cracked?

[jeremyjudd]

I'd like to buy and roast my own barley, but I cannot find anywhere online that discusses whether you should roast cracked or whole barley. I've found cooking times, etc, but no word on whether it's whole or cracked.

Anyone know? Thanks!

 

[mbird]

If you're making roasted barley you will need raw barley to roast and you should not mill or (crack) it before hand.
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Beer Diary...

 

[david_42]

Whole, if you cracked it, the pieces wouldn't roast uniformly.

 

[WorryWort]

I do not know, but I have to ask why you would want to roast your own barley being that you can buy superior roasted barley for the same price as unroasted - which you'd need to start with anyway? I think it will be tough to do as good a job as the maltsters' do. But power to ya!

 

[jeremyjudd]

No homebrew store nearby and I wanted to get started asap. Good question though.

 

[double_e5]

I do not know, but I have to ask why you would want to roast your own barley being that you can buy superior roasted barley for the same price as unroasted - which you'd need to start with anyway? I think it will be tough to do as good a job as the maltsters' do. But power to ya!

Why do you make your own beer when you can just buy beer for around the same price?

 

[snailsongs]

Why do you make your own beer when you can just buy beer for around the same price?

exactly! and I think 'superior' is in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes I'm left wishing that there was less uniformity (read more 'unique character') across todays modern ingredients, and roasting your own is the answer I come to. It's fun, too.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I do not know, but I have to ask why you would want to roast your own barley

One reason I do it is because it's fun futzing around experimenting to get the right flavour/colour etc: It is not inferior to buying store bought at all if you can accurately repeat a successful roast. It's still barley.

Another reason I am doing it is so that all I need to brew 30 gallons of my house ale is one sack of malt and nothing else. I am growing my own hops and washing my yeast. Apart from the very occasional order to replace stock that I can't keep up with yet it is a great sense of freedom to know that I am good to go at any time because I will always have the fresh ingredients to hand. (At least where my bitter recipe is concerned)

 

[WorryWort]

you see - these are all great answers, and exactly why i asked.

"Why do you make your own beer when you can just buy beer for around the same price?" - This one however is not true for me (in Canada). I cannot, in anyway, buy beer for around the same price as what I can make it for. Furthermore, it is very hard to find certain styles so I make em' myself.

As long as no one is glass-blowing their own carboys I'm cool with whatever you want to do!

Cheers!

(EDIT: Somebody with too much time on their hands probably got offended by that last sentence)

 

[jeremyjudd]

Wait, how do you blow your own glass carboy? Can I put a little ship inside mine so everyone will ask how it got there? Or wait... even better, can i blow it into the shape of a beer bottle? Because that would be awesome..

 

[william_shakes_beer]

OOh, I get it! I get it! I get it! When armageddeon comes, he's gonna be ready to reconstitute the entire brewing industry. I like!!!