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I must admit that I was initially pretty skeptical about the benefits of spelt over, say, oats or common wheat, but since more and more posts keep popping up on this subject, you have me definitely intrigued.
I am a wheat breeder by trade so here my 2 cents on the spelt/wheat discussion:
It is true that the two crops are very, very closely related. You can actually intercross them without problems and the progeny will be perfectly fertile. So yes, they are basically the same species.
Analyses of their DNA profiles revealed a rich history of interbreeding, and it is definitely not possible to draw a clear separation line.
That said, at least on an average level there are some notable differences between the two.
For instance, even though spelt has a generally higher protein content, the protein composition is different than that of wheat, and it is difficult to get a satisfactory bread making quality out of pure spelt flour. There are differences related to other grain components as well, that I am much less familiar with...
So it is not unreasonable to believe that it may also impart different qualities to beer, as compared to wheat.
As said I was skeptical at first, because often times one has trouble detecting differences between grains that are much farther apart, e.g. barley/oats, wheat/oats and so on. But after reading these last posts I have now included spelt in my next NEIPA grain bill too.
@Dgallo , @Noob_Brewer and others spelt users, do you use malted or raw spelt? (Did not see it explicitly mentioned if I am not mistaken).
Thanks!
I am a wheat breeder by trade so here my 2 cents on the spelt/wheat discussion:
It is true that the two crops are very, very closely related. You can actually intercross them without problems and the progeny will be perfectly fertile. So yes, they are basically the same species.
Analyses of their DNA profiles revealed a rich history of interbreeding, and it is definitely not possible to draw a clear separation line.
That said, at least on an average level there are some notable differences between the two.
For instance, even though spelt has a generally higher protein content, the protein composition is different than that of wheat, and it is difficult to get a satisfactory bread making quality out of pure spelt flour. There are differences related to other grain components as well, that I am much less familiar with...
So it is not unreasonable to believe that it may also impart different qualities to beer, as compared to wheat.
As said I was skeptical at first, because often times one has trouble detecting differences between grains that are much farther apart, e.g. barley/oats, wheat/oats and so on. But after reading these last posts I have now included spelt in my next NEIPA grain bill too.
@Dgallo , @Noob_Brewer and others spelt users, do you use malted or raw spelt? (Did not see it explicitly mentioned if I am not mistaken).
Thanks!
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