The research I had done [...] This is what you get when you search the term.
No. You get 1,000,000+ returns, and you didn't pick one that explained it.
Yeast:
my biggest concern would be the baker's yeast, i tried it, ended up having to pour half my kegs out because of crappy flocculation.....
Yeah, same here. Please don't use baker's yeast for beer.
I don't know where you shop, but for example, these guys are well stocked, including yeast. There are many others:
http://www.ritebrew.com/category-s/1923.htmYou'd want US-05. 1 pouch is enough for 5-6 gallon batch up to 1.060 (perhaps even larger). Buy a few, they keep for years in the freezer. You can also repitch slurries from previous fermentations if you can keep things sanitary.
My local brew store 20' away has curb pickup on orders placed earlier that day. One of my brew friends picked up a sack of malt today, he's brewing tomorrow. Have you checked around?
could always resort to industrial enzymes...
Sure, but what's the fun of that?
... still could use a cereal mash for the corn too.....i know, i know, flaked....but still,
Absolutely necessary, I think I mentioned that in the other thread too. Gelatinization of the starches is crucial for the following mash to be successful. Otherwise, why do it at all?
Regardless of it being flaked/ground/milled, those corn pieces are rock hard. I boil the (bright) yellow "flaked" corn from the brewstore for an hour in water, it becomes corn soup. A cereal mash takes just as long, I'll do that next time, to see if there are a few more points to be eked out. Then add cold water and mash the rest of the grain bill in it.
also 1lb in a 5 gallon batch wouldn't add much gravity anyway....
Yeah, for only 1 pound it's hardly worth the bother. I seriously doubt even the OP would even notice it's in there when all is done.
Now 3 or 4 pounds of that corn does make it at least worthwhile. And he may be able to actually find/taste/see it in the final beer, but it will still be quite subtle though, unless it has a very unique flavor to bring to the beer party.
Together with 3-4 pounds of 2-row for the "mini-mash" he'd have 50-60% of his gravity just from those 2 already. That's an hour well spent.
So,
@dnr, if you want to do mini-mashes using some of those (exotic) raw grain varieties you listed before, don't forget to buy enough
milled 2-row malt for the next few batches. Remember, you need to match them pound for pound. Do you have a local shop with curbside or window pickup?