Roasted Barley Dilemma

[Orpheus]

I'm making Papazian's Palilalia IPA recipe tomorrow. The original calls for .5 lb. toasted malted barley. I order two row and specified it not be crushed.

Well, they sent it to me crushed. Should I still go ahead and toast it anyway or just forego the toasting altogether?

The recipe says to toast the WHOLE barley and then to add the CRUSHED barley to the recipe.

Worst case scenario, I'll just add some nice two row into the mix, but if toasting it crushed is really going to mess with the sugars or bitterness or anything, I'd rather not risk it..?

 

[david_42]

I'm a bit puzzled. Do you have both crushed & uncrushed malted barley? Based on my cooking experiences, I'd say go ahead and toast the half pound, but watch it closely it will probably toast faster. Toasting adds a browned starch flavor, which is neither sugar or bitterness. I suspect since the grain is crushed, it will also leach starches that will convert (if you have untoasted 2-row) and raise your gravity slightly. If you are steeping, it might cause a starch haze.

 

[Orpheus]

David,

Yes I ordered 1 # crystal malt and 1 # two row. I specified that the crystal be crushed and the two row be whole so I could toast it. Well, they were overzealous (NB) and crushed both.

I'm going to go ahead and toast it anyway. As you said, I'll just make sure it's for a little less time and I'll keep a very close eye on it.

Thanks for the advice!