Roasting grains at home!

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brewdude22

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I have an idea and am wondering if anyone out there does this. Does anyone roast/toast there own grains? I want to roast some flaked oats for a stout it would be fun but not sure what flavors it would give and would deferent roasting temps effect the taste?
 
^Yes, that's a great reference. I recently brewed with two batches of home roasted grain. The first endured a light toast of about 300F for 15 minutes. The second was a much deeper brown malt profile, 400F for 45 minutes.

Definitely heed the advice to let these roasted grains rest for a few weeks (not days) before brewing with them. I can attest from the two batches I used that this is very true. My lightly toasted batch was used the next day in an English pale ale. The resulting beer has a lingering burnt character that is starting to mellow with time, but which doesn't belong in the beer. Conversely, the second batch - brown malt - was rested in a plastic bag for just over a month. It helped produce a smooth, rich porter. Big difference!
 
Awesome sounds like a good time. Could make for some interesting taste test table talk!
 
If it comes out much darker than say Munich (~10°L) I'd say it'd be safest to assume it has no diastatic power...
[malted grain, not unmalted oats]

Cheers!
 
I think I am going to start out by lightly roasting 2 lbs of flaked oats 350 until like a good 15l then let them mellow for two weeks. Tasting here and there and taking notes on a time line then after I find the taste I want I will log it and brew an oatmeal stout and see how it works out.
 
I live in a small town in rural Alaska and the nearest LHBS with any variety in specialty grains is a two day drive away. Although I can get almost anything I need via mail order, I have found that it is almost always easier, and more convenient, to do it myself. Chapter 20 in "How to Brew" by John Palmer (referenced above) gives you all the information you need to know if you want to get started roasting grains yourself. With a good constant-temperature oven and careful timing you can easily get your grains toasted to the desired Lovibond (I'm not there yet). Like everything else in homebrewing, it is more satisfying when you have brewed a batch where you have controlled the entire process.

Cheers :mug:
 
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