"Toasting" grain with a blowtorch?

[TimpanogosSlim]

Back in November, my 2nd brew ever was a 1 gallon batch of Happy Wife Pale Ale.

Part of that recipe is to take a percentage of the base malt and toast it in the oven for 15 minutes.

I figured I'd use my toaster oven since it was, what, 6oz of 2-row? So i lined the little pan with tinfoil, measured out some grain, and shoved it into the toaster oven.

Some minutes later i noticed smoke pouring out, and then noticed that my (broken) toaster oven was set to "toast", and the duration was set to "stay on" which is the only one it knows about now.

That batch was GREAT. That batch inspired my little brother to start homebrewing as well.

Subsequent batches were not as good.

I tried doing it in my regular oven at the recommended 350f for 15 minutes. Boring.

I tried tossing the grain in my wok over high heat. Bitter.

I tried doing the same burning job in the toaster oven, but there were mishaps with that batch and it got dumped.

Since then I've been making some different beers and wondering what really happened in that toaster oven and how best to achieve the same effect.

I think that my grain bag got pretty well shook up, which would have meant that what i put in the toaster oven was mostly hulls and whatever endosperm was stuck to the hulls -- because i scooped off the top of the bag.

Moreover, I shook the pan to get it to settle. This means that the starchier bits were on the bottom of the pan with two layers of metal between them and the bottom heating element, but the hulls on the top were getting direct radiated heat from the top heating element.

When i did the wok trick, I burnt starch rather than hull.

That first batch of burnt grain had hulls that were black with white tips. Way burnt. Carbonized and then some.

So what I'm thinking about now is taking either the base malt or the whole grain bill, putting it into a metal bucket, agitating it until the hulls rise to the top, and then just giving the surface a quick but brutal scorching with my propane blowtorch.

Thoughts?

 

[DannPM]

If you can put this into a few sentences I'll take stab at it. Too much to read after this many drinks...lol

 

[cockybitz]

Perhaps the moisture content of the grain came into play. Otherwise, I would think that you should be able to get a good toasting of grains in your standard oven, but 15 minutes is not very much time to toast something in a standard oven. The wok, being a metal surface probably burned too deeply on the outer layers since it had substance to facilitate heat transfer. Either turn the wok down, or let it toast in your regular oven for longer. As far as your toaster oven, I really don't have much to comment on. Is the level of the tray at the same height? Is your fan working correctly? Bitterness comes from toasting of the husks. There is a certain specialty grain that has the husk removed to give the robust toasted taste without the bitterness caused in the toasting process.

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

No fan in my toaster oven. I don't have a good idea of how long the grain was really in there.

The rack is basically in the middle of the toaster oven.

That batch had a roasty tone with this malty note that came in on the back-end in a way i haven't been able to duplicate.

It's also possible that i used english 2-row instead of american, or, something. Confusion of being a n00b.

 

[thejakester]

I would avoid using a propane blowtorch because it very well may imparted propane taste to your grain. However I would use the broil function of your oven, and slightly move your rack to the point where you believe that you are burning hulls yet toasting the starch. It is much more controled then a blowtorch.furthermore it would be interesting if those hulls trapped moisture in with the starch in the original toaster situation cooking it diferently. if this moisture was trapped in the first case it would not be replicated with the speedy work with a blowtorch and you would not have the taste you want. I think the hulls acted as a carbon blanket cooking the grians beneth.

 

[TimpanogosSlim]

I would avoid using a propane blowtorch because it very well may imparted propane taste to your grain. However I would use the broil function of your oven, and slightly move your rack to the point where you believe that you are burning hulls yet toasting the starch. It is much more controled then a blowtorch.furthermore it would be interesting if those hulls trapped moisture in with the starch in the original toaster situation cooking it diferently. if this moisture was trapped in the first case it would not be replicated with the speedy work with a blowtorch and you would not have the taste you want. I think the hulls acted as a carbon blanket cooking the grians beneth.

The grain may have sat - cracked - inside 3 plastic bags in my fridge for up to a few weeks. I don't remember which batch unfortunately got that treatment.

Also, propane has a flavor? whaa?

 

[jwible204]

I would avoid using a propane blowtorch because it very well may imparted propane taste to your grain. However I would use the broil function of your oven, and slightly move your rack to the point where you believe that you are burning hulls yet toasting the starch. It is much more controled then a blowtorch.furthermore it would be interesting if those hulls trapped moisture in with the starch in the original toaster situation cooking it diferently. if this moisture was trapped in the first case it would not be replicated with the speedy work with a blowtorch and you would not have the taste you want. I think the hulls acted as a carbon blanket cooking the grians beneth.

Propane burns clean and won't give a 'propane' taste to the grains. That's why it's used in gas grills and why chefs use it in the kitchen for things like creme brulee. Additionally, some stoves in more remote areas will use Propane. My co-worker's house doesn't have NG, she has a several hundred lb Propane tank that gets filled every few months.