What is flaked wheat for?

[Troutchaser]

What is flaked wheat used for? I have occasionally seen small amounts in PA/IPA is this just for head retention and mouth feel? Just carious because I'm wanting to build pale ale recipe and was looking to improve mouth feel and head retention.

 

[bigdaddybrew]

Yes primarily for head retention.

 

[specharka]

Flaked wheat has a bit of a sweet grainy flavor that can be inappropriate for certain beer styles, and while it promotes head retention and mouthfeel, there's substantial chill haze imparted due to all the extra proteins. I would recommend using flaked barley over wheat in a pale ale -- it imparts the same head retention properties without altering the beer profile. Anywhere around 4-6% will work.

 

[Troutchaser]

Thanks for the input! I will use the flaked barley instead.

 

[mabrungard]

I find that flaked wheat has a lighter, crisper graininess while flaked barley has a much more pronounced graininess that I find clashes with pale beer. One of the saving graces for flaked barley is that the amount of beta-glucans in it is about 10 times that of flaked wheat, so you could use quite a bit less flaked barley than flaked wheat and gain the head and mouthfeel while possibly avoiding the flavor impacts. However through a bunch of brewing trials, I found that I could always taste the flaked barley in a negative way...even when I reduced its percentage to less than 1 percent. Those beers still had huge heads, but the flavor impact was too much for me. I've since moved to flaked wheat exclusively when I want a bit of head and body insurance and I find the crisp wheat graininess more refreshing and unobtrusive. By the way, Tasty McDole has found the same thing and he often includes a minor percentage of flaked wheat in his recipes.

One beer that does tolerate flaked barley well, is dry stout. I think that the roastiness melds nicely with the fuller, flaked barley flavor and does not diminish the beer.

 

[Troutchaser]

So mabrungard you use flaked wheat in pales? What percentage would you recommend in a pale ale. I'm pretty new to building my own recipes and just looking to improve head retention in my pales.

 

[beerlover77]

I use flaked wheats almost exclusively in Belgian beers.

If I am doing a pale, pils or any other type we usually use crystal malts or Carapils which helps with head retention due to dextrins in the malt.

With that being said, there have been a pale ale or two of mine that 1/2 lb or so of flaked wheat was added to a 5 gal batch and the beer turned out tasty, clear and with good head retention.

 

[brewbama]

I used flaked wheat in wheat beers because per Brad Smith "Unmalted wheat presents some challenges for the single infusion homebrewer. Pure unmalted wheat will not convert well with a single infusion mash. This can be rectified by using a multi-step infusion or multi-step decoction mash, but simpler solutions exist. If you substitute flaked or torrified wheat, you can perform a single infusion mash easily, while still preserving the distinctive flavor of unmalted wheat."

Flaked wheat can be mashed right in with the pale malt, and does not require a separate cereal mash.

 

[specharka]

I find that flaked wheat has a lighter, crisper graininess while flaked barley has a much more pronounced graininess that I find clashes with pale beer. One of the saving graces for flaked barley is that the amount of beta-glucans in it is about 10 times that of flaked wheat, so you could use quite a bit less flaked barley than flaked wheat and gain the head and mouthfeel while possibly avoiding the flavor impacts. However through a bunch of brewing trials, I found that I could always taste the flaked barley in a negative way...even when I reduced its percentage to less than 1 percent. Those beers still had huge heads, but the flavor impact was too much for me. I've since moved to flaked wheat exclusively when I want a bit of head and body insurance and I find the crisp wheat graininess more refreshing and unobtrusive. By the way, Tasty McDole has found the same thing and he often includes a minor percentage of flaked wheat in his recipes.

One beer that does tolerate flaked barley well, is dry stout. I think that the roastiness melds nicely with the fuller, flaked barley flavor and does not diminish the beer.

I think the flavor contribution from flaked wheat is a bit rounder, but to me, the allure to flaked barley is how it affects the finish. The crisp finish really helps to make the hops pop in an APA or IPA. I wouldn't use it in a beer with a less assertive backbone.

I like flaked wheat, and use it regularly in my continental beers -- but I'd rather use barley and oats to achieve head retention and mouthfeel in pale ales.