# What Is Torrified Wheat?



## scrumpy

hey!!!

been searching for some info on torrified wheat but not had much luck, just wondering what the main diff is between torri and reg wheat malt.. ie. what are the differences the two malts will have on a beer??

cheers!


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## jayse

Torrified wheat is not malted it is puffed wheat, it can be found in some breakfast cereals etc, it is puffed like popcorn in hot air.
Its generally only used in small amounts in some pale ales/bitter and also sometimes used in wit as a portion of the raw wheat.


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## Bizier

It is wheat that has had the absolute sh*t scared out of it. :lol:


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## scrumpy

Bizier said:


> It is wheat that has had the absolute sh*t scared out of it. :lol:



ha ha ha ha!!!


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## scrumpy

Im looking to use it in a english IPA... im aiming to use all english malt, hops and yeast...

i cant get any english grown wheat malt only torri... I was hopping it would have some of the same properties as reg wheat ie.. improved head retention and added body, my plan was to use about 4% in the grist....


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## HoppingMad

Linky: Horrified Wheat h34r: 

Hopper


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## Thirsty Boy

It will do those things - it wont give you any malty flavour... but head retention etc yes. Straight into the mash, no special treatment required.


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## dr K

its not actually puffed,like breakfast cereal,i have some in my palm right now, TB is correct about straight in and lack of maltiness, i use it in all my bitters (2-4%), i read once the british brewers use it because it does not gum up a single infusion mash, well at even 5% not likely but none the the less, anyway i am not certain if it used outside of britain (commercially)..anyway great stuff and i endorse it.

K


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## Bribie G

Specified in several of Graham Wheeler's recipes in "Brew your own British Real Ale". As a BIABer I haven't looked into it. I would expect that rice hulls would have the same effect.


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## Screwtop

BribieG said:


> Specified in several of Graham Wheeler's recipes in "Brew your own British Real Ale". As a BIABer I haven't looked into it. I would expect that rice hulls would have the same effect.




Err...................... :blink:


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## ///

BribieG said:


> Specified in several of Graham Wheeler's recipes in "Brew your own British Real Ale". As a BIABer I haven't looked into it. I would expect that rice hulls would have the same effect.




Use that book, the recipes and you will have beers of legend. A man beyond his time and fame ... his stouts rock.

Just got it back from a loner and I am going round the horn again - Scotty's HB summer by Graham ... bit like the dodgy French cookbook and blog ... and a movie ...

edit > rice hulls are for bad process. torrified wheat is ... torrified and used for making good beer, not bad practitioners ...


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## dr K

"I read somewhere that rather than use torrified wheat use rice hulls"
Screwtop and /// (when /// is translated) are on the money here.

K


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## Kai

HoppingMad said:


> Linky: Horrified Wheat h34r:
> 
> Hopper



Hah, looking at that clearly I meant torrefied was a fancy word for neither flaked nor puffed.


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## Bribie G

If it's being used just as a spacer / de-gummer, then why would it be different to rice hulls? On the other hand of course if the wheat is adding wheatiness then that's a different matter. 

I use semolina for that h34r:


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## Bizier

I think the point is that it is less gummy than other forms of wheat.


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## Guest Lurker

I disagree. I think the point is that horrified wheat is an ingedient of, fully takes part in, and becomes part and fully consumed by of the beer, while rice hulls provide a physical presence, but do not become part of, and are not consumed by the beer.


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## Kai

These comments towards terrified wheat acting as a lautering aid I am genuinely interested in. Why do we have discussion of a huskless grain improving lauterability? Hoes does it do that?

And if it does do that, do you still get as much extract from this horrible wheat as you do from other forms of gelatinised wheat?


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## drsmurto

I love torrified wheat.

My basic english bitter grist is 90% ale, 5% crystals, 5% torrified wheat.

I think it was TDA who put me onto it and i haven't looked back.


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## Bribie G

I see that my usual supplier (sponsor) doesn't stock traumatised wheat - where would you get a couple of ks? DrS would you put your success with the wheat down to its 'toastiness' or its 'wheatiness'? Being a BIABer the free draining thing doesn't worry me and I have gone on to using plain old semolina for anything calling for wheat - for example the best CSA tribute I've ever made - to AndrewQld's recipe - subbed semolina for the wheat malt.
However if there's a flavour advantage to using petrified wheat I'll certainly give it a go in UK bitters.


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## Verbyla

You probably can't find it in searches because your spelling it wrong. Its torrefied wheat and i've seen it used in graffs(malted cider) for head retention. Not sure what other uses it has in beer though. 

Do a search in grapes and grains and it'll come up with this
http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/product_in...roducts_id=7575


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## Pennywise

G&G sell it http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/advanced_s...mp;x=14&y=8

Edit: Too slow


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## Jazzafish

tor⋅re⋅fy  [tawr-uh-fahy, tor-] Show IPA
verb (used with object), -fied, -fy⋅ing.
1.	to subject to fire or intense heat; parch, roast, or scorch.
2.	Pharmacology. to dry or parch (drugs) with heat.
3.	to roast, as metallic ores.

From Online Dictonary

Guess that gives a little info on how it goes from unmalted wheat to torrified wheat


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## drsmurto

I've never considered any advantages/disadvantages to lautering when using any malt in the mash tun. 

I started adding malted wheat for head retention.

After spending some time on Jims beer kit i discovered a lot of their recipes contained torrified wheat (or flaked maize) rather than malted wheat so i switched over. A discussion with TDA on his experience in a brewery in the UK also pushed me towards torrified wheat.

The theory is that torrified wheat adds more flavour than malted wheat. True/false? I dont know. Both enhance head retention.

All i know is that i prefer how my bitters turn out with torrified wheat (other than landlord). YMMV


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## Bribie G

Goody, I'll order some shocked and horror-struck wheat from GnG in the new year when I get back to ales (lollygaggin around with them ol Chinee lagers ATM  ).

BTW I know what torrified is. I'm a trained proofreader - just having some fun.  

Yes I agree about the malted wheat for general usage, the base malt has enough grunt to convert unmalted wheat. However with regard to the UK experience I see that on the Bairds site they say that you should only use up to 15% adjuncts with some of their malts to avoid poor yeast health / diacetyl. Seems a bit different to some of our malts such as BB Galaxy where you can chuck in a kilo of adjunct with gay abandon.


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## Screwtop

It's simply a form of unmalted wheat however it provides a higher yield than raw wheat. Wheat has no husk unlike barley. The husk of your malted barley is (hopefully) fairly intact after milling and acts as a filterbed in the mash tun, keeping the grist from compacting. The husk of the rice kernel (rice hulls) is used when there is less malted barley in the mash and so less husk material to act as a filter. When using grains with no husk (wheat is one) rice hulls can be used to make up for the lack of husk material. Husks contain no carbohydrates (starch) for conversion to sugar. Raw wheat contains starch but is low in enzymes so using Torrified wheat is much different to using rice hulls which contribute no starch for conversion.

Torrefied wheat is used in British brewing to increase the size and retention of a head in beer. Generally it is used as an enhancer rather than for its flavor.


Screwy


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## Bribie G

I'll pop over to Jim's and ask the Poms how they get on with TW


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## Bribie G

Graham Wheeler himself replied. That's incredible, I'll never wash my computer screen again :unsure: 

Re: Torrefied Wheat in UK Ales

by Graham on Wed Dec 16, 2009 11:10 am 
It is used for head retention. Its flavour contribution is minimal at the low levels that it is usually used at. It is more likely to contribute to a set mash than prevent it. Unmalted grains are rich in beta-glucan gums, which is why they are used for head-retention. However, beta-glucans increase wort viscosity so if used to excess they would impede mash run off.
G.W.


Him da boss

:icon_cheers: :icon_cheers:


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## Screwtop

BribieG said:


> Graham Wheeler himself replied. That's incredible, I'll never wash my computer screen again :unsure:
> 
> Re: Torrefied Wheat in UK Ales
> 
> by Graham on Wed Dec 16, 2009 11:10 am
> It is used for head retention. Its flavour contribution is minimal at the low levels that it is usually used at. It is more likely to contribute to a set mash than prevent it. Unmalted grains are rich in beta-glucan gums, which is why they are used for head-retention. However, beta-glucans increase wort viscosity so if used to excess they would impede mash run off.
> G.W.
> 
> 
> Him da boss
> 
> :icon_cheers: :icon_cheers:




And God said unto Bribie.... :lol:


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## Bribie G

Screwtop said:


> And God said unto Bribie.... :lol:



  

Every hair on my body, including some I didn't know I had, is still standing on end


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## Fatgodzilla

BribieG said:


> Every hair on my body, including some I didn't know I had, is still standing on end



Time to sing Michael !

I don't know how to love him
What to do, how to move him
I've been changed, yes really changed
In these past few days
When I've seen myself
I seem like someone else

I don't know how to take this
I don't see why he moves me
He's a man
He's just a man
And I've had so many
Men before
In very many ways
He's just one more


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## Bizier

Umm...
Back to terrified wheat.


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## Wolfy

The BYOBRA Best Bitter I want to make calls for 2% Torrefied Wheat - which I don't have ... but I do have a few kg of Malted Wheat.
Will there be enough noticeable differences to justify a trek to the HB shop, or could I just I sub the Torrefied for Malted Wheat?


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## Ross

just sub...very little difference, if any, at those levels.

cheers Ross


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## Andrew

Hey Ross!
Good to see you made it to the airport (and home) in one piece!

As a mere mortal doin' this to try and earn a crust full on head down tail up not enough hours in the day, who in the hell is Graham Wheeler and and is he CAMRA approved? (assuming here that he isn't some yankee "double imperial rusiian tripple rye rauche whit esb dubbel saison nuclear pengiun ale" sorta bloke...)

Awaiting the barrage...

Cheers!
Gareth


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## Ross

:icon_offtopic: 

Thanks for your warm hospitallity, was one of the real highlights of the trip listening, learning, & enjoying your fabulous beers....
Brewers, make sure you give Gareth a visit when in town, a truly memorable experience :icon_chickcheers: 

Cheers Ross


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## Wolfy

Andrew said:


> who in the hell is Graham Wheeler and and is he CAMRA approved?


One would assume so since the book was published by CAMRA, however it's more than possible there were a number non-author-approved edits made before it was published.

... btw, thanks Ross, at that level I was not sure much of a difference would be noticed.


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## Newbee(r)

I am assuming if you can sub malted wheat you can also substitute it for raw unmalted wheat?

Looking to have a crack at a skullsplitter clone next weekend, and the clone recipe calls for 265g torrified wheat. I will be doing a biab as far as possible with the 40L urn and plan on topping up the wort with extract to complete the bill. Alternatively I leave it out and bump the pale malt profile by the same amount.


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## chrisgg

I've been brewing bitter and stout in England for a good number of years off and on. I have never used torrefied wheat, just pale malt and roasted grains or roasted malts for colour. I am a bit puzzled that it is supposed to be a typical ingredient of traditional English Ale. Sure, it may give a pint of beer a bigger head, but that is not what English ale is generally about, at least in the south half of the country. A big sudsy head is not at all normal for any local draught ales I've tasted and that is from a large number of different pubs and breweries in South East England. In fact, if an ale has a noticeable head, I would suspect it to be one of those awful smooth cream ales (like Caffrey's et al or indeed Guinness itself, which are gassed partly with nitrogen to make the head build up and stay longer). My local pub near where I live in East Anglia has Adnams Ales, Adnam's being a very old established and traditional brewery situated in Southwold, Suffolk on the East coast of East Anglia. None of their beers contains any torrefied wheat either. I supply a link to the make up their beers:

http://soundsunique.co.uk/images/brewing/AdnamsBrewIngredients.jpg

Their regular bitter contains only a base malt called "tipple" plus a little caramel for colour, plus hops. To my mind, a typical English draught bitter ale should have plenty of "condition", with the yeast working slowly to give the beer life, and if you gently disturb the beer glass there should be lots of little bubbles seen at the surface, but none rising through the beer. There is often no more than a thin and incomplete head on the beer to be seen,

In the North of England it is normal to see more of a head on the draught bitters, and the beer taps are designed to stir up as much head as possible....maybe these are the ones that also contain more in the way of torrefied wheat. The people in the north of England often complain about the beer in the south not having enough head. I honestly have not looked into it before but as a South Easterner, I am suspicious of a big head on draught bitter!
I generally brew bottled ale and stout myself, so that I can drink it over a period of time without feeling rushed. For bottle conditioned ale a bit more of a head might be a good thing, so I might gived the torrefied, horrified, petrified, traumatised, terrified stuff a go in my next brew. Keep it out of my pub draught ale though please!


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## Dave70

jayse said:


> Torrified wheat is not malted it is puffed wheat, it can be found in some breakfast cereals etc, it is puffed like popcorn in hot air.
> Its generally only used in small amounts in some pale ales/bitter and also sometimes used in wit as a portion of the raw wheat.


Like this?


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## Sam England

Arvo Dave70,

No, that quote was a bit of a bum steer at the start. Essentially it looks like normal wheat but it's been torrefied. Not sure what the process is, but the grain is easier to crush than normal unmalted wheat.
Here's the description from the link below.
"Torrified Wheat has been heat treated to break the cellular structure, allowing more rapid hydration and malt enzymes to more completely attack the starches and protein. Torrified Wheat can be used in place of raw wheat when making Belgian-style White and Wit beers. Advantages over raw wheat include normal conversion time and higher yield."
http://www.thebrewhouse.co.nz/webapps/p/88908/215726/597930

Cheers,
BB


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