# Unmalted Wheat



## Airgead (4/4/06)

Folks

I'm doing a wit this weekend and on my ingredient list is 20% unmalted wheat.

I've never used unmalted wheat in a brew before (plenty of malted though) so I have 2 questions - what is the best source and does anyone know what the potential extract is?

For sources I can think of plain flour (might stick the sparge a bit), rolled wheat from the hippy shop, wheat flakes (like wheaties only not covered in sugar) or something like bourgl. I am thinking of the rolled or flaked as they would be pre-getaltinised. Advice from anyone out there who has used these before greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Dave


----------



## neonmeate (4/4/06)

rolled wheat from the hippy shop works for me...


----------



## Airgead (4/4/06)

neonmeate said:


> rolled wheat from the hippy shop works for me...
> [post="118059"][/post]​



Cool. Thanks. Looks like its a trip into the hippy shop for me. Any idea what the potential extract is? I was going to guestimate it as being the same as the malted wheat and see how that comes out.

Cheers
Dave


----------



## Trough Lolly (4/4/06)

Airgead said:


> Folks
> 
> I'm doing a wit this weekend and on my ingredient list is 20% unmalted wheat.
> 
> ...



Hi Dave,
Wheat flakes are typically pre gelatinised which means you can toss them straight into the mashtun with the malted grains. You'll get your typical wit flavour and cloudy haze from unmalted wheat and I've read of brewers using plain flour in wits with success too!

That said, you don't have to use flaked wheat since any cracked unmalted wheat will gelatinise at mashing temps, accordingly to some sage advice from US brewer Jeff Renner (Father of the Classic American Pilsener)...

Before the saccharification rest, give the mash a protein rest at 55C for 20 mins to let the enzymes break down the proteins into amino acids and you'll get better head retention too.

Raw unmalted wheat, or wheat flakes will contribute around 34 points per pound, per gallon but, of course, not all of that contribution is fully fermentable, hence the mouthfeel and haze contribution from unmalted wheat.

Cheers,
TL


----------



## Airgead (4/4/06)

Trough Lolly said:


> Hi Dave,
> Wheat flakes are typically pre gelatinised which means you can toss them straight into the mashtun with the malted grains. You'll get your typical wit flavour and cloudy haze from unmalted wheat and I've read of brewers using plain flour in wits with success too!
> 
> That said, you don't have to use flaked wheat since any cracked unmalted wheat will gelatinise at mashing temps, accordingly to some sage advice from US brewer Jeff Renner (Father of the Classic American Pilsener)...
> ...



Thanks TL

I may try out the protien rest. This is a beer for the missus though and while she's OK with haze she doesn't like a lot of head (I know what you're thinking.. let's not be crude here  )

I'll plug it in at 34 and see how that goes.

Cheers
Dave


----------



## warrenlw63 (4/4/06)

Airgead.

I've become a bit of an advocate lately for Bourghul or Bulgar. (as others can attest :lol: ) It's steamed, cracked and de-hulled wheat. It's quite fine like polenta.

Just chuck it straight into the mash. I'd say you'd have no problems going as high as 30% with some high diastatic malt like JW Pils or similar.

Any Middle Eastern store that sells nuts, dried fruits and spices etc. should stock it. Usually comes in around $2 per kg.

Warren -


----------



## Airgead (4/4/06)

warrenlw63 said:


> Airgead.
> 
> I've become a bit of an advocate lately for Bourghul or Bulgar. (as others can attest :lol: ) It's steamed, cracked and de-hulled wheat. It's quite fine like polenta.
> 
> ...



Warren

I've got some bourghul at home for making tabouleh and other middle eastern things. I knew it was de-hulled and cracked but I didn't think it was pre-steamed though. I've always had to soak or cook it to soften it up. I was leaning towards the flaked as I figured that would just dissolve into the mash and make the starches more accessable to the enzymes. 

The beer will be 60% ale malt, 20% malted wheat and 20% unmalted so it probably doesn't matter what source of wheat I use.

Ahh decisions, decisions...

Cheers
Dave


----------



## Trough Lolly (4/4/06)

Hmmm, haven't tried the bourghul yet, but will...

Warren - Any comments on it's contribution to the flavour profile, or is it effectively identical to bog standard wheat?

Cheers,
TL


----------



## warrenlw63 (4/4/06)

TL & Dave.

It is indeed pre-cooked (steamed) The most I've used in one go is 22% in a Saison.

Worked great in a single-temp infusion mash and converted properly with no lauter problems. Hit my target efficiency as well. The beer also had a nice tight, white head and dropped crystal clear. 

TL, it's flavour contribution is noticeable. Just tastes like wheat to me, obviously there's a very minute toastiness to the flavour due to the pre-cooking.

Dave, perhaps the Bourghul you bought was coarse-milled? The Middle Eastern shop up the road from me sells coarse and fine-milled. I use the fine it's about the consistency of table salt. You can also buy wholemeal coarse and fine. I've got the wholemeal in my current Scottish 60'. Has a great head and tastes good too.  

I reckon it's far less stuffing around than any other forms of wheat except for perhaps malted wheat.

Warren -


----------



## Airgead (4/4/06)

warrenlw63 said:


> TL & Dave.
> 
> It is indeed pre-cooked (steamed) The most I've used in one go is 22% in a Saison.
> 
> ...



From the sounds of it mine is definitely coarse milled. I'll see whether the hippy shop has fine milled (no middle eastern shops close by). If not I'll go with rolled wheat until I can find the fine.

Cheers
Dave


----------



## cubbie (4/4/06)

I get unmalted wheat from my HBS sold as organic wheat. It goes through the mill with the rest of the grain.

TL, for the protien rest is it feasible to add half your mash water at the required temp for the rest and then the second half of the mash water for the sacch rest.


Seondly do you do a protien rest for all wheat or just unmalted wheat.


----------



## warrenlw63 (4/4/06)

Cubbie.

With flakes, torrified and bourghul (all pre-cooked) you can get away with a single temp rest. For raw wheat I'm not so sure. Think erring on the side of a protein rest may be a safer option. :unsure: 

Warren -


----------



## Oblomov (4/4/06)

I brewed this last weekend (with 1.2kg of weetbix):

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/Ag_F...lled-t9408.html

Mash from hell. Semi-stuck. After waiting for over an hour for 15L of wort to flow out, I transferred it all to my old bucket-in-a-bucket system, the holes are bigger.

Sampled from the fermenter this AM, taste & colour are spot on. SG dropped from 1.050 to 1.032 in 4 days, a bit slow?


----------



## Airgead (10/4/06)

Well folks. I brewed it on the weekend. I used some rolled wheat that I happened to have here plus some fine bourghul that i found at the hippy shop. All up it was 60% Ale malt, 20% malted wheat, 10% rolled wheat and 10% bourghul. Worked like a charm .Gravity was within a couple of points of where I was aiming so 1.036 potential looks pretty right. 

I suspect I'll go with all bourghul next time. The rolled wheat goes very gluggy and looks like it could cause stuck sparge problems in larger amounts. The finer crush of the bourghul should get a better extraction too.

Thanks folks. I'll let you know how it tastes in a week or so. 

Cheers
Dave


----------



## Trough Lolly (10/4/06)

Thanks for the good / experienced based info guys - looks like the bourghul is the go...I was reading on the craftbrewer forum that the Guru likes to use plain flour and rice hulls.

I also read that a 20 min 55C protein rest is a good move - will probably do a stepped mash or hell, I might even decoct to get the brew up to the sacchrification rest temp. Gotta love that Malliard reaction in my malt!!

Cheers,
TL


----------



## warrenlw63 (10/4/06)

Trough Lolly said:


> Thanks for the good / experienced based info guys - looks like the bourghul is the go...
> [post="119446"][/post]​



Vilkommen mein cameraden.  
Warren -


----------



## Trough Lolly (11/4/06)

Danke fuer die hilfe - mehr bier fuer Alle!! :beer:


----------

