# Wheat Flour In The Mash



## Fatgodzilla (31/10/07)

In a recent conversation at an unnamed NSW brewing competition last week in Wollongong, the question of using FLOUR in the mashing process was quickly raised and suggested as very viable alternative. Can't remember who I was talking too (of course I was working too hard to be drinking !!!) :icon_drunk: Just spent a few minutes looking for a thread on the matter but no success. Anyone done this successfully, any drawbacks and how successful should the process be. Similarly, mashing standard long grain rice and sparging the starches - is this an effective source of fermentable sugars ?


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## Adamt (31/10/07)

Couple of things you have probably thought of:

There would be an upper limit on the amount of flour you could use; as not enough malt and conversion may be slow/incomplete (using Galaxy malt, or other high DP malt would help), and you could likely end in horrid stuck sparges if there is not enough grain husks to hold the flour back.

Edit: As far as rice goes, I think the best way to go about it is to wash it thoroughly, steam it or cook by absorption, and add to the mash.


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## FNQ Bunyip (31/10/07)

Graham Sanders does a wheat flour brew that he raves about in his radio shows ..


http://radio.craftbrewer.org/


go though the archives to find it , they mention it regularly.. (famed tropical flour wit ) or some such thing....

Cheers


Edit : May 20th show...


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## tangent (31/10/07)

Rehnton (AHB member) uses flour in his pommy beers. PM him.


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## beersom (31/10/07)

I have used flour in almost every witbier I have ever made.
... the only problem being that it is easier to create doughballs, however that is nothing that can't be fixed.


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## Jye (31/10/07)

Check out the Tropical Flower Wit on the craftbrewer website, it uses 50% flour. I also believe a brewer in our club brewed this beer and recently went very well at a number of comps.


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## PostModern (31/10/07)

Fatgodzilla said:


> In a recent conversation at an unnamed NSW brewing competition last week in Wollongong, the question of using FLOUR in the mashing process was quickly raised and suggested as very viable alternative. Can't remember who I was talking too (of course I was working too hard to be drinking !!!) :icon_drunk: Just spent a few minutes looking for a thread on the matter but no success. Anyone done this successfully, any drawbacks and how successful should the process be. Similarly, mashing standard long grain rice and sparging the starches - is this an effective source of fermentable sugars ?



I think it was Beejay and I talking about Graham Sander's Tropical Flower Wit. Basically he uses No Name flour in place of cracked unmalted wheat. Do some googling on the the name of the beer and you should get a few hits. I think it needs a stepped mash, but mash temps are above the gelatinisation temperature of wheat, so it should be fine. Graham is guru over at OCB, so the discussions will be in the OCB archives. Try this page of links for starters!


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## newguy (31/10/07)

I add flour to my witbiers. I use about 4 cups (volume - I've never bothered to weigh it) for a 10 gallon batch. It works well.


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## Fatgodzilla (31/10/07)

newguy said:


> I add flour to my witbiers. I use about 4 cups (volume - I've never bothered to weigh it) for a 10 gallon batch. It works well.




Found the Sanders Tropical Flower Wit recipe and it looks a bit beyond me just yet (too much cooking).

Rather than use in a proper witbier, looking more at adding instead of dry wheat malt. (in, for instance, a Coopers Sparkling clone that has been on the site today). Happy to mini mash (then boost with DME or LME) as this next step in my education to full AG. 

Any benefits flour v torrified wheat ??


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## newguy (31/10/07)

The important thing to remember is that wheat flour, when mashed, doesn't yield the same result as mashing malted wheat. I use flour in wits because wits traditionally have unmalted wheat as an ingredient. I think that at this point in your brewing hobby that doing a mini mash with some pale malt and torrefied wheat would be a bit better (top up with DME or LME of course). You can toss in a little flour if you like (it won't ruin the beer), but don't rely on flour exclusively. Especially not white flour, use whole wheat.


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## rehnton (31/10/07)

ya, i have found wheat flour to be ok. I started using it as a substitute for torrified wheat when i couldnt get it. i found it didnt impart the same cereal flavour but never had a problem with it. having said that i only used small quantities (200g /33L)

never used long grain rice but have found rice flakes in the healthy food section of coles (manufctured by Lowan). From memory the ingredients read 100% rolled brown rice. I think this would be a better alternative then cooking etc as the grain has already been gelatinised.


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## PhilS (1/11/07)

I have been told that the Cascade Brewery use a small portion of Wheat flour in their Draught & Premium.


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## mickoz (1/11/07)

Have you guys used Spelt in your Wits ? I find the flavour better than raw wheat.

Mick


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## Tony M (1/11/07)

I add 100gm/20litre brew of flour to all my brews as a head enhancer. It seems to help and there is not enough to noticably cloud up my beers more than they are already.


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## capretta (1/11/07)

That was me you were chatting to FG! Glad to see im so forgettable or were you just protecting my feelings (sniff so valiant!)  
I am only in the early stages of testing but i would agree with the round about figure of 150gm/23 liters final volume unless you are using rice hulls to prevent stuck sparges. i also boil the flour in plenty of water before adding to the mash.

would a small mini mash be able to convert 150gm plain flour? > i dont know about that..


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## /// (1/11/07)

You can add it in the mash or the boil. Adding to boil ensures a cloudy wheat beer as some can drop brite against what is trying to be acheived.

Grahams TFW is a beer that knocked me over. In the Oz Craft Brewer there was debate years ago about his 'X' spice (cumin) and it trully was a fantastic beer. Not better than Anchor Steam or Bass ... but close...

Graham also runs a herms and recycles his wort - with plenty of rice hulls.

But as an alternative, I have some nice Tanal A which can help hold the powdery stuff in suspension. Fatzilla, seems you also need to come up for the weekend for a few days of training. Ray, PoMo, BeeJay and myself all live within a 5 minute walk or a 2 hour stager ... via Shitties on Farrel, Woonona / Bulli Rissole .... Liquor Land .... Liquor Land .... Liquor Land.....

Or we could do a road trip.

Scotty


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## 65bellett (3/11/07)

Tony M at what stage do you add your Flour as a head enhancer? I have always added beer to flour to make batter but have never thought of addingflour to beer.


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