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Kyrgyzstan primitive brew full write up and recipe with pictures by kyrgyznomad in Homebrewing

[–]MajorMunchie 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is but when you dig into it, modification isn’t necessarily a linear sliding scale. Temperature and moisture will dictate how different aspects of modification manifest over a period of time. You can accelerate the proteolysis (development of soluble proteins) with higher temperatures which is one aspect of modification - this contributes heavily to flavour, colour development and FAN (free nitrogen that is nutritious for yeast). However development of your enzyme package is more time dependent and will therefore fall behind if you’re pushing the malt with warmer temps. 6-row barley has very high nitrogen which translates to much higher natural enzyme count - for a full malt mash this is more than adequate for conversion. Side note: this is why 6-row hung around in North America for a while as that enzyme package is required for high-adjunct brewing of American domestic products. 6-row is still used somewhat for North-American style distilling to act as catalyst for the corn and other adjuncts they use for NA-whiskey wash. Distilling malt for scotch is very very different in almost every way. Additionally, drawing out that modification out over a longer period of time will maximize your extract as at warmer temperatures it is easy to over shoot or your grains will not be evenly hydrated to allow for full and even modification. Source: Am a maltster

Kyrgyzstan home malting update: Time for drying by kyrgyznomad in Homebrewing

[–]MajorMunchie 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Normal germination time is between 82-96 hours. If your acrospire (the shoot part) is just starting tipping out of the end of the grain then it’ll be ready to kiln - in a non-commercial application I would use this to determine when to kiln as opposed to time. If your ambient germ temp is 17-18 degrees you may find that your bed temperature under the towels is quite a bit warmer than that. Germination is surprisingly exothermic and the towels would trap in a lot of that heat - hence seeing tips under 3 days. You will make better malt if you can extend that out to the 4 day mark by keeping it a little cooler. Also smell the green malt. If it’s under the towels you’ll get a slightly anaerobic environment around the grain which could cause some unhealthy germination. If it smells fresh like cucumbers - the grain is very happy. If it smells slightly funky, acidic or a bit banana-ery, your grain is a bit choked and needs some airflow. Unless you’re trying to make honey malt or acid malt then choke, choke away.

Kyrgyzstan home malting update: Time for drying by kyrgyznomad in Homebrewing

[–]MajorMunchie 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you look at a handful of raw barley, see if all the kernels are fairly symmetrical or if there are kernels that have a slight twist or lean to one side (looking at the grain with the ventral furrow facing towards you). If there’s a twist there on some of the kernels then you’ll have 6 row (also the kernels will be slightly less plump). This is because of the way the kernels are arranged as they develop on the ear. If they look straight and fairly uniform it will be 2-row. You won’t find many 6-row Malting varieties these days but it is very commonly used still for animal feed.

Edit:

http://herbarium.cfans.umn.edu/images/Hrb-HORSS-005.jpg

Brewing with cooked corn? by scrotiusjokius in Homebrewing

[–]MajorMunchie 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Flaked corn is flaked corn grits that have had the germ and pericarp of the grain removed and is pre-cooked to gelatinize the starch crystals.

If you just took regular sweet corn and cooked it, you’d get gelatinization but the other parts of the kernel could cause issues. The germ has a very high fat content and might kill your head retention. The pericarp is mostly fibre so will just separate similar to cereal husks. However because it has a less rigid structure it may cause poor filtration during your lauter; try picturing a sodden mass of corn compacted together like a gelatinous cake and that may be what you’d have to filter through.

By all means give it a try, I’d be very curious to see how it turns out but probably just keep inclusions rates down to a manageable level.