Hi, instead of getting wheat flakes for some reason i got the unmalted wheat, which I understand cannot simply be thrown into the mash. i got 4 pounds of it and plan on doing a Wit. Could someone advise on how to prepare this for the mash? (I did some google searching but got more confused) Thanks.
Are you actually mashing? Not doing some kind of partial mash thing? And you're milling your grains, right? If so you're fine, it'll be converted and give you a nice wheat flavor and subtle tang. In fact unmalted wheat is what you want for a wit, although that's really up to personal preference in the end. Rule of thumb, unmalted wheat for witbier, malted for others.
Hi, yes, I will do all grain mashing, and yes, I mill the grains. The recipe I have calls fro 40/60 wheat and 2-row. What I'm confused is how to treat the unmalted wheat. Some suggest a protein rest and some suggest a complicated cereal boiling process. Are you saying I can simple throw the wheat together with the 2-row and do a single infusion mash? thanks.
+1 to what neroFiddled said…so long as it's milled (or you're milling), basically you're treat as you would flaked wheat. The only difference i could see is that flaked wheat is pre-gelatinized, where as the wheat berries are not…so make sure you give the wheat berries at least a full 60 minute mash. And
protein rest and step mash would probably be a good thing since wheat has more protein than barley and you may like some of those longer chains broken down…but don't think that it's necessary as the longer chains aid in the creation of the haze of wits.
Randy Mosher says this about unmalted wheat in Radical Brewing: "If used in quantities over 10 percent, raw wheat should be mashed with an adjunct [cereal] mash procedure, or at the very least cooked until tender before adding to the mash, and rice hulls really help."
Yes, cereal mash (cook) first...and hopefully it's already milled because it will tear up some grain mills due to it's hardness.
Agree to second part…but not to first. You don't need to cereal mash. I'll quote @hopfenunmaltz here: "Raw wheat has a gelatanization temp that is lower than that of the mash temp you will use for the barley. It will be converted in the mash. Doing a cereal mash will give a better mouthfeel (according to Moaher0, and extraction by bursting the hard small starch granules making them available for conversion. This is the same as for a decoction mash using all barley, which gives slightly higher extract."
True for wheat, but I would anyway unless I was extending my mash time. Personally, I would just use flaked wheat that is available in bulk at grocery stores for 1/2 the price of a LHBS or on-line store cheers
Is it terrified wheat, or is it wheat berries? The former can be milled and mashed. For wheat berries, I think you could get around the milling problems that others mention if you have a food processor. Then cook the bits and add them to the mash, or cereal mash them. The idea is to grind the berries into finer bits so that they'll cook easier and have more surface area exposed to enzymes during the mash. I did this a long while back with wild rice, and more recently with unmalted spelt. Seemed to work out OK, although I got a stuck sparge with the spelt. It was 2 lbs,, that got ground up, cereal mashed in a crock pot with a little pilsner malt, added to the the main mash subsequently. (It was a nice saison, recipe lost in time, but 2lbs of spelt to 9 #s of pils stands out in my mind). To deal with the stuck sparge, I ended up scooping the mash into a paint strainer bag and straining into the kettle. It was a huge pain the ass. I recently started using brew in the bag (with modification) and the I think I will use the bag every time henceforth when tackling a lot of unhusked, fine material in the mash
