Homemade Torrified Wheat

[stquinto]

G’day intrepid brewers, 

Got a few ale recipes calling for torrified wheat in the grain bill. I understand it’s wheat that’s not been malted but heated up so it puffs up into ball shapes. It’s used to give a bit of a richer, creamier head. 
I can’t source it but saw some bloke off youtube putting plain malt in a popcorn machine. 

I just did and over torrified it a bit, but it looks promising. 
Anyone tried it or has a different method?

The top of the picture is after, and the lower bit what the stuff looks like from the health food store. Yeah, I’m a stranger to that place too but at least my wheat will be bio

Cheers!

[Malter White]

To make things easy I reckon you could have just bought a box of Kellogg's Honey Smacks, Dave.  

Edited December 28, 2021 by MUZZY

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

1 hour ago, stquinto said:

G’day intrepid brewers, 

Got a few ale recipes calling for torrified wheat in the grain bill. I understand it’s wheat that’s not been malted but heated up so it puffs up into ball shapes. It’s used to give a bit of a richer, creamier head. 
I can’t source it but saw some bloke off youtube putting plain malt in a popcorn machine. 

I just did and over torrified it a bit, but it looks promising. 
Anyone tried it or has a different method?

The top of the picture is after, and the lower bit what the stuff looks like from the health food store. Yeah, I’m a stranger to that place too but at least my wheat will be bio

Cheers!

It does look like torrified wheat. Never done that myself but I do cereal mash raw wheat which is another option especially if you are using large quantities like in a witbier or something like that.

Here is a good article on it if your interested.

http://beersmith.com/blog/2013/09/06/cereal-mash-steps-for-all-grain-beer-brewing/#:~:text=Mill or grind your cereal,malt) to the cereal adjuncts.&text=Slowly raise the temperature of,it for 20-30 minutes.

[stquinto]

14 hours ago, Greenyinthewestofsydney said:

It does look like torrified wheat. Never done that myself but I do cereal mash raw wheat which is another option especially if you are using large quantities like in a witbier or something like that.

Here is a good article on it if your interested.

http://beersmith.com/blog/2013/09/06/cereal-mash-steps-for-all-grain-beer-brewing/#:~:text=Mill or grind your cereal,malt) to the cereal adjuncts.&text=Slowly raise the temperature of,it for 20-30 minutes.

Cheers Greeny, interesting read. I'm not sure how accurate my temperate gauge is as it's just a dial on a brew kettle. The quantities in the recipes tend to be around 300 - 400 gm - I'll try a batch out in the popcorn maker and see how it turns out. Probably only does 20gm at a time, so it might be a once-off.

[ben 10]

YOurs looks good @stquinto

Ahh - reading it is gelatinised, like rolled oats.

If you are using base malt and doing a small mash you can do the cereal mash.
I have done it with rice, polenta and oats.
THere are simple methods that work.

Cook the porridge and then cool down to 60/70 and throw a decent handful of pale malt or whatever in. The porridge will become instantly runny.

[ben 10]

oh, then mash with the rest of the mash

[stquinto]

22 hours ago, MUZZY said:

To make things easy I reckon you could have just bought a box of Kellogg's Honey Smacks, Dave.  

@MUZZY looks like the sh!t I was nagged into buying (sorry, “inadvertently bought for the kids”) when they were younger and got an earful off SWMBO for the sugar content. How the wheel turns

[Malter White]

@stquinto I used to love Honey Smacks as a kid. We never had them often. I think because my brothers and I would polish off a box in a day. Weet Bix lasted so much longer.  

[Bribie G]

Generally I just shout at the wheat until it's sufficiently Terrified.

[Bribie G]

On 12/29/2021 at 8:41 AM, MUZZY said:

To make things easy I reckon you could have just bought a box of Kellogg's Honey Smacks, Dave.  

Honey Smacks.

Just like a pint of IPA, only crunchy.

[Bribie G]

Seriously I think the idea of torrified wheat - and the rice hulls that you don't seem to see to many of nowadays - was to introduce a puffed product to avoid a stuck mash (set mash) in people doing a typical infusion mash in a smaller mash tun. However with BIAB and now with Brewzilla with recirculation I've never actually ever had a set mash, even when using oats or flaked barley or flaked wheat.

Nowadays if I need a wheat component I just use wheat malt in the crush. 

Coopers Pale and Sparkling in the old days had a bit of wheat in them at the old Leabrook brewery and some of the best Sparkling Ale tributes I've ever made were a full 50% barley malt and 50% wheat malt.

[Pale Man]

14 minutes ago, Bribie G said:

Coopers Pale and Sparkling in the old days had a bit of wheat in them at the old Leabrook brewery and some of the best Sparkling Ale tributes I've ever made were a full 50% barley malt and 50% wheat malt.

One for the memory banks 

[ben 10]

On 12/30/2021 at 7:01 AM, Bribie G said:

Generally I just shout at the wheat until it's sufficiently Terrified.

Dad joke

[stquinto]

My recipe called for 390g so I did it in the popcorn maker. Wasn’t too much of a pain, 50g at a time and about 20 seconds to get the effect. I’ll brew it up tomorrow, according to the book it doesn’t need to be crushed. Helps with the head apparently. 
Pretty much what you were all saying 

 

[Shamus O'Sean]

7 hours ago, stquinto said:

My recipe called for 390g so I did it in the popcorn maker. Wasn’t too much of a pain, 50g at a time and about 20 seconds to get the effect. I’ll brew it up tomorrow, according to the book it doesn’t need to be crushed. Helps with the head apparently. 

I crush mine with the rest of the grains, but I do not know if it has to be crushed.

[stquinto]

On 12/31/2021 at 10:57 PM, Shamus O'Sean said:

I crush mine with the rest of the grains, but I do not know if it has to be crushed.

Cheers mate, I crushed it too. When you have a new leccy drill in your hand it’s hard not to