I have never heard that about steeping flaked barley and I don’t believe it is accurate. More to the point, I don’t think you would need any enzymes when you’re brewing an extract beer since you aren’t converting starches into sugars.
I like American yeasts for Black IPA’s because I think between the hops and the roast there is already plenty going on and I don’t need fruity esters to compete with all that hoppy goodness.
Supposedly the london strain im using coexists quite nicely with citrusy hops. I figured with that lemon punch from sorachi ace it was worth a try. I’ll let you know how it turns out in about 2 months.
If you use any flaked grains, you do need enzymes from somewhere to convert them.
[quote=“Denny”]
If you use any flaked grains, you do need enzymes from somewhere to convert them.[/quote]
Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but as far as I understand, the OP wrote that he used flaked barley for its enzymes. If anything, I would think you would need base malt to convert the flaked barley since it has no enzymes, which is exactly why there’s no point in steeping it.
[quote=“skyler”][quote=“Denny”]
If you use any flaked grains, you do need enzymes from somewhere to convert them.[/quote]
Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but as far as I understand, the OP wrote that he used flaked barley for its enzymes. If anything, I would think you would need base malt to convert the flaked barley since it has no enzymes, which is exactly why there’s no point in steeping it.[/quote]
I think you and I are saying the same thing…
[quote=“Denny”][quote=“skyler”][quote=“Denny”]
If you use any flaked grains, you do need enzymes from somewhere to convert them.[/quote]
Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but as far as I understand, the OP wrote that he used flaked barley for its enzymes. If anything, I would think you would need base malt to convert the flaked barley since it has no enzymes, which is exactly why there’s no point in steeping it.[/quote]
I think you and I are saying the same thing…[/quote]
Confusion on confusion. Although I’m quite certain Denny is not confused and I don’t think that skyler is confused. I’m pretty sure that I’m not confused (some might debate that). That leaves the OP who wrote:
"As for the flaked barley, this brings up an interesting point. I’ve read that adding some base malt to your steep supposedly adds back some of the enzymes that are lost when making extract syrup. Has anyone heard of this?
I could be misremembering and perhaps they were indeed talking about a partial mash."
Adding base malt to a steep does add enzymes and if at an appropriate temp and concentration will convert starch efficiently (a partial mash, yes).
What the OP may be confused about (or at least it seems so in the OP’s statement) is that flaked barley is not base malt (or any kind of malt for that matter), will not add enzymes to a steep, but will add unconverted starch if it is not accompanied by a source of amylase enzymes (usually base malt).
This clears up exactly what I needed to know.
Now… What’s the effect of excess unconverted starches on a beer? The original intent was to find out how I can add more body/mouth feel to my extract recipes without simply adding sweet unfermentable sugars like maltodextrine or lactose?
Honestly, this is not a beer style that ever needs more body. With all the crystal malt in the rye extract and the extra pound of crystal malt you’re steeping - there will be plenty of body. Add to that the large quantity of dark malt… tons of body. Then the fact that extract beers typically don’t ferment as dry as equivalent all-grain beers… an overload of body. But if you really want to make motor oil-rich body, you can add some carapils or other crystal malt to the steep - or you could use more rye extract or sub in some wheat extract in place of your golden extract. But, frankly, when I brewed extract beers, my problem was usually getting my beers dry enough because they had more body than I wanted, not the other way around.
I didnt use the above recipe if you see the rest of the thread I ended up sticking very closely to the lakefront iba recipe so I have a good baseline from which to make my own variations. So there shouldn’t be as much body as you are implying.
That being said. I was really just doing general research for my stouts and strong ales. So adding crystal malt to my steep will add body. I’m assuming that means sweetness and body are forever tied? Is it possible to make dry motor oil?
And back to my other question. What is the effect on beer with excess unconverted starches? Is it sweet? Do you get more chill haze? Does it make motor oil? Etc…
Thanks again everyone! You guys are saving me lots of trial and error.
Unconverted starches can lead to flavor instability, a poor shelf life, and haziness. The only style where they are welcome, to my knowledge, is Witbier.
Protein also adds body, which is why I recommended wheat extract and rye extract. Likewise, carapils will add body without too much sweetness. If you want to use flaked barley and other flaked grains, switching to all-grain (or even partial mashing) will give you that added flexibility. Denny’s website (dennybrew.com) has great instructions on how to build a cheap, easy, and highly-effective mash tun.
Bucket loads of hops will add body too.
Sweetness and body are not always tied. The longer chain dextrins (or maltodextrin powder - taste it) are not particularly sweet.
Thanks!
I feel like i can’t switch to mashes until i buy a real kettle heating element. Right now i am using my electric stove and I find it quite challenging to maintain a constant temp.
Coolers work great for single infusion mashing… not expensive to convert either. See Denny’s setup at his link.
I wouldn’t worry about the electric stove just yet. If you look at this blog post of mine from 2009 (http://brewinginlawschool.blogspot.com/ … tbier.html), you can see what my brewing situation used to look like back when I was boiling on an electric stove - I still managed to make great all-grain beer pretty regularly.
