Brewing with flaked wheat

[yesyves]

I brewed a Belgian Wit with 5 pounds of flaked wheat, as much Pilsner malt and 1/2 pound rice hulls, and had a terrible time adjusting the mash temperature, as if the flakes got the water but not its heat. I ended up with an efficiency around 63 %.

My mash began with a 15 min step at 122°F and after I added boiling water every 5 minutes up to 154 °F. But the bottom of the mash was way cooler than the water on top so I can't really say what the mash temperature was.

Can anyone tell me what I was doing wrong or how to do it right ?

Thanks !

 

[Build]

Were you stirring continuously? How much total water did you add? Was it in addition to your recipe? Larger total volume vs recipe, can give appearance of reduced efficiency. Be sure to stir until you've reached mash temperatures, then stir fairly often to maintain consistency.

 

[yesyves]

Good questions.

I sure stirred quite a bit, but certainly not continuously because stirring gets the heat out of the mash. But I surely will stir more next time.

I used a total of 40 qts of water while the recipe was calculated with 39.

Thanks !

 

[Barley_Bob]

Why did you choose flaked wheat over wheat malt? I don't know that flaked wheat has any advantage, and wheat malt sure stirs fine.

EDIT: Also, German wheat malt is the bees knees and should be used liberally.

 

[smyrnaquince]

But the bottom of the mash was way cooler than the water on top so I can't really say what the mash temperature was.

Then you could not have been stirring enough. Stir to equalize the temperatures throughout the mash, then cover the tun.

 

[z-bob]

Why did you choose flaked wheat over wheat malt? I don't know that flaked wheat has any advantage, and wheat malt sure stirs fine.

EDIT: Also, German wheat malt is the bees knees and should be used liberally.

Unmalted wheat is correct for Belgian Wit. I have no idea if it really makes a difference; I assume it does.

 

[Barley_Bob]

Unmalted wheat is correct for Belgian Wit. I have no idea if it really makes a difference; I assume it does.

Ah, thanks for the lesson. In that case, one should be able to buy raw wheat (what's it called? wheat berries?), and I imagine that would help. Flakes are huge, and I think that would be hard to stir when used at that amount.

 

[z-bob]

Ah, thanks for the lesson. In that case, one should be able to buy raw wheat (what's it called? wheat berries?), and I imagine that would help. Flakes are huge, and I think that would be hard to stir when used at that amount.

Wheat berries have to be cooked. Bulgar wheat is what I would use; it's already parboiled and coarsely ground. I have a pound of it in the freezer waiting to be brewed-with to see how it works. Don't know when I'll get to it

 

[Barley_Bob]

Wheat berries have to be cooked. Bulgar wheat is what I would use; it's already parboiled and coarsely ground. I have a pound of it in the freezer waiting to be brewed-with to see how it works. Don't know when I'll get to it

What about torrified wheat? Looks like it's the same as flaked, but that it needs to be crushed.

 

[yesyves]

Wheat berries have to be cooked. Bulgar wheat is what I would use; it's already parboiled and coarsely ground. I have a pound of it in the freezer waiting to be brewed-with to see how it works. Don't know when I'll get to it

I know raw wheat has its disadvantages as it needs a long (~45 min) beta-glucan rest and is very hard to grind, so I am very eager to know how Bulgur Wheat will turn out.

And indeed, malted wheat does not cut it for belgian styles, especially Wit.

 

[yesyves]

Mmm ... Bulgur has no bran so I doubt it will be equivalent