Beer Forum

I found a recipe online which called for 1 lb of flaked oat and 1 lb of flaked wheat. It recommended using a mini-mash to hold the flakes at 150 degrees F for 30 minutes before continuing on with what's otherwise simple extract recipe.

I heated my water up to 161 degrees F and poured it into a 2 gallon water cooler. I added the flaked oats and wheat in loosely packed muslin bags, topped off the cooler and screwed the top on. I let it sit for 30 minutes and continued with the rest of the recipe, adding 5 lbs of wheat DME, hops and spices.

Earlier, it didn't sound like that would present any problems from what I'd read. Though, just an hour ago I read something online suggesting that many starchy adjuncts like flaked wheat and and flaked oats should not be mashed alone...something about a problem with enzymes not being available to convert the starches to sugar. Is there a better way for me to approach partial mashing? That is: had I ought to mash some malted grains along with the unmalted, starchy grains? If so, in what ratio and could I still hold the temp for 30 minutes...or would I have to hold it longer? Finally, does it sound like this beer will turn out okay and/or is there anything I need to watch out for?

you''ll need some 2-row (or 6-row) to provide enzymes to convert the flaked grains. Next time just add a pound of 2-row and do exactly the same thing (maybe a touch more water).

As for this beer it'll probably be a bit hazy from the starches.

Did you take a gravity reading of the mini mash before you added any extract?

Whenever I do a mini mash, I mash as much grain as I can. It doesn't require any more effort to fill your equipment to capacity. I've found I can do 4 lbs of grain at approximately 1.25 quarts per pound grist ratio in my 2 gallon cooler. So if I were doing your recipe, I'd go with with 1 lb of flaked oat, 1 lb of flaked wheat, and then 2 lbs of a base malt (depending on the style you're going for), and subtract out a bit of extract to compensate for that extra 2 lbs. I think the general rule of thumb is that base malts can convert themselves plus an equal weight of something else-- so 2 lbs of two row could convert itself plus your 2 lbs of wheat/oats.

I didn't measure the gravity. I didn't even think to take a reading. That would be a good idea in the future.

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like I'll have a cloudy beer this time. Good thing it's a Witbier. Maybe that was the idea behind steeping the flaked oats and wheat(?). I'm just hoping there won't be any other problems with it.

I'll be mindful about adding some base grains to my mini-mashes in the future.

Thanks again.