Brewing with Ancient Grains
The modern era of agriculture and cultivation of crops, somewhere around 7000 BC, was partly due to the desire and demand for beer. People wanted a reliable source of beer, something I think we can all understand. They cultivated the barley that was already sporadically available growing wild. Barley can be considered the mother of modern agriculture. It’s the grain that changed the path of human history. We wanted a reliable food and fermented beverage source, and in barley we found a reason to settle down, plant, and harvest.
Unlike wheat, corn, and rice, the grains that became staples of our diet, and the diet of our livestock, some grains flew under the radar. In small pockets, parts of human civilization continued to plant and harvest the same grain for centuries. Even as we crossbred wheat varieties to get what is now our modern-era wheat plant, the parent plants emmer, einkorn, and spelt continued to live in the fields of farmers. These, along with other ancient grains from across the Earth remain mostly unchanged from our early domestication of them thousands of years ago.
Some of these grains are quite unique, and rarely used in beer. Some are considered cereals (grasses), and some are pseudocereals. Pseudocereals are any plant that isn’t a grass that grows a grain that can be floured, or is traditionally used in baking.
Just because many are exotic to beer brewing, doesn’t mean you can’t use them. Unmalted, these grains can be used from 1–50% of the grain bill, just like any adjunct in brewing through cereal mashing. All of them can be malted, though some are quite difficult to malt. This process would allow them to be used as a base, or in additions up to 100% of the grain bill, creating a completely new beer style.
The Ancient Grains
Amaranth
A multipurpose plant first cultivated in Mexico and Peru for its seed, this portion of the plant receives little attention these days. The tiny white grain is not the easiest to malt, partly leading to its lack of beer use. You’ll find this is true of many ancient grains. Beyond some experimental homebrewers, amaranth is little used traditionally or commercially in brewing. A search online produced only 12 beers that used amaranth, and most used the grain in small quantities.
Chicha, a traditional fermented (and non-fermented) beverage in Central and South America that’s made with corn, is made with amaranth in Bolivia. Amaranth should have a pleasant and mild flavor, almost like rice. Amaranth can be popped, a process already used in the brewing industry to make torrefied wheat. Throw some of the small round kernel in the bottom of a dry kettle. Bring your heat up to medium, and watch for popping. This breaks the cellular structure and allows for hydration of amaranth. It will also provide a small amount of toasting which may provide you with more flavor from the small, subtle kernel.
Buckwheat
Don’t let the name fool you. It’s not related to wheat, nor is it a grass. Nearly 8,000 years ago buckwheat began cultivation in China, and since then it’s remained a staple there, and in parts of Russia. At one-point buckwheat was poised to be an important crop in numerous parts of the world, including the United States. It was valued for its nutrition, and ability to grow quickly in poor soil. As fertilizers began to be used to treat soil, it was no longer needed as a crop in poor growing areas. The uniquely triangular, pyramid-like seed has been gaining in popularity as a gluten-free grain alternative in beer brewing.
Traditionally, buckwheat has ended up in distilled spirits more than beer: Shochu in Japan, krupnik in Poland, and in some older European whiskies as well. Buckwheat can get a harsh, nutty flavor when used in excess, or roasted. We are starting to see some malted buckwheat from craft maltsters around the country. Though, we aren’t seeing many 100% buckwheat beers beyond a few one-offs and experiments, yet. One reason may also be the high protein content. A very thin mash may be needed to gain some efficiency when using buckwheat in any amount, malted or raw. Upwards of three quarts of water per pound of grain (1.3 L per kg) might be needed for recipes utilizing 50% or more. Even then, sparging may not be easy. Unmalted buckwheat should have a bit of a light nutty flavor.
Chia
You can thank this seed’s availability due to our fascination with “super foods” over the past decade. The idea of getting back to unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods has taken hold in your supermarket, making chia and other ancient grains more available. Chia was originally cultivated in large scale by the Aztecs, and is still used in traditional drinks and foods in some countries including Guatemala and Argentina. Although chia shows up in beer now and again, its real value to beer has yet to be realized.
Chia has very little history in fermented beverages, or beverage in general. When brewing with the tiny chia seed, you may want to keep in mind that the seed can absorb up to 12 times its weight in water. This makes chia seeds into a gel that can be hard to extract from when brewing. It’s not easy to malt, so you’ll most likely be finding and using it raw. Try and use it in a small percentage first, and like many raw grains, you will want to keep your mash thin (more water) because chia absorbs and gelatinizes.
Einkorn
Einkorn is believed to be the oldest cultivated variety of wheat. It may be the least removed wheat from its wild form available. There are just a few simple, small mutations that occurred in the wild that made it valuable as a crop: Larger kernels, and the seeds stay on the plant when ripe. Wild einkorn loses its seeds, it self-sows, as soon as it’s ripe. Being able to harvest ripe grain from an ear where it’s in a tight protected package has probably had more to do with the type of grains we chose than we think. Harvesting grain from the ground would not be easy, and would literally soil and spoil the food.
Einkorn is still found in commercial beers from Poland to Germany to Italy, and is being malted by at least one maltster in Germany. European brewers see it as a traditional ingredient, and some breweries look to be reviving it in historic recipes, and small specialty batch beer. If you can find it malted (or would like to malt some yourself) you can use einkorn exactly as you would wheat. Use it raw via a cereal or turbid mash to make traditional Belgian and German beers.
Emmer/Farro
This wheat has two names almost equally popular in use and nature. Farro, or emmer is a native of the Middle East, and was one of the first wheats to be cultivated. It has been found in pottery and tombs thousands of years old. Emmer, like einkorn, began cultivation of a variety that would self-sow when ripe. Emmer that didn’t proceed to throw its seed on the ground was cultivated. Unlike some ancient grains, emmer has managed to continue cultivation for centuries in some of the same growing areas it began. Think about that — farmers have been growing the same grain in the same place for around 9,000 years. Prior to that emmer was a staple of Neolithic hunters and gatherers, harvested wild. Barley may have given rise to cultivation and agriculture, but emmer was right there with it.
The brewing industry has shown some interest, and some small craft maltsters, such as Rebel Malting in Reno, Nevada, and Valley Malt in Hadley, Massachusetts are malting emmer again. It’s a wheat and can be malted at home. Or, much like einkorn, can be used raw in the traditional wheat beers of Europe.
Khorasan Wheat
Most khorasan wheat you will find will be sold under the registered trademark name Kamut®. A handful of grain was brought to the United States from Egypt by a single person and cultivated on a single Montana farm. It was introduced to the natural foods industry in the 1980s, and the brand grew from there. The kernel looks similar to modern day wheat, but twice the size. Khorasan has a spotted history, often hard to trace, but popping up on small farms in Egypt and areas nearby. How it survived, and when it began cultivation is largely a mystery.
Due to its blank past, it’s hard to say if it was ever used historically in beer, but we can assume that it was, just not in any significant amount. This ancient wheat has a rich, sweet bread flour flavor that would work nicely with a delicate base beer recipe. A few homebrewers, and only a few commercial brewers have tried this grain. This is probably due to the fact that the grain is marketed to the health food industry, and is premium priced, making very little sense to add to a beer on a commercial scale. Khorasan wheat is being grown more widely now, can easily be malted, and has a pleasant flavor. Khorasan wheat may be due for its first real flourish in brewing, through homebrewers, in its long history.
Millet
Millet is a popular cereal crop throughout semi-arid Africa and middle-Asia including India. It has a similar long and rich history like barley and wheat, but began in Eastern Asia as a food staple. Millet is found wild many places all over the world. There are numerous types and numerous names. All can be used in a similar fashion, but the grain may be a slightly different color, and the plant may look a bit different as well.
Commercial millet beers were available briefly in Africa, but millet is most popular to make alcoholic traditional homebrewed beverages throughout Africa known often as bantu beer, alwa, or tchouk. It doesn’t stop there- tongba in Nepal, boza in Turkey, millet has been used and is still used in traditional fermented beverages worldwide. Millet is being malted and made in to specialty grain in the United States. Finding millet malt would be a great introduction to this grain. Although, it can be used raw via cereal mashing, millet is another grain worth popping. Once popped the starch is accessible. Pop dry, constantly stirring in a kettle over medium heat. It can also be purchased like this as ‘puffed.’
Quinoa
Quinoa is a South American pseudocereal that has remained a food staple of the continent for at least 4,000 years. Raw quinoa grain has a bitter coating that needs to be removed. Quinoa has appeared in some specialty craft beers, and is becoming a popular choice for homebrewers looking to brew gluten-free. The cost of quinoa seems to be one reason it hasn’t found more love among brewers.
Like other ancient grains this seed can be popped. It can also be purchased puffed and toasted. As gluten-free product interest has grown, some malting experiments have begun by smaller maltsters and at a commercial level. Different types of quinoa have distinctly different flavor. Black quinoa is a bit nuttier while white and red quinoa is pleasantly mild and grainy. At least 20–30 commercial beers have been made with quinoa in the past decade.
Sorghum
Sorgham is an important, widely cultivated cereal crop, mostly found in Africa, Asia and Australia. It’s especially drought tolerant, which has helped it spread to parts of the world where little else will grow.
Kaoliang and Gaoliangjiu are both liquors, and Baijiu a wine, which are are all types of traditional sorghum beverages in China. Borde is a fermented beverage in Ethiopia made of sorghum. Large amounts of gluten-free beers and some commercially-made African beers contain sorghum. Sorghum syrup and extract is readily available, and the preferred package for brewers. Some smaller maltsters are malting and roasting sorghum. In beverages, it is sometimes described as having a pungent, molasses-like flavor. Used in smaller quantities it has a pleasant, sweet, earthy flavor.
Spelt
A naturally occurring hybrid of emmer wheat, spelt was a European staple for centuries. After a brief falling out (a couple hundred years is fairly brief in the history of these grains), it is now back in favor as a more nutritious wheat option. During its 8,000 year history, it made its way north, probably for its preferential use in bread, and ability to grow well in less fertile soil.
Based on historical records, it is possibly the first wheat used in German wheat beers, and is still used in a few Bavarian breweries. It has also been found in older Belgian beer recipes. It’s believed to been used briefly in the United States for beer as well. Spelt would be a historically relevant substitute for wheat in your recipe. Spelt can be found malted from a few European maltsters, but may not be easy to find in the United States. It has a pleasant “wheat flour” flavor, and slight nuttiness.
Teff
The smallest grain in the bunch comes from Africa and is a staple of the diet in Ethiopia. About 150 kernels of teff equals a single kernel of barley. Teff may have been domesticated about 10,000 years ago in Ethiopia. It is unique in the sense that it has become a staple food there (you may have had the flatbread injera at an Ethiopian restaurant), but managed to travel little more than the highlands where it was first cultivated.
Tella is a traditional fermented beverage in Ethiopia made from Teff. It is sometimes distilled to make what’s called araki. Teff is probably one of the least used, or experimented with grains on this list by both homebrewers and commercial brewers. Its small size makes it near impossible to malt, and it had been difficult to find in stores in the past. It has a pleasant mild wheat-like flavor that becomes nuttier if cooked.
Brewing with Ancient Grains — Techniques
Brewing with any ancient grain can be fun and easy. If you have ever experimented with adjuncts or raw grains, you’ve probably cereal mashed. If you’re unable to get your hands on a malted version there are a few things you can do once you’ve sourced the raw ingredient at your local grocer. If you’re struggling, look for the Grains-of-Discovery™ series released by the popular Bob’s Red Mill Natural Foods company. Some are even available flaked, which can be added directly to the mash.
Popped or Puffed
As mentioned previously, grains like millet, amaranth and quinoa can be popped, but sorghum can as well. Experiment with time and temperature, but this will be similar to making stovetop popcorn. The heat may toast the grain some, possibly adding some flavors and aromatics. Start with 4 ounces (113 g) on medium heat in a kettle with a lid, stirring or shaking constantly until popped.
Once popped the inside of the grain is ‘cooked’ and exposed, it is ready to use. You may be able to find some ancient grains already ‘puffed’ or popped on the shelves of your nearest natural food store. Be sure you’re purchasing just the grain, and not something that is a snack food or breakfast cereal with other ingredients and additives.
Remember, if it isn’t malted, there are no enzymes present, and you’ll want to use this as only part of your grain bill. I recommend starting at around 20%. Use some base malt (2-row, brewers, or Pilsen malt), or add enzymes to your mash.
Toasted
Another easy way to use these grains is to actually toast or roast them. This will add color and flavor to the grain, and would allow for some truly unique and wonderful new flavors.
You can do this with wet or dry grain. Steep the grain in water for an hour and strain if you’d like to toast your grain wet. This allows for higher temperatures without burning or scorching your malt, allowing more flavor and color to develop during the process.
Try laying your grain out on a pan and toasting it wet at 350 °F (176 °C) for one to three hours. Shake or stir the grain constantly during this time. Some of these grains are so small you may want to have a small 1⁄4- to 1⁄2-inch (0.6- to 1.2-cm) layer in your pan, and will need to turn to toast evenly. One hour will provide a light, sweet flavor, three hours a dark, roasted flavor. If you’d like to try to toast your grain dry to make an amber malt, try 275 °F (135 °C) for one hour. You should crush or flour the grain afterward.
Malted
If you’re able to locate some of the rarer ancient grain malted, I highly recommend trying it. Companies such as Colorado Malting Company and Grouse Artisan Malts have been malting and roasting millet and buckwheat, as well as other grains.
Cereal Mashed
Cereal mashing is the easiest way to utilize any of these grains raw, which is the easiest way to find them. Cereal mashing will allow you access to the starch and protein inside the grain. If you’ve ever cereal mashed other raw grains before the process remains the same. See the chart above for gelatinization temperatures, as well as some additional information you might find useful. Gelatinizing is the main objective of cereal mashing. Gelatinization of grain is usually given as a range, but I provided the most commonly published temperature, or the high end of the range. Here’s the cereal mashing process to follow:
1. Mill your raw ancient grain. A coffee mill works for smaller seeds; you’ll want a fine to course flour.
2. Remove up to 20% of your milled, malted base grain from your grain bill.The enzymes present will help break down the raw grain during the cereal mashing process.
3. Add all grains to a kettle and add 2 quarts per pound of grain.
4. While stirring, bring you cereal mash up to the gelatinization temperature of your ancient grain.
5. Hold at gelatinization temperature for 20 minutes, stirring as needed.
6. Carefully bring your cereal mash to a boil, and gently boil for 20 minutes. The mixture should turn gooey and coat you stirring spoon, much like runny, hot oatmeal cereal.
7. Once complete add the hot mixture to your traditional mash vessel. You’ll need to do some water calculations to make sure you hit your target temperature. Think of your cereal mash as boiling water
being added to your mash. If it’s easier, you can let it cool (or add cold water) until it’s at your target mash temperature, and then add it to your mash.
Ancient grains, clockwise from top left: chia, millet, quinoa, and teff.
Recipes
Kickin’ It Khorasan Style Saison
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.047 FG = 1.008
IBU = 20 SRM = 4 ABV = 5.2%
For the most part, khorasan functions like any other raw wheat, and can be used in any recipe or style where a small amount of malted or unmalted wheat is called for.
Ingredients
9 lbs. (4.1 kg) 2-row pale malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) khorasan wheat
2.5 AAU Saaz hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5% alpha acids)
7.5 AAU Saaz hops (10 min.) (1.5 oz./43 g at 5% alpha acids)
Lallemand Belle Saison or Wyeast 3711 (French Saison) or White Labs WLP590 (French Saison Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mill the khorasan wheat to a coarse flour, milling with 2 pounds (0.91 kg) of 2-row pale malt and gelatinizing at 151 °F (66 °C). Once complete, add to mash tun and dough-in with remaining grain. Target a mash of around 1.2 quarts of water to 1 pound of grain (2.5 L/kg), and a temperature of 154 °F (68 °C) using 3.4 gallons (12.8 L) of water at 166 °F (74 °C). Hold at 154 °F (68 °C) until enzymatic conversion is complete, about 60 minutes. In your hot liquor tank, bring 4.4 gallons of water up to 170 °F (77 °C). Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is 6 gallons (23 L). Add 0.5 oz. (14 g) Saaz hops once a boil is reached. Total boil time is 60 minutes. After 50 minutes add 1.5 oz. (43 g) of Saaz hops. Boil 10 more minutes. Chill the wort to 68 °F (20 °C) and aerate thoroughly then pitch yeast. Ferment in primary at 68–74 °F (20–23 °C) for 10 days. Move to a secondary fermenter. Leave in secondary for 14 days or until beer is clear. Keg or bottle as normal.
Kickin’ It Khorasan Style Saison
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.047 FG = 1.008
IBU = 20 SRM = 4 ABV = 5.2%
Ingredients
3 lbs. (1.36 kg) 2-row pale malt
1.25 lbs. (0.57 kg) khorasan wheat
3.25 lbs. (1.5 kg) golden light dried malt extract
2.5 AAU Saaz hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5% alpha acids)
7.5 AAU Saaz hops (10 min.) (1.5 oz./43 g at 5% alpha acids)
Lallemand Belle Saison or Wyeast 3711 (French Saison) or White Labs WLP590 (French Saison Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mill the khorasan wheat to a coarse flour, milling with 2 pounds (0.91 kg) of 2-row pale malt and gelatinizing at 151 °F (66 °C). Once complete, let cool and add cereal mash to fine mesh bag with 1 lb. (0.45 kg) of 2-row pale malt and steep for 60 minutes at 152 °F (67 °C) in 3 gallons (11.4 L) of water. Remove bag, and add the dried malt extract. Stir until dissolved. Bring water to a boil. Add 0.5 oz. (14 g) Saaz hops once a boil is reached. Total boil time is 60 minutes. Follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe.
Are You Teff Enough? Cream Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.049 FG = 1.008
IBU = 15 SRM = 4 ABV = 5.4%
The subtle flavor of teff is quite nice in a cream ale, and you may choose to actually throw teff in the oven (spread evenly in a shallow pan, baked at 300 °F/148 °C for 15–30 minutes) to bring out a more nutty flavor and some color as well.
Ingredients
9 lbs. (4.1 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) teff
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) flaked corn
2.75 AAU Cascade hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5.5% alpha acid)
2.75 AAU Cascade hops (10 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5.5% alpha acid)
Fermentis US-05 or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mill the teff to a coarse flour, milling with 2 pounds (0.91 kg) of 2-row pale malt and gelatinizing at 176 °F (80 °C). Once complete, add to mash tun and dough-in with remaining grain. Target a mash of around 1.2 quarts of water to 1 pound of grain (2.5 L/kg), and a temperature of 154 °F (68 °C) using 3.3 gallons (12.5 L) of water at 168 °F (76 °C). Hold the mash at 154 °F (68 °C) until enzymatic conversion is complete, about 60 minutes. In your hot liquor tank, bring 4.5 gallons (17 L) of water up to 170 °F (77 °C). Sparge slowly with 170 °F (77 °C) water, collecting wort until the pre-boil kettle volume is 6 gallons (23 L). Add 0.5 oz. (14 g) Cascade hops once a boil is reached. Total boil time is 60 minutes. After 50 minutes add 0.5 oz. (14 g) of Cascade hops. Boil 10 more minutes. Chill the wort to 68 °F (20 °C) and aerate thoroughly then pitch yeast. Ferment in primary at 68–70 °F (20–21 °C) for 14 days. Keg or bottle as normal.
Are You Teff Enough? Cream Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.048 FG = 1.010IBU = 16 SRM = 4 ABV = 5%
Ingredients
2 lbs. (0.91 kg) 2-row pale malt
1 lb. (0.45 kg) teff
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) flaked corn
3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) golden light dried malt extract
2.75 AAU Cascade hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5.5% alpha acid)
2.75 AAU Cascade hops (10 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 5.5% alpha acid)
Fermentis US-05 or White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Wyeast 1056 (American Ale) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Mill the teff to a coarse flour, milling with 1 lb. (0.45 kg) of 2-row pale malt and gelatinizing at 176°F (80 °C). Once complete, add cereal mash to fine mesh bag with 1 lb. (0.45 kg) of 2-row pale malt and flaked corn and steep for 60 minutes at 152 °F (67 °C) in 3 gallons (11.4 L) of water. Remove bag, and add 3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg) golden light dried malt extract. Stir until dissolved. Bring water to a boil. Add 0.5 oz. (14 g) Cascade hops once a boil is reached. Now follow the remainder of the all-grain recipe.
