Heirloom and Alternative Grains
The Industrial Revolution brought about a new era in manufacturing and technological improvements in food processing. Unfortunately, parallel to those advancements began the whitewashing of flavor from our cookbooks, family recipes, and geographical provenance. Grain was re-engineered to be drought-tolerant, bug-resistant, and more robust, sometimes even genetically modified to increase gluten content. These agronomic improvements resulted in fewer varieties of grains being planted and consumed, ultimately leaving us with a far simpler palate of flavor to explore through food and drink.
Enter the current renaissance of hyper-localism and “new” examples of terroir showing up in cities everywhere. Grains once lost to the handed down index cards from our past are finding their way back into farms, universities, and our food and drink. Not since the Belgian farmhouse brewers of Wallonia have we seen such a prolific use of heirloom grains in brewing, and now more than ever it’s easier to incorporate these grains in your brewing at home.
The Unusual Suspects
The most accessible grains to most people are corn and rice, but when you don’t stop at “garden variety” and you dig in, brewing grains begin to show in technicolor. Brewing corn no longer comes in just “yellow,” there’s Indigo Blue, Bloody Butcher, Mosaic, Jimmy Red, and the list goes on. The same applies to rice, ranging from China Black to Carolina Gold, each having its own unique flavor and extract attributes.
Moving on to the more obscure, many maltsters have begun malting “alternative” grains such as buckwheat, millet, oats, spelt, and rye. Known as a pseudo grain, buckwheat is technically a broadleaf plant, but has the same potential to be malted for brewing purposes and is gluten-free to boot. Millet fits the same gluten-free bill and both of these grains can be toasted, roasted, or stewed to provide the same range of Maillard reaction and color that we’ve come to expect from our more traditional brewing grains.
With malt houses all over North America exploring these heirloom grains, you should be able to leverage your local homebrew club, brewery, or homebrew shop to get your hands on some of these options; even better in this case because the grain comes to you already modified for conversion. Other options for incorporation into your brewing include sorghum, farro, rye varietals and more; the sky really is the limit!
Sourcing Grain in your Backyard
There are boundless options for the type and variety of grains you can incorporate, but geography may be the biggest limiting factor. The more access you have to farmers, bakers, universities, and food markets, the more diverse the options you can keep in your brew cupboard.
The easiest place to find raw grain to incorporate into your beer is your nearest grocery store, and depending on their specialty selections, the options will vary; pre-milled grits, steel cut oats, and varieties of rice will be the lion’s share of what’s available. While grocery stores may be your most direct access point, it’s also likely to be the least diverse and ingredients may be over- or under-processed for ideal brewing applications; grains that lack uniformity or that are over- or under-milled or polished can create inconsistencies from batch-to-batch.
If you really want to explore your local terroir, take your search slightly off the beaten path. Speak with local farmers about what they’re growing and where they’re selling it. Going to the source allows you to cut off the supply chain and usually equates to cost savings; raw grain costs less than malted grain because of the diminished amount of labor applied to processing. Oftentimes, the byproduct from milling grain is best suited for cereal mashing and comes at little to no cost. I’ve been regularly using dent corn and rice middlins at Revelry Brewing Co. in Charleston, South Carolina, from our local mill, and the flavor impact has been undeniable in the resultant beers. Coincidentally, when corn is milled into grits, a portion of the bran (outer hull) is left behind and acts as a wonderful filter bed in the same way that rice hulls are used in conjunction with oats or other grains without a hull. Furthermore, these byproducts that aren’t acceptable for sale as food (because it isn’t particularly “pretty”), are mostly considered waste and often tossed or used as animal feed, so farmers/millers are generally eager to find an end user!
Another avenue to consider includes a visit to your local bakeries to see what access they have; baking-quality seed is usually of the utmost quality, having uniform shape and cleanliness, but price tends to mirror the quality. Additionally, bakers and chefs tend to dabble in the obscure when it comes to their self expressions and will often be the gate keeper to some of the more romantic grain options. I’ve used Seashore Black Rye and farro, an ancient wheat, from our local bakery to make some excellent beers.
Finally, reach out to any local colleges and universities, especially those that have an agricultural emphasis throughout their curriculum. Universities across North America are constantly performing research and have access to heirloom seed banks and experimental varietals and are often excited to spread the knowledge of what they do.
OK, so you’ve gone explored these avenues and acquired some great grains. Now what?
The Infamous Cereal Mash
Most brewers with some experience under their belts are at least familiar with the concept of a cereal mash . . . and avoid it like the plague. Admittedly, the task seems Herculean considering that you’re about to facilitate the process of access to starch in lieu of a skilled maltster stepping in. That said, this step can be executed with intermediate skill and equipment and can add flavor, nuance, and a sense of place to all of your brews. Aside from the aforementioned, reasons to do a cereal mash also include an effort toward sustainability in areas with selective growing environments, potential cost reductions, making gluten-free/reduced beers, or simply wanting to make things hard on yourself (I kid, it really isn’t that hard, please read on.)
“What is a cereal mash?” you ask. Simply put, we’re charged with the task of hydrolyzing starch in order for amylase enzyme activity to occur. All grains (and some broadleaf plants; I’m looking at you buckwheat) require that starch goes through a gelatinization step before we access the potential of that grain in the form of extract. Cereal mashing is akin to decoction mashing in that the cereal mash is boiled and later used to heat the “rest mash;” this boiling process also helps soften the endosperm and allows enzymes from the rest mash to convert the newly accessible starch. Malting is the traditional pathway for providing access to starch for conversion, but in the case of the obscure, malting is inaccessible or quite cost prohibitive. Employing a cereal mash in your beers is analogous to discovering a hidden pantry in your kitchen that you never knew you had; instead of just the basic, widely available ingredients, you also have “spices” to add to your recipe!
Cereal Mash process
This is where the rubber meets the road. You’re going to need some equipment, but it’s all either already in your repertoire or easily commandeered. In the simplest of setups, a mesh bag and the largest pot in your kitchen will do. Start by doing a cursory search of the gelatinization temperature range of the grains you intend to use. For instance, corn and rice have different optimum gelatinization temperatures, although the ranges overlap. In our example, let’s use rice, which gelatinizes between
131–174 °F (55–79 °C).
Now that you know your gelatinization temperature of the raw grain, choose a temperature somewhere in the middle of that range and calculate what the strike temperature of your brewing liquor (water) should be at a 4:1 water-to-grist ratio. There is no hard and fast rule with your brewing liquor ratio, but try to stay between 3:1 and 4:1 for best results, creating a proper viscosity.
Bring your pot of brewing liquor up to strike temperature, fill a mesh bag with your milled grain du jour and add it to the pot. If you’re using a flame to heat the pot, try keeping the bag(s) of grain suspended in the pot to avoid scorching; I use clothespins or other comparable clips at the top of the kettle to achieve this when dealing with homebrew-size cereal mashes (for bigger cereal mashes, we’ve used bar clamps, as pictured to the left). The pot needs to remain within the gelatinization temperature range for 15–30 minutes to achieve full hydrolysis of the starch granules.
While not absolutely necessary, especially if extract isn’t your number one priority, there are a couple of options you can utilize in your cereal mash to hedge your bets for greater starch conversion. Malted barley contains alpha and beta amylase enzymes in a readily accessible format, due to the modifications undergone through the malting process; sprinkling in a small percentage (10%) of crushed barley in the cereal mash will assist with starch conversion.
Side Note: While another topic of exploration, if you’re trying to make a gluten-free product, you’ll have to forego the addition of crushed barley by adding exogenous enzymes in the form of amyloglucosidase to your cereal mash. Sold under the name Ultra-Ferm from White Labs, you can pick up a homebrew-sized amount and use it during the cereal mash to promote total hydrolysis of the starch; but there is a caveat, the enzyme is quickly denatured at temperatures higher than 160 °F (71 °C), which bleeds into the gelatinization temperature of certain cereal grains.
After your initial rest, you can begin to raise the temperature to boiling and hold it there for at least 30 minutes. Depending on your grain of choice, you may decide to cook it longer, but probably no more than an hour should be necessary. Of course, the longer you cook the grain, the more opportunity for Maillard reaction and grain texture to change things, for better or worse. During this phase of the cereal mash, I like to go ahead and get my brewing grains mashed in at the top end of dough-in temperatures, and the bottom end of protein rest temperatures, somewhere around 130 °F (54 °C), with a goal to time up the end of the cereal mash with the end of this rest, which should be about 15 minutes long.
Doing a bit of a step mash in this way has advantages of breaking down potentially problem-causing beta glucans that can contribute haze as well as creating a more stable sparging scenario. Furthermore, enzymes at these lower temperatures offer the ability to break down larger proteins that help reduce haze and provide stability to head and body. Once the cereal mash is completed, carefully add it to your other mash with the intention of bringing the temperature of the new mixture up to saccharification temperatures (140–158 °F/60–70 °C); if the addition doesn’t quite get the temperature of the mixture to your desired saccharification rest, depending on your setup, you can heat it from there or add more hot brewing liquor to the mash if you wish, if not, proceed to vorlauf/lauter to the kettle.
That’s it; you’ve done it! From here on out it’s business as usual with your process. While the time and equipment requirements are increased, the potential to differentiate your product is astounding and should not be overlooked; there is grain everywhere if you know where to look.
Alternative Methods
There are other options for ways to use these alternative grains that do not require a cereal mash. For instance, you can always incorporate only the flavor and color of these wonderful grains through a cold steep — although this can have its own pitfalls with respect to quality and stability. When substantial amounts of unconverted starch makes its way through to the kettle/fermenter, hazes and other undesirable effects begin to occur. I’d recommend using cold steeping in moderation to avoid problems down the road.
Another less explored method of incorporating raw, heirloom grains in brewing is modification through koji fermentation. I should preface that taking this step is definitely moving into uncharted waters with a myriad of flavor potential, growing substrates, and varieties of koji to work with. Koji, Aspergillus oryzae, is the mold responsible for turning rice into sake and can be grown on almost all grains that are partially or fully cooked. As the mold grows on the substrate over approximately 48–72 hours, enzymes convert the starch into fermentable sugar.
Taking a page out of the Noma Guide to Fermentation by René Redzepi and David Zilber, consider building a fermentation chamber to grow the koji; this can be a simple Styrofoam cooler or an elaborate cedar-lined traditional Japanese muro, depending on your skills and what you want to spend. The most important adherences in this process are with respect to temperature, humidity, and sanitation. Ideally, you’ll keep your fermentation chamber at 86 °F (30 °C) and 75% humidity and make sure that it is well sanitized throughout before inoculating the grains with your koji.
After the chamber is built, simply steam your grain of choice, spread them out on a pan or tray and allow to cool to room temperature, then sprinkle with store-bought koji spores; a little goes a long way. After 24 hours in the chamber, with gloved/sanitized hands, rake and turn the koji, then allow another 24 hours prior to halting the process. Once finished, rinse the grain and it’s ready for use! You’ll notice based on the variety of koji that you use, that the flavor of the substrate has changed dramatically, and thus will likely carry on through to your beer in some respect; again, unchartered waters, but something worthy to explore.
There you have it, the world is your oyster and there’s no grain that can elude your brewing at home if you’re willing to put in the extra work!
Try These Grains (sidebar)
There are many heirloom grains that I’d recommend experimenting with in your homebrewing. Here are descriptions of some of my personal favorites, many of which should be easily accessible for readers.
Farro/Spelt — An ancient wheat that originated in the Fertile Crescent. Known for its savory, earthy nuttiness, with an underlying tangy acidity. Look for pearled or semi-pearled varieties at retail for easier access to starch, as the bran material is removed or diminished through this process. Use farro as a replacement grain for your standard brewer’s wheat for a bit more of a rustic flavor.
Clemson Graham Oats — Clemson University’s Public Service and Agriculture program rolled out this new variety of oat in 2012 and makes it available to growers, researchers, and end users by request. Recently, Epiphany Craft Malt (Durham, North Carolina) malted these oats to great brewing success. Reach out to your local universities to see if public programs like this exist near you. Look for a mostly neutral flavor profile with a slight minerality and fresh field flavors and, depending on kilning, a deep nuttiness and subtle sweetness.
Carolina Gold Rice (middlins) — Produced by Anson Mills and sold at retail online and in stores, this historical rice presents with a grassy overtone with slight floral undertones and is best used in lagers to help cut overall protein content while still adding a neutral fermentable sugar.
Jimmy/Bloody Butcher Red Corn — Originally designated for Bourbon mash production, these heirloom corn varieties can provide notes of cardamom and cinnamon along with honey-nut undertones. These varieties can be found in grocery stores packaged as grits, in a ready-to-mash form. If you’d like to forego a cereal mash, Riverbend Malt House (Asheville, North Carolina) recently added a malted Bloody Butcher to their offerings.
Indigo Blue Corn — Used mostly for popping corn, the blue varieties are known to have a much sweeter, more mellow flavor profile than most other corns used in cooking. This corn has proven very useful in hybrid styles like cream ales with its unique flavor and ability to thin out overall protein content for better clarity.
African White Sorghum — Sorghum is one of the largest cash crops grown in the Southern United States. It is available in grain or syrup form and can be used as a gluten-free alternative to other grains. Sorghum has a cashew-like flavor profile that evokes memories of Belgian waffle cones. Grain sorghum tends to carry more flavor through than the syrup version, which mostly provides a neutral sugar source.
Buckwheat — Technically a broadleaf plant, buckwheat has a distinct flavor reminiscent of a fresh cut field, hay, and subtle earthy mushroom. This grain makes its way into a farmhouse-style brew seamlessly and also fits the gluten-free option. Epiphany Craft Malt also has a malted version of buckwheat available.
Millet — One of the world’s oldest cultivated crops, millet is considered a low maintenance and drought-resistant annual grass. Colorado is responsible for 50% of the millet produced in the US, with surrounding states comprising the rest. Grouse Malt House (Wellington, Colorado) is a great resource for locating millet for brewing. Look for a slightly nutty flavor profile with a mild sweetness; millet can also be roasted or stewed to increase its depth of flavor through Maillard reactions.
Quinoa — Native to South America, but now considered an American household staple; quinoa comes in many varieties and with differing flavors. It is a ready substitute in any beer that otherwise calls for rice in the grain bill. Look for an earthy sweetness to this grain and explore the nuances of all the available options.
American-Style Lager
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.046 FG = 1.008
IBU = 15 SRM = 2–4 ABV = 4.9%
Ingredients
7 lbs. (3.2 kg) 2-row pale malt
2.5 lbs. (1.1 kg) raw rice or corn
0.25 lb. (113 g) acidulated malt
12 AAU Mt. Hood hops (60 min.) (2 oz./56 g at 6% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Mt. Hood hops (dry hop) (optional)
White Labs WLP080 (Cream Ale Yeast Blend) or a packet each of SafAle S-04 and SafLager W-34/70 yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by step
Mill the 2-row malt and remove half a pound (0.23 kg) for use in the cereal mash process; set the rest aside for now. Crush the raw grain and add it plus the half pound (0.23 kg) of 2-row you set aside into a muslin or nylon mesh bag and secure the top.
Heat 1.25 gallons (5 L) of water (4:1 water-to-grist) in a large pot to the proper strike temperature for a 158 °F (70 °C) mash rest. Add the bag(s) of grain to the pot and rest at 158 °F (70 °C) for 15–30 minutes (this is also an opportunity to use White Labs Ultra-Ferm if you choose). It is important to make every effort to keep the grain off the bottom of the pot to avoid scorching. This can be achieved by suspending the bags with clips on the rim of the pot or good old-fashioned constant stirring.
After the initial rest, bring the pot up to boiling for no less than 30 minutes. When the pot begins to boil, start your regular mash-in regimen with the remaining milled 2-row and acidulated malt in a separate pot at a 3:1 water-to-grist (approximately 3.5 gallons/13 L). Target an initial mash temperature around 130 °F (54 °C). As the cereal mash is done boiling, if you timed things up correctly, you are ready to raise the temperature of your larger mash to your desired saccharification temperature. Carefully add the boiled grain and liquid into your larger mash; add additional hot liquor or heat if necessary to raise the temperature to the desired temperature. From this point, vorlauf and sparge as you normally would.
Boil the wort for 60 minutes, adding hops at the beginning of the boil. Add kettle finings like Irish moss or Whirlfloc, if desired, with 15 minutes left in the boil. Chill wort to 50 °F (10 °C), aerate thoroughly, then pitch yeast. Ferment at 50 °F (10 °C) for ten days. On day ten, allow the temperature to rise for another 7 days until it reaches no higher than 62 °F (17 °C). At this point, rack the beer into another carboy and allow another 3 weeks at 45 °F (7 °C) before packaging. You may also add an optional dry hop during the transfer to secondary, but tread lightly so as to not conceal the grain’s flavor.
An optional alternative approach to this or other similar recipes would substitute koji-fermented grain in for the raw grain and omit the cereal mash process. While brew day is made easier, the steps to produce the koji-fermented grains are meticulous, time-consuming, and require ample foresight. Also, be prepared for quite a different flavor profile if you choose this method, especially depending on your koji spore of choice; my favorite koji for brewing is any used in sake production.
