Interesting read over at Mike’s blog: Adding Oats to the Boil - Coffee Stout | The Mad Fermentationist - Homebrewing Blog
Has anyone else tried this? I wonder if it’d work with flaked barley?
He’s just adding beta glucans to the wort. I don’t think that is the best way to add them to the wort. Its better to mash it and leave the grain in the tun and avoid any possibility of tannin extraction.
Are tannins always bad? I thought the tannin extraction during decoction mashing is part of what gives beer like Maerzen a nice structure.
Why do you folks keep coming up with these things?!!!??!?!
You know I’m going to have to try it now 8)
I don’t recall where I read it (perhaps BYO many years ago) but I have added oats to the boil.
Many years ago. At the time I was brewing all extract, and this was about the only way to get oats into the beer.
These days, I mash them with my base grains.
I can’t recall what impact they had on flavor, but I’m still brewing the same base recipe so it must have been positive.
It is my understanding that tannins should not be extracted during decoction mashing because of the low pH.
I’m just basing that on Kai Troester’s interview on Brewing Radio.
Starting around 27min: “Decoction mashing does extract more husk compounds, so the decocted beer tends to be slightly more robust tasting, and that works well for darker beers. There should not be excessive tannin extraction, but there is some tannin extraction. Decoction is not so much suited for a more delicate beer, like a German pilsner. German brewers may go out of their way to separate their husks from their grits and flour, just to minimize tannin extraction.” He goes on to say that separating the husks is not really that common, though some German brewers do it, as well as Trumer, who calls it “endosperm mashing.”
Interesting, thanks for that.
If you couldn’t tell from my sig, I’m a huge fan of Kai. All of the interviews with him are fantastic. He has a wealth of carefully researched and thoughtfully evaluated opinions.