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Author Topic: A better way to brew with raw wheat berries  (Read 2558 times)

Offline nateo

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A better way to brew with raw wheat berries
« on: December 26, 2012, 01:26:50 pm »
Grinding wheat berries is a PITA. I've found that if you boil the wheat berries for 15 minutes before grinding, you can keep the pericarp intact, while pulverizing the endosperm to flour. The intact pericarp acts like a husk, making rice hulls unnecessary; it will lauter faster and the wort will be clearer.

I used a Corona mill with no problems. I didn't try it on my two-roller mill, but it might get gunked up, so use a malt mill at your own risk.

The wheat will be much fluffier. Here is a picture. Both bags contain 800g of wheat berries. The left one was boiled first, the right wasn't.



I have some more info on my blog, if you're interested: http://nateobrew.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-better-way-to-brew-with-raw-wheat.html
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.

Offline ufergus

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Re: A better way to brew with raw wheat berries
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2013, 08:00:05 am »
What effects on efficiency did you observe?

Offline nateo

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Re: A better way to brew with raw wheat berries
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2013, 09:00:49 am »
What effects on efficiency did you observe?

Efficiency on my last batch was 77%, with mix of 40% pils, 20% wheat malt, and 40% wheat berries. With a dry grind on the wheat berries, I would typically get in the 65-67% range, though once as low as 60. So conservatively, I'd say 10% efficiency increase.
In der Kürze liegt die Würze.