Your support will help us expand the Brewtree website to include more 'do-it-yourself' instructions, tips on how to build better (and less expensive equipment), and support our ongoing hosting costs. Any and all donations help and are appreciated. Please take a moment to make a contribution now.

FLAKED BARLEY The addition of 1 LB of flaked barley to your grain bill for every 5 gallon batch you brew is a NECESSITY. If you desire to have thick, long lasting frothy head on all your brews and a fuller mouthfeel, then flaked barley is a MUST HAVE addition! Some brewers claim it can cause a haziness in lighter beers if used above 3% of the total grain bill, because of the proteins. (EVEN IF IT DOES - DON'T WORRY! THE BENEFITS FAR OUTWEIGH ANY SIDE EFFECTS). Let's face it, how many people would notice your beer is not "crystal clear" versus "flat and no head"? Besides, we have never experienced anything of this nature when we brew. Addition of flaked barley is acceptable AND RECOMMENDED in all beers, ales & lagers. So, for a 15 gallon batch, you would simply add 3 LBS of flaked barley to your mashtun. We usually like to put it in last, so it is on top of the grain bed and won't give you problems of the "sticking" action that too many adjuncts can cause.

OAT & RICE HULLS Often overlooked, Oat and rice hulls are a REQUIRED part of any grain bill where there is a high percentage of wheat malt (greater than 30%) or you are using a high % of adjuncts. FAILURE to add them WILL result in a STUCK MASH - you will most likely have to scrap that batch and throw away all your time and money. However, if you USE OAT/RICE HULLS, you can rest easy because it ELIMINATES those problems. The reason those problems occur is because wheat and/or adjuncts do not have their own "husks" like barley does. The Oat/Rice hulls are flavorless and inert, but perform the function of the missing "husks" - effectively creating a filterbed for the grain so it will not stick together. Just imagine what happens when you add water to wheat flour - it turns into dough. This is exactly what happens when you brew using a high percentage of wheat or adjuncts - they do not have husks to create the uneven seperating layers like barley. It is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to brew a 100% wheat beer without the addition of oat/rice hulls. This trick of the trade can be used in a homebrewery, effectively giving you unlimited options to brew 100% wheat beers in all the same varieties that you can brew a typical beer from Barley. The same is true with RYE. Their are maltsters out there that produce kilned malts of wheat and rye...even such great varieties as the cara-rye, or cara-wheat, and chocolate wheat/rye malts. Now you can expand into uncharted areas of brewing...making rye stout, wheat double-bock, wheat octoberfest, etc...you are only limited by your imagination! Barley does have a fuller bodied sweeter flavor, so don't be surprised if your all wheat or rye brews don't taste anything like their barley counterparts!

IRISH MOSS Throw in 1 TBSP per 5 gallon batch into the boil kettle at the BEGINNING of the boil. Despite what other homebrew sources tell you, longer IS better - why wait until the last minutes and risk forgetting it? IRISH MOSS is a NECESSITY for EVERY batch of beer brewed, as it clarifies the wort making your final beer clear. Irish Moss is actually not moss at all, it is seaweed. It is ionically charged in such a way as it it's charge is opposite of proteins and other solids in your brew kettle, so it attracts them like a magnet. Once the irish moss becomes sufficiently heavy from the combination with these solids, it drops out of suspension.

Your support will help us expand the Brewtree website to include more 'do-it-yourself' instructions, tips on how to build better (and less expensive equipment), and support our ongoing hosting costs. Any and all donations help and are appreciated. Please take a moment to make a contribution now.