Mashing millet

[alwaysannoyed]

I have seen Millet mentioned a few times, and I was just in the feed store and a 50 lb. sack was cheaper than a 50lb. sack of corn. I am about half way through my third bag of corn this season and eyeing my fourth, but this bag of millet has got me thinking. I have access to a mill, so crushing it would not be a problem, I would just like to hear what people think about millet. Taste, how much of a pain it is to cook, and any other little tid-bits or comments anyone has about working with it.

[Tater]

do a search on millet .Think it was mtnwalker who posted on mashing it.

[zymos]

I find it very easy to work with. I just boil it in plenty of water until each grain has ruptured-the starch is exposed (and gelatinized) yet it doesn't turn to mush. When cooled to mashing temps, add malt.
Others grind it and heat only enough to gelatinize, but that seems more work to me...

[alwaysannoyed]

Thanks Zymos, that's pretty much what I was looking for, sounds allot easier than corn. Did see some posts that said it had a pretty strong flavor, didn't seem like there was a consensus, if it was a good or bad flavor.

[big worm]

Thanks Zymos, that's pretty much what I was looking for, sounds allot easier than corn. Did see some posts that said it had a pretty strong flavor, didn't seem like there was a consensus, if it was a good or bad flavor.

ya i wish i knew what strong flavor was because millet is next on the try list. i found the oat whisky hot and not really to my tastes. can someone describe what the millet tastes like for us? corn and wheat are what i like best so far.

[blanikdog]

I did one cooked millet mash and another two using the ujsm method. Couldn't tell the difference in the end product so I blended them all.

I certainly wouldn't call it a strong flavour but definately a whisky flavour. Oaking will make a big difference I think. I ground the millet as coarsely as I could to release the husk and crack the grain. Takes no effort at all to grind as the grain is so small.

It's certainly worth experimenting with.

blanik

EDIT: Mtnwalker is the expert on millet.

[zymos]

I just found it generally "grainy", but then, I mashed it with barley malt. It certainly didn't have a stronger flavor than malt/wheat or malt/rye...

[Dnderhead]

Iv used some odd grain but cant remember them, I was thinking that millet was light flavored like wheat ?