Malted & Smoked Wheat

All about grains. Malting, smoking, grinding and other preparations.
Which grains are hot, which are not.

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8Ball
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Malted & Smoked Wheat

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470B8C9B-562C-47FA-BC4C-0D04A6C3F5B3.jpeg
Malted & smoked 25# of red wheat this week. Getting ready to start making some more Banjo Pickin’ Bourbon when it warms up a little bit.
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

Post by subbrew »

That sounds really nice. Someday, hope to grow and malt my own. Had not thought of adding smoke.
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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subbrew wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 2:53 pm That sounds really nice. Someday, hope to grow and malt my own. Had not thought of adding smoke.
Isn't it the smoke from the peat fire that gives whisky it's distinctive flavour?

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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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The Baker wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 6:26 pm

Isn't it the smoke from the peat fire that gives whisky it's distinctive flavour?

Geoff
It is. Peat was used to kiln the grain and the smoke also gave the grain a smokey flavor for Whisky produced on the European side of the Atlantic.
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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Malt looks good 8Ball. I'm right in the middle of malting some red wheat myself. Any guess on what the phenol level is in your malt?
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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Are you malting in a wood frame with screen on the bottom :?:
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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Twisted Brick wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:01 pm Malt looks good 8Ball. I'm right in the middle of malting some red wheat myself. Any guess on what the phenol level is in your malt?
Thanks. Probably in the 40-50 ppm range if I had to guess, maybe a bit more.
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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shadylane wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:25 pm Are you malting in a wood frame with screen on the bottom :?:
13A0D19A-DBA7-4305-A43F-F10955EB5126.jpeg
Yes, a cedar frame with a screen bottom. I do line the trays with canvas first, then dump the grains in to sprout after steeping. Then air dry on a tarp in the sun. Then back into the trays and into the smoker at around 180F. The trays are a custom fit to my smoker racks.
Last edited by 8Ball on Mon Jan 17, 2022 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

Post by Twisted Brick »

Thanks 8Ball. You got my attention with the prospect of a nice smoky bourbon. I shoulda asked this already, but how dry is the malt when you load it into the smoker?

TIA.
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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Twisted Brick wrote: Mon Jan 17, 2022 3:11 pm Thanks 8Ball. You got my attention with the prospect of a nice smoky bourbon. I shoulda asked this already, but how dry is the malt when you load it into the smoker?

TIA.
It’s sun dried & oven roasted first. Then smoked. I get a spray bottle & lightly spritz the top grains only. Give it about half an hour, stir the grains & spritz the top again. Spritzing with water lets the smoke stick without soaking the dry grain. Repeat & repeat for about 4-6 hours. Let the grains air out a day & store in a homer bucket & lid.
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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Thank you sir. I can see applying this process with both wheat and rye.
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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8Ball wrote: Mon Jan 17, 2022 12:44 pm
shadylane wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:25 pm Are you malting in a wood frame with screen on the bottom :?:
13A0D19A-DBA7-4305-A43F-F10955EB5126.jpeg
Yes, a cedar frame with a screen bottom. I do line the trays with canvas first, then dump the grains in to sprout after steeping. Then air dry on a tarp in the sun. Then back into the trays and into the smoker at around 180F. The trays are a custom fit to my smoker racks.
That's similar to what I've been doing.
Except I haven't got into the smoking part yet.
For drying, I've been using a broken oven that now uses a STC-1000 controller at 120vac and a vent/air stirring fan.
The way I look at it, wheat is the easiest grain to malt and the easiest to add flavors to. :wink:
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

Post by 8Ball »

shadylane wrote: Mon Jan 17, 2022 9:05 pm
8Ball wrote: Mon Jan 17, 2022 12:44 pm
shadylane wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 10:25 pm Are you malting in a wood frame with screen on the bottom :?:
13A0D19A-DBA7-4305-A43F-F10955EB5126.jpeg
Yes, a cedar frame with a screen bottom. I do line the trays with canvas first, then dump the grains in to sprout after steeping. Then air dry on a tarp in the sun. Then back into the trays and into the smoker at around 180F. The trays are a custom fit to my smoker racks.
That's similar to what I've been doing.
Except I haven't got into the smoking part yet.
For drying, I've been using a broken oven that now uses a STC-1000 controller at 120vac and a vent/air stirring fan.
The way I look at it, wheat is the easiest grain to malt and the easiest to add flavors to. :wink:
My kitchen oven has a “convection roast” setting that blows the air around inside while alternating the heat input between the upper & lower elements. Lowest setting is 180F, which works because I sun dry first anyway. I bump it up to 225F for a couple hours at the end, and then into the smoker it goes. I don’t worry about whether or not any enzymes are zapped in the process, flavor being the primary objective here.
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

Post by Twisted Brick »

That oven sounds like it would be a good tool to roast up some amber wheat malt on the way to the smoker.
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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Twisted Brick wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 2:19 pm That oven sounds like it would be a good tool to roast up some amber wheat malt on the way to the smoker.
I’m pretty sure thats what I just did, now that you mention it.
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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That banjo pickin' batch is gonna be one tasty bourbon!
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

Post by Twisted Brick »

This smoky amber wheat sounds pretty tasty...

https://www.tastings.com/Spirits-Review ... -2019.aspx
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

Post by shadylane »

8Ball wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 2:10 pm I don’t worry about whether or not any enzymes are zapped in the process, flavor being the primary objective here.
Store bought ezymes are a blessing for folks like us.
It frees us from the limits set by the traditional rules. :wink:
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Re: Malted & Smoked Wheat

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Twisted Brick wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 4:48 pm That banjo pickin' batch is gonna be one tasty bourbon!
Thanks TB, my drinking stock of BPB is starting to get a lil’ low. I ran out of peated barley so I’ll be using this smoked wheat as a substitute in my American Malt Whiskey as well.
🎱 The struggle is real and this rabbit hole just got interesting.
Per a conversation I had with Mr. Jay Gibbs regarding white oak barrel staves: “…you gotta get it burning good.”
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