Flaked & Unmalted Adjuncts

Flaked malt is processed differently to other types of brewing grains, and it looks very different as a result. When a maltster or producer makes flaked malt, they torrefy it, then run it through roller mills to press each grain under pressure, revealing and releasing the starch within. This action creates a product that looks much more like your breakfast cereal than it does a brewing malt—but flaked malt can be extremely useful in your brews.

Flaked malt is already prepared and ready for your mash, so don’t try to mill it at home. Flakes are non-enzymatic “adjuncts”, which means you can add them to your grain bill in small amounts, but they never make up the bulk of the grist. 20% is usually the maximum amount of flaked malt a brewer will use.

Different flaked grains are used for different purposes in the brewing process.

Corn: Used for colour and flavour

Rice: Used for mouthfeel and sometimes flavour

Wheat: Used for head retention, body, haze, and flavour

Rye: Used for flavour and body

Barley: Body, flavour and colour

Oats: Used for head retention and body

When malt is torrefied, or undergoes torrefaction, this means that the maltster has heated the grains and created a reaction a lot like popping popcorn on the stove. It helps to remember that grain is actually individual seeds when you think about how this process works. 

Inside each grain is a raw endosperm—the part of the seed/grain that provides enough nutrition to enable the embryo to germinate into a new plant. This endosperm is packed with starch, and by applying heat, the starch is broken down, making it much more easy to convert into sugars.

Torrefied malts such as torrefied wheat have a clean, almost neutral flavour, but what they lack in deep, malty flavours, they make up for in mouthfeel. Torrefied wheat is excellent at providing body without undermining the other flavours of the beer. This makes it useful for brews that need a richer texture, but the recipe already tastes the way you want it to.

Torrefied malt also has a lower protein content, and it’s protein that makes beer hazy. So if you’re looking for a clear, bright finish, torrefied malts are a good addition to your malt bill.