Flaked barley substitued

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After my first attempt at AG following the Have a go at simple ag thread went so well, I am looking to do Greg Hughes' dry stout (p174 in the 2019 edition). The only ingredient I don't have for this is flaked barley. Would torrified wheat be ok instead, or is there a better alternative?

 

[Clint]

You can get flaked barley from Holland and Barrett.

 

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You can get flaked barley from Holland and Barrett.

That's useful to know, cheers!

 

[mabrungard]

Raw and flaked barley has high beta glucan content. That's a body builder for beer. Torified Wheat doesn't provide much beta glucan. Another alternative is to use Chit Malt, which is slightly germinated barley.

 

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Thanks, good to know the details

 

[peebee]

Or you can just not replace the flaked barley with anything. Just up the pale malt by an amount equal to the missing flaked barley to keep the OG up.

Flaked barley is a fairly recent addition (last 100 or so years, it was illegal in UK beer for most of the 19th century) so it would be interesting to see if you can tell the difference. Flaked barley is supposed to dry out the beer a bit, improve the foam and head (high protein content) and increase body (beta-glucans, a glucose polymer gum not a protein as might be thought, and a known culprit for encouraging stuck mashes), but the cynical will say flaked barley (cattle feed!) is just cheaper for the breweries.

 

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Thanks for that @peebee, I like the context. I may experiment, as I am doing 5L batches

 

[Zephyr259]

Flaked barley is one of the "traditional" components to a dry stout but as with a lot of things it may not actually make much difference. It's my go to adjunct in most brews, never keep fortified wheat on hand. You could use porridge oats and make an oatmeal stout?

Small batches to compare is a good plan.

 

[user 18729]

Flaked barley is one of the "traditional" components to a dry stout but as with a lot of things it may not actually make much difference. It's my go to adjunct in most brews, never keep fortified wheat on hand. You could use porridge oats and make an oatmeal stout?

Small batches to compare is a good plan.

Agreed- oats will give you the mouthfeel and body that the barley would have added

 

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Thank you both. I had half an eye on oatmeal stout, and have plenty of oats in the kitchen. Much appreciated