Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Wild rice gelatinization

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Wild rice gelatinization

    Hi all. Looking to do a beer using wild rice as an adjunct in our pub. What's the easiest way to get it mash-ready? I'm thinking of mixing with water and heating it in the kitchen to gelatinization temperature (85C?), holding for a short while, and adding to the mash.

    Better yet, is there a supplier of mash-ready wild rice flakes?

  • #2
    I've never brewed with it but I've cooked my share. It's not actually rice, so what we know about rice starches doesn't necessarily apply and I would not use it as a guide.

    Based on cooking it, I would say: grind it well and boil it as porridge for a good 30 mins. Whole, it remains chewy after considerable cooking, meaning that its starches are likely difficult to gelatinise. So I would not take a chance on residual starch; I would basically nuke it.

    Should be an interesting experiment. Let us know how it turns out.

    Comment


    • #3
      Wild rice is actually an aquatic grass seed and "will not" gelatinize. This is the reason you can't find flakes. The best way to handle, IMHO, is to grind to flour or locate Wild Rice Flour and add directly to your main mash.
      Cheers & I'm out!
      David R. Pierce
      NABC & Bank Street Brewhouse
      POB 343
      New Albany, IN 47151

      Comment


      • #4
        Prepare it as if you were going to eat it. Word of caution (based on experience)--wild rice swells way more than you think it will when you cook it. Make sure you have a big pot!

        Comment


        • #5
          I've got a homebrew batch of nut brown that I've tried with wild rice. I referenced Radical Brewing by Randy Mosher for my process.

          I milled the rice (yes, actually a grass) as fine as I could and boiled it for 20 minutes. It does swell quite a bit when you cook it. I think it nearly doubled in size when you use the right amount of water.

          From there it went right into the mash tun.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by beertje46
            Wild rice is actually an aquatic grass seed and "will not" gelatinize. This is the reason you can't find flakes.
            I suspect that demand might also be a factor there. But I never heard of starch that will not gelatinise. I mean, popcorn gelatinises, and it's as hard as ball bearings.

            I think if you grind wild rice well and boil it, it should work. Flour is convenient, but it might have been ground for some time before you receive it. So why not just make your own fresh to order?

            But however finely ground it is, a hard grain like that will likely need boiling; it's a sensible precaution for a first effort. I would be very reluctant to simply add it to the mash without having someone say that they actually did this and it went off without a hitch.

            Comment


            • #7
              Thanks for the input, guys. I think I'll end up boiling it until it tastes like I'd enjoy eating it and then add the hot rice to the mash. I'll ask also for advice from our chef on what it takes to cook the stuff.

              Comment


              • #8
                I've used whole wheat flour directly in the mash---> straight from the bag with no problems. Sorry never tried wild rice, buck wheat, yes, spelt, yes, amaranth, yes
                Cheers & I'm out!
                David R. Pierce
                NABC & Bank Street Brewhouse
                POB 343
                New Albany, IN 47151

                Comment


                • #9
                  The logistics of cooking it are daunting — I'm thinking of cooking it right in the mash tun using the mash tun's steam jackets and then mashing in as normal except with wild rice on the bottom of the tun. Anyone tried something like this?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    It's definitely pain in the kettle...

                    One suggestion: cook a small quantity (like 1/2 cup) in your kitchen first -- check and see how thick it is and if you will need a beta-glucanase rest.

                    the chewiness of wild rice may be due to protein content more than starch structure -- so you might want to tweak your protein rest as well.

                    good luck and have fun!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I've brewed a number of batches with wild rice (I have a supplier direct from the rez in Northern MN). It does gelatinize. You have to cook the ever loving stuff out of it. Make sure you have enough water, and ready to put more water in as it cooks. I'd start with max 1lb per gallon of water. You cook it way past where you'd eat it, it starts getting a thick viscous slime in the pot, as long as there's enough water. At that point I strain it into the boil pot, running some more water through it to get the good stuff out. If you taste the rice at after this, it will be completely tasteless, very different from what it is like when you cook to eat it. Use the spent rice for bread or lo-cal fiber, dog food or whatever. Little known fact: wild rice has a lot of protein in it, though I don't know if any remains after gelatinizing it.

                      My best luck has been with ambers, pale ales and kolsch, but have brewed darker beers like browns with success. It does add a very nice nutty 'umami' if you use the right proportion (I stick around 20% because if you go higher you have to add malt to balance or you'll end up with a watery, strong beer. But if you add too much malt to compensate, you end up masking the flavor of the rice. It's a balancing act.)
                      I have an idea to make the wild rice flavor come through even more intensely, and if I think to after it's done I'll post an update here.

                      *I brew with the real, wild stuff, not the long, black farmed crap you get in plastic shakers in the grocery. They're VERY different. I'd suggest finding a specialty supplier out of MN or WI for the good stuff.
                      Happy brewing-

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Woolsocks
                        The logistics of cooking it are daunting — I'm thinking of cooking it right in the mash tun using the mash tun's steam jackets and then mashing in as normal except with wild rice on the bottom of the tun. Anyone tried something like this?
                        Sounds like it would work to me, providing you can comfortably add enough liquor to cover your jackets without mucking around strike & mash temp for the saccharification rest too much (ie thinking too much hot rice in the tun / waiting for it to cool). Also providing your MT steam has enough grunt to boil, which I'd assume it would?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by kai
                          Sounds like it would work to me, providing you can comfortably add enough liquor to cover your jackets without mucking around strike & mash temp for the saccharification rest too much (ie thinking too much hot rice in the tun / waiting for it to cool). Also providing your MT steam has enough grunt to boil, which I'd assume it would?
                          Did this yesterday. Worked well, although getting the temperature down to saccrification temperature was a little tricky since it took so much hot water to keep the steam jacket covered. Still, nothing I couldn't handle. Beer is fermenting happily.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            If you want to make it really easy on yourself, do as my mom does when making her wild rice casserole at Christmas. Soak the whole unbroken rice overnight in cold water.

                            The rice will take up the cold water then burst open quicker during cooking. It opens up like popcorn while cooking. I suppose if you wanted to get all the starches from it at that point, you could blend it up with a hand blender and add the mix to your mash.

                            Comment

                            Working...
                            X