Grain

Along with water, hops, and yeast, grain is one of the basic ingredients of beer, as well as braggot (a specialty mead). The most common type of grain used in brewing is barley, but other grains may be used. Ordinarily most or all of the grain used in brewing is malted in order to create the enzymes needed to convert the grain's starches to sugars. However, some types of unmalted grain may also be used in brewing.

Categories of Brewing Grain Products

Brewing grains can be divided into categories in three ways: by the specific of grain used, by the way the grain is prepared for use, or by the way the grain is used in brewing.

Grains Used in Brewing

Barley

Barley is the most common grain used in brewing beer. The grist of most beer is made up mostly or entirely of malted barley barley, and all common beer styles brewed today contain at least some malted barley.

Unmalted barley is also used in some beers, usually in its roasted form.

Wheat

Wheat is probably the second most common grain used in brewing. It appears in many traditional European beer styles, often in lighter, summery beers, where it adds a unique character to the beer.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a common

Rye

Rye is a less common but still traditional brewing ingredient.

Maize (Corn)

Maize (called "corn" in the United States) is a common and traditional ingredient in many lighter British and American beers. It is usually used flaked or in the form of grits rather than as a malt.

Rice

Rice is used as an ingredient in many American and Asian lagers. It is usually used unmalted, and is prized by brewers for the clean, neutral flavor it contributes to beer. Rice hulls are sometimes used separately in the mash, where they help prevent a stuck mash without contributing anything to the wort.

Other Grains

Homebrewers will try just about anything, and beers can and may be made with other kinds of grain, such as amaranth, qinoa, millet, or spelt. However, the use of these less common grains in brewing is limited, since they are usually not available to homebrewers in malted forms.

Grain Preparation

In some cases, grain is simply used in its whole, natural state. However, more commonly, the grains used are prepared for use by using one or more processes designed to create specific flavors or chemical compositions.

Malting

See Malt.

Kilning

Technically, most if not all malted grains are also kilned. At the end of the malting process, grain is heated in a kiln to stop the germination. However, some types of malt are kilned at a higher temperature in order to enhance the malt's flavor. These are known as kilned malts, of which Vienna Malt and Munich Malt are the best known. Kilned malts are usually used as base malts.

Roasting

Roasted malts, such as caramel malt, are prepared by roasting barley or other grains that have already been malted. They are ordinarily used in small amounts as they contribute stronger flavors to a beer.

Unmalted roasted grain, such as roasted barley, is sometimes used to add a distinctive roasted flavor to a beer.

Smoking or Peating

Smoked or peated malts, usually barley, are used to give a smoky flavor to beers.

Flaking

Flaking is a process by which some unmalted grains, including barley, wheat, and maize, are prepared for being used in brewing.

Specialty Processes

A few grains are processed by a different process or a combination of the above processes.

Use of Grains in Brewing

Base Malts

Base malts are malts which, because of the way they are processed, contain enough enzymes to convert their own starch to sugar. They will make up the majority of almost every grist.

Unconverted specialty grains

Unconverted specialty grains are grains which are unmalted or have been treated in such a way that they have no diastatic power, but which still contain a significant amount of starch. These grains must be mashed together with base malt so that the diastatic power ofthe base malt will convert their starches to sugar.

Converted specialty grains

Converted specialty grains are malted grains which have been treated in such a way that their starches have already been converted to sugars. These are the only grains that may be steeped for use in a malt extract beer where no mash is performed.