Grains

Jeff/Lathe, IMO we need an image here of the 'Grain Editor' page, too. Meanwhile, I am posting this info:

There are characteristics of grain that vary with each crop and where it was grown, etc., as well as variations that are caused by how it was malted. That information can generally be obtained from a Malt Analysis sheet that sometimes accompanies the grain (at least for very large orders such as for commercial breweries). BTP presumably uses that information (at least some of it) for it calculations. The BTP grain database contains information about most popular grains from many suppliers, but users also have the ability to 'add' new grains, and to 'edit' existing grains (or new ones) to make changes in that information. That information should ideally come from the analysis sheet provided by the maltster, but might be obtained from a website, etc. Eventually I hope we can obtain a list of the absolutely essential fields needed by BTP for its calculations.

The following fields appear on the 'Grain Editor' page, with the following meanings/purposes (the technical information was obtained from this site: http://brewingtechniques.com/bmg/noonan.html and I will try to paraphrase it so that we don't violate any copyrights):

Name (of grain): self-explanatory

Origin: Country where grown (no doubt not used in calculations)

Supplier: Where you purchased it (for your own info/records)

Description: self-explanatory -- whatever info you want to include

Grouping: a drop-down menu for you to indentify the type of grain/malt

Technical Data: (from above source)

DBFG (the extract yield using 'Dry Basis FINE Grind'): This is a value which represents the maximum amount of soluables (sugars, dextrins, and starches?? ... less husk material and protein) which can be extracted, under laboratory conditions, from the grain; it appears to be measured as a percentage of the weight of the grain. Interestingly, the above source also states that "Any base malt that doesn't give at least 78% DBFG extract is substandard", and I note that BTP shows American Two-Row at just below that.

DBCG (the extract yield using 'Dry Basis COARSE Grind'): more closely approximates the typical crush achieved in breweries, and therefore gives a better indication than 'DBFG' of the extract potential of the grain. See link, above, for more info.

FG-CG: This is the 'DBFG' value minus the 'DBCG' value, divided by the 'DBFG' value.

HWE: Hot Water Extract; see source, above.

AICG: I don't know what this is, and Noonan's article doesn't help.

MOISTURE: The amount of water that was present in the malt at time of analysis.

POTENTIAL EXTRACT: This appears to be the maximum amount of extract that can be obtained from the grain, measured in specific-gravity, points, or degrees plato. I presume this would be the potential Original Gravity, but I don't know what the standard measurement would be in terms of the grain/water ratio to obtain that figure, i.e., whether it is pounds/gallon or kg/liter.

HCU: This obviously pertains to 'color' since it is measured in such units (EBC or degrees SRM or Lovibond), but Noonan's article doesn't explain, that I can find so far.

PROTEIN: See source, above.

TN: Total Nitrogen; see source, above.

TSN: Total Soluable Nitrogen; see source, above.

SNR: Soluable Nitrogen Ratio; see source, above.

DP: Diastatic Power; see source, above.

COST/UNIT: Whatever you pay for your grain from your supplier.

See also

• Styles
• Extracts
• Adjuncts
• Hops
• Yeasts
• Special Ingredients