Author: Brian Hall

Flaked maize, the fancy term for corn that has had its germ and oil removed, is often looked down on as a brewing ingredient due to its regular use by larger breweries making light beers for heavy consumption by the general population. Historically, flaked maize was used as an adjunct to aid with stability and clarity by early 19th century European brewers who had immigrated to the United States where 6-row barley was being heavily used; they found that by using a mix of corn and 6-row barley malt in the mash, they could make a beer that was easy drinking and more visually appealing, more closely resembling the all 2-row beers they were making at home.

The fact corn is both cheaper and provides a subtler flavor than barley malt makes it a huge hit for breweries who market the less filling and smoother flavor of their product. On the other end of the spectrum are brewers and drinkers of craft beer, many of whom scrutinize the use of such high proportions of corn specifically for the reasons it’s used by larger corporate breweries. But does it have a place?

I’ve used small amounts of flaked maize in the past when it’s appropriate and always thought it yielded a slightly smoother, sweeter characteristic, which was undoubtedly influenced by expectations. Lately, I’ve been on a “beer flavored beer” kick and wanted some easy drinking pale quaffers on tap, so I busted out some flaked maize and put this one to the test!

| PURPOSE |

To evaluate the differences between a beer made with a portion of flaked maize and one that was made with no flaked maize.

| METHODS |

I went with a very simple Pilsner inspired recipe for this xBmt it hopes it would display any impact of the variable well.

Do I Make You Corny, Baby?

Recipe Details Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV 5.5 gal 60 min 34.3 IBUs 3.5 SRM 1.049 1.013 4.7 % Actuals 1.049 1.01 5.1 % Fermentables Name Amount % Pale Malt (2 Row) US 4 lbs 36.36 Pilsner (2 Row) Bel 4 lbs 36.36 Corn, Flaked 3 lbs 27.27 Hops Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha % Saaz 50 g 30 min Boil Pellet 3.3 Saaz 57 g 20 min Boil Pellet 3.3 Saaz 57 g 5 min Boil Pellet 3.3 Yeast Name Lab Attenuation Temperature Urkel (L28) Imperial Yeast 73% 52°F - 58°F Notes Non-Flaked Maize Batch had 5.5 lbs each of Pale and Pils malts.



Water Profile: Ca 75 | Mg 1 | Na 10 | SO4 84 | Cl 70 Download Download this recipe's BeerXML file

I collected all of the RO water for both batches a couple hours ahead of time and adjusted it to my target profile before tossing in my heat stick.

As the liquor was heating, I weighed out and milled the grain for each batch.

The batch without flaked maize received an equivalent amount of additional base malt. Since the corn was flaked, it didn’t require milling, so I tossed it in to its respective container once the grain was milled.

Once each batch of water was appropriately heated, I mashed in and checked to ensure both were at the same mash temperature.

The mashes were left to rest for 60 minutes each.

I measured out equal amounts of the same hops for each batch while waiting for the mash to finish.

When the hour was up, I removed the grain bags and let them drip until my pre-boil volume was reached, after which I hit the flame under each kettle. The worts were boiled for 60 minutes with hops added as stated in the recipe.

At the completion of the boil, I quickly chilled each wort with my immersion chiller.

Refractometer readings showed a fairly big difference between the worts, with the flaked maize clocking in 0.007 SG points lower than the batch without flaked maize.

After racking equal amounts of wort to separate glass carboys and placing them in my fermentation chamber, I let them sit until my desired fermentation temperature of 54°F/12°C was reached, at which point I pitched volumetrically equal vitality starters of Imperial Yeast L28 Urkel into either one.

Fermentation kicked off in both batches with 12 hours and proceeded similarly. After 4 weeks in primary, I took hydrometer measurements showing both beers reached a similar FG.

The beers were then transferred to kegs.

The filled kegs were set in my kegerator and burst carbonated overnight before I reduced the gas to serving pressure. Skipping my usual gelatin fining process, I let the beers cold condition for a couple weeks before moving forward with data collection.

| RESULTS |

A total of 23 people of varying levels of experience participated in this xBmt. Each participant was served 1 sample of the beer made with flaked maize and 2 samples of the beer made without flaked maize in different colored opaque cups then asked to identify the unique sample. At this sample size, 12 tasters (p<0.05) would have had to identify the unique sample in order to reach statistical significance, which is exactly how many were able to do so (p=0.048), indicating participants in this xBmt could reliably distinguish a Pilsner made with 27% flaked maize from one made with all barley malt.

The 12 participants who made the accurate selection on the triangle test were instructed to complete a brief preference survey comparing only the beers that were different. Preference for either sample was split with 4 tasters preferring each. Another 3 tasters reported having no preference despite perceiving a difference, while 1 taster felt there was no difference between the beers.

My Impressions: Upon first tasting, I thought the beer sans corn was ever so slightly crisper than the version made with flaked maize, which I perceived as having a slightly smoother finish. Out of 9 semi-blind triangle test attempts, I successfully identified the odd beer out a whopping 1 time. The beers tasted identical to me. As far as the beers go, I enjoyed both of them and had no problem drinking both kegs, though I might reduce the bitterness a bit in future iterations.

| DISCUSSION |

While the emotional arguments against the use of corn in beer, and those who choose to use it in large proportions in their brewing, is ultimately up to each individual consumer, contentions that its use impacts certain characteristics of beer can be more objectively tested. The fact blind tasters in this xBmt were capable of telling apart a beer made with 27% flaked maize from a similar beer that didn’t include the adjunct seems to provide some support for the aforementioned contention.

Given the hate some seem to throw at flaked maize, I found it interesting that the preferences of those who were correct on the triangle test was split evenly between the samples. Makes me wonder how things might have looked if they’d known which beer was made with flaked maize.

One objectively measurable difference between the beers was the ABV given the lower OG of the flaked maize beer. It’s possible those who perceived a difference between the beers did so as a function of the flaked maize beer having nearly 1% ABV less than the beer made with all barley malt. In fact, I’m surprised this alone didn’t result in the beers being more identifiable different– I was completely aware of everything and even I couldn’t tell these beer apart in the slightest.

Considering I’ve made many great beers without the use of flaked maize, which homebrew shops typically sell for about the same price as malted barley, I have no intention to use it more often in my brewing. There may be some application where it’s an ideal solution, and I’ll definitely include it in the occasional Cream Ale for stylistic appropriateness. But in the end, the big boys can keep their corn and I’ll continue using good ol’ barley malt to make my beer flavored beer.

If you have any thoughts about this xBmt, please do not hesitate to share in the comments section below!

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