Anyone ever use Masa Harina in a Cream Ale/Light Lager?

[Jon]

So, here in Houston the grocery stores all carry Masa Harina (corn treated with lime, then ground into flour), which is normally used to make tortillas and tamales...so it got me thinking.

How about a Cream Ale/Light Lager brewed with Masa Harina instead of Cornmeal/Flaked Corn? I've done a cereal mash with cornmeal, and it went pretty well...so I'm contemplating doing the same thing with Masa Harina. It's pretty finely ground, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I do have rice hulls I can add, but I'm not 100% sure I'll need them (though I may add them anyway, just in case).

Anyone ever try this? Is the cereal mash even needed? Masa Harina is really finely ground, so I was thinking I might just be able to get away with putting it in the mash. But, I'll probably just do a cereal mash on the stovetop, just to be on the safe side.

I'm not sure when I'm going to brew this one, but I'll probably want to use a large-ish portion of RO water, instead of just camden treating my hard tap water...I'm thinking I might go 5 gal RO, 3 gal tap...with most of the RO water being used for the sparge, and just a little used for the mash.

I'd probably do something like 5-6 lbs Pale/Pilsner/Vienna/Munich, 3 lbs Masa Harina, maybe use a little Briess Wheat in the cereal mash (since it has a TON of diastatic power). Maybe FWH and add a smidge of late hops. I'm thinking about some Hallertauer late, but it depends what exactly I can easilly dig out of the freezer.

[BlackDuck]

I've never heard of that. But sure does sound interesting. That flavor profile would work perfectly in a cream ale.


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[bpgreen]

I don't think you should need to cook it. In addition to soaking in lime, the corn is also boiled before drying and grinding, so the starches should already be gelatinized.

[Jon]

I don't think you should need to cook it. In addition to soaking in lime, the corn is also boiled before drying and grinding, so the starches should already be gelatinized.

Awesome! I totally forgot about that, so I should just be able to weigh out the flour and add it to the mash.

Now my only concern is if the fine particles of masa flour are going to get filtered out by the mash, or if they'll make it into the beer. Guess I'll find out when I brew it.