Spelt and einkorn in beer

Spelt and einkorn are ancient wheats with their husks still on

Spelt (Triticum spelta) and einkorn (Triticum monococcum) are both wheats. Einkorn is one of the first cereals farmers ever domesticated, roughly 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. It is a diploid wheat with a simple genome. Spelt is a hexaploid, like modern bread wheat. It was a staple across central Europe for centuries before higher yielding varieties pushed it aside.

The thing they share is the hull. On ordinary wheat the husk falls away at threshing. On spelt and einkorn it clings to the grain, so farmers have to dehull them in a separate step. For a brewer that has one big consequence: the malt you buy is usually dehulled, which means it behaves like wheat malt in the lauter tun, with little husk to build a filter bed.

Both grains still contain gluten

This trips people up. Spelt and einkorn are sometimes sold in health food shops as easier to digest. They are not gluten free. Anyone with coeliac disease should treat a spelt beer exactly like a wheat beer. If gluten free is the goal, look at sorghum and other gluten free grains instead.

Gluten aside, both grains are high in protein, often a point or two above a typical barley malt. That protein gives a beer body and a fluffy, long lasting head. It also gives haze. A spelt beer will rarely be bright without fining or filtration. In a wheat-style beer that is usually fine.

Expect soft bread and nuts rather than banana or clove

The flavour difference is subtle but real. Spelt malt tastes nutty and slightly sweet, a little like a good wholewheat loaf. Einkorn reads earthier, with a faint honeyed quality some brewers love. Neither brings banana or clove. Those come from the yeast, so a spelt beer fermented with a Hefeweizen strain still tastes like a Hefeweizen, just with a rounder grain note underneath.

Where the grain really shows is in clean beers: a spelt saison, a spelt pale ale or a Kölsch-style beer where nothing else masks it. Malted spelt is made by several maltsters, including Weyermann. See our guide to Weyermann spelt malt for one producer's specification.

Use it like wheat malt, up to about half the grist

Malted spelt has enough enzymes to convert itself, so you can treat it much like wheat malt. In a 20 litre homebrew a sensible starting point is:

• Pilsner or pale ale malt: 2.6 kg (55%)
• Spelt malt: 1.9 kg (40%)
• Rice hulls: 0.25 kg (5%)

That gives an original gravity around 1.048 at typical homebrew efficiency. Add 20 to 25 IBU of a low alpha hop and ferment with a clean ale or saison yeast.

Einkorn malt is harder to find. If you can only get raw einkorn, keep it under about 20% and do a cereal mash or use plenty of base malt. Raw grain brings no enzymes of its own.

The mash is where spelt beers go wrong

A dehulled grain with lots of protein and gums makes a sticky mash. Without help, runoff slows to a trickle and the bed compacts. Three habits keep it moving:

• Add rice hulls, around 5% of the grist weight, rinsed first.
• Mash a little thinner than usual, around 3 to 3.5 litres per kg.
• Recirculate gently. If the flow stalls, stir, let it settle for ten minutes, then start again slowly.

A short rest around 45 °C helps break down gums if your runoff is still slow. Most modern malts do not need it, so try the simple mash first. Our guide to base malts explains why.

In India, spelt malt needs careful storage

Malted spelt is imported, so it arrives after weeks in a container and often sits in a warm warehouse. Like any malt it picks up moisture in humid weather. Once it goes slack it mills badly and tastes stale. Keep it sealed, off the floor and somewhere cool. Buy only what you will brew within a couple of months, especially in the monsoon.

If spelt is out of stock, ordinary wheat malt is the closest swap. The beer will taste slightly cleaner and less nutty. Understanding why two grains with similar specs brew so differently is where brewing science starts to pay off.

Old grains suit farmhouse and historical beers

Spelt was a staple grain in parts of Europe for centuries. Farmhouse brewers used what they grew. That history makes both old wheats a natural fit for a farmhouse ale, a Gose-style sour or a grain-forward lager where the story matters as much as the flavour.

They also suit a brewer who wants a wheat beer with a twist. Swap half the wheat malt in a Witbier for spelt and the beer gets a slightly nuttier, fuller middle. Keep the coriander and orange peel as they are. Taste the two versions side by side and the difference is clear without being loud.

Your first spelt brew

Start small and keep it simple. Brew one 20 litre batch with 40% spelt malt, a clean ale yeast and nothing else that competes for attention. Taste it next to a pale ale made without spelt. Once you know what the grain does on its own, you can decide where it earns a place in your other recipes.

Common questions

Is spelt beer gluten free?

No. Spelt and einkorn are both wheats and contain gluten. Treat them exactly like wheat if you are brewing for someone with coeliac disease.

How much spelt malt can I use?

Malted spelt can convert itself, so you can use up to about half the grist. Around 40% with rice hulls is a good first recipe.

What does einkorn taste like in beer?

Einkorn is earthy and slightly honeyed. It is softer than modern wheat and works best in clean, simple beers where the grain can show.

Do I need rice hulls with spelt?

Usually yes. Dehulled spelt has little husk to form a filter bed. Around 5% rice hulls keeps the runoff moving.