Brewing with Corn Germ as an adjunct

I recently did a search on brewing with corn germ as opposed to flaked corn. I am currently sipping on a IPA that included about a 1/2 pound of flaked corn in the grain bill. I work for a distiller and the biochemist there gave me some corn germ suggesting that he thought would work well in beer. I'm was a little skeptical. There must be a reason that flaked corn is typically used as opposed to corn germ. Can anyone think of a reason why a 1/2 pound of fresh toasted corn germ wouldn't work well as an adjunct?

I think that flacked corn is used so that the grain bed does not become compacted.

Flaked corn doesn't contain any germ.

Germ is the oily part of the grain that's removed because it oxidizes and spoils, shortening the shelf life.  Dieters and health food junkies love the stuff.

I did a few searches for people using it as an adjunct, and this was all I found.

I would recommend against using whole corn kernels because the high oil content of the corn germ could cause poor head retention.

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http://morebeer.com/articles/brewing_with_adjuncts

Flaked corn is used to bump up the alcohol without needing to bump up the hops.

I seem to remember my mother going on a wheat germ kick while dieting, and it not tasting very good. It's one of those things dieters eat while dieting, but not after.

Have you tasted the stuff? Is it a flavor you'd like in your beer?  If so, try it. So what if one batch doesn't have good head retention. Maybe use some wheat (head retention proteins galore) to counteract the germ?

Only one way to find out. I tend to fly by the seat of my pants and would try it ONE TIME unless it turned out really good. Be ready to dump your beer though. Who knows. You may discover something.

Thanks, I appreciate the responses. I might try a small amount to see if it adds anything. That should prevent a stuck sparge and my beers don't usually stick around long enough during the summer to make shelf life a factor. I'll let you know how it goes.