Ya I was planning to do something like that.
Basically I malted (2 cups) and roasted to 3 stages and then tried to make a crystal malt by pouring boiling water over the quinoa as it roasted. I think I should have done this last stage with some of the less roasted ones but its a very intense rich flavor/scent. The tricky part is removing the shoots by drying them properly. Airdrying didn't work as well as the oven, but the oven didn't heat so evenly. I wish I had the ability to invest in a popcorn machine or roaster that has the churning arms.
I am going to roast 2 more sets of 2 cups. One I will soak for around 2 hours. Just to see if I can get all the saponins out (soap precursors, you can rinse quinoa and see them come out). The other set I will just roast straight.
I was planning to make baby worts out of each set, maybe mashing them in mason jars in a hot water bath. Seeing how they smell/taste/gravate?/ and convert starchs. Then maybe I will blend and ferment them. This will help me figure out the quinoa grain bill.
As far as adjuncts I have been playing around with the idea to use sweet potatoes, I have heard they have a high alpha amylase activity. More research is necessary.
I've been considering beet juice and honey as they are fermentables that will increase the gravity and alky %.
Until now it seems that malting is the biggest potchke.
I also worry about 2 things. 1. the high protein content will gunk things up and I will lose volume. 2. I have no idea which hops to add if any.
Sounds like an interesting experiment.
You can always add amylase to increase the conversion numbers.
Have you ever looked into making beer with chestnut chips?
Supposedly, they convert well and have the best flavor next to malted barley. I would definitely add those to my experiment before sweet potatoes.
Honey would be great. I'd leave the beet juice out. If you want gravity, use molasses or corn sugar and maltodextrin for body.
Once, you decide on the grain bill, you can decide what kinds of hops you want to use. I'd lightly hop it first and then see how far you can take it.
This is an awesome experiment and I will definitely be participating once I get the Picobrew.