Malt Guide – A short Explanation about malts -Part 2

Continuing our study of malts, today we will go deep into the caramels and roasted malts. If you haven’t read part 1, click here , we approached the standard malts. Let’s to the article!

Caramel Malts

These malts are steeped and germinated but it is drum roasted instead of kilned.

Special Glassy Malts

Also known as ‘dextrin malts’, or commercially as ‘carapils’, this malt is produced with low temperature and high moisture-generating a glassy endosperm and no enzymatic potential at all. This malt is used to add sweetness or to enhance the head retention. It could be added to 10% in Pilsen or even in high concentration in other styles.

Caramel/Crystal Malts

Color range: 10-200 SRM

Caramel, or crystal, malts are produced by increasing the temperature, inducing the breakdown of starch and protein into simple sugars and amino acids, ingredients to Maillard reaction. It is possible to use a standard kiln or drum roaster to produce this malt. Crystal malt can be found in a wide range of colors, when light to medium malt can be added in higher concentration, on the other hand, the darker must be used with parsimony to avoid clumsy.

Special Hybrid Malts

Color Range: 50-150 SRM

This malt combines caramelizing and roasting techniques, generating more complex attributes to malt, such as deep, dark, and dark fruit aromas (prum). It is used in Belgian styles like Belgian Dubbel.

Roasted Malts

These malts are the results of a roasting process of pale malts, which destroy all enzymatic potential. The heat produces light brown to very dark colors. Different than caramel, this group provides more dry and astringent flavors and must be used in lower concentrations, less than 10%, but each malt has its own limitations.

Biscuit Malt

Color range: 20-30 SRM

Using high roaster temperatures (227°C), the malt produced has the flavor of bread crust, toasted, and nutty. It has some similarities with Vienna, but much more intense. Ideal for brown ales, Belgian abbey beers, and Bock.

Amber malt

Color range: 20-36 SRM

This English malt has toffee, baked bread, and nuts flavor. The dry roasting process forms pyrazine and pyrrole compounds, that have bitter characteristics. It works well with cask-conditioned beers, being an opposition to estery aromas from yeasts.

Brown Malt

Color range: 40-150 SRM

Prior to the development of the drum roaster, this malt was produced with intense fire provided by wood, that created smoke notes and was part of the old Porters. Nowadays, brown malt has a similar flavor to amber malt but uses more time in kilning to develop color.

Chocolate Malt

Color range: 350 – 500 SRM

As the name suggests, this malt is really dark and adds coffee and chocolate to beer. It has a little bit of astringency and is normally used in Porters and Stouts. The ratio of this malt must be lower than 5%, otherwise can provide ‘ashtray’ flavors.

Using other grains

When we say ‘malt’ we are talking about barley malt, and this is right because the majority of the malt is made of barley; however, it is possible to create malt using other grain as a source, and this will provide different characteristics to beer!

Wheat Malt

Color Range: 1.5-3.5 SRM

No doubt what is the most famous of this list. There is not only one wheat malt, indeed all techniques applied to barley can be applied to other grains. Commercially it's possible to find light and dark, caramel, roasted, smoked, and some other wheat malt options.

The malting process of wheat is difficult, sometimes requiring Gibberellic acid addition. In brewing is even more challenging. High ratios of wheat malt bills demand more intense mashing regimes and usually present problems in the lautering. Some brewers use rice hulls to create a layer and help the filtration.

Wheat has more protein content than barley, this creates a beer with better head retention and normally a hazed appearance.

Rye Malt

Color Range: 2.8-3.7 SRM

Rye malt also presents difficulties in lautering (it has no husk). It has similar characteristics to wheat; however, it adds spicy notes, that can be used to brew many beer styles!

Oat Malt

Color range: 1.6-6.5 SRM

Normally, oat is used as an adjunct (unmalted), to bring soft and silky mouthfeel. In the malted version, it has granola-like flavors. Oat has a high gum fraction, which also create big problems for brewers lauter.

Chit Malt

Color range: 1.2-2 SRM

The so-called ‘short grown’ malt, is a malt passed through a very short germination, where grain is almost not modified; nevertheless, it is allowed to Reinheitsgebot. This malt, acts like unmalted barley, improving head retention, but the high beta glucans and high costs normally aren’t worth the expense.

Thank you for reading, if you like it please like and comment!