This video is from our full-length Northern
Brewer University online course on malt, where we look at what malt is; how it and malt extract
is made; and how homebrewers use it to make delicious beer. See full class link in the video's description. As I mentioned in an earlier segment, every
malt falls into one of four families. Within each family, malts will share general
characteristics which can be clues to help brewers identify why they’re in a recipe,
what kind of flavors they might, and what they could use instead if necessary. The first family can be referred to as “Standard
Process Malts”. Most of these are also called “Base Malts”. These malts must be used in a mash as part
of an all-grain grist or a partial mash grist. They aren’t used in extract brewing, but
they are the ingredients that go into making malt extract. Malts in this family form the bulk of the
grist in any all-grain beer. Within the family there is variation in color
and flavor. Higher kilning temperatures in processing
result in darker color and richer flavors. The flavor change is similar to toasting bread. As you increase the time on the dial, the
toast gets darker and darker and the flavors change as the color of the toast darkens. One note though, the grain itself doesn’t
actually look that different. Pilsner Malt is the lightest in color of the
family, usually 1-2 degrees Lovibond. It is commonly used in lagers and tends to
have grainy, bready or even grassy flavors. Pale malt, or 2-Row is the next step up, at
2-3 degrees Lovibond. Pale, 2-Row, and 2-Row Pale all refer to the
same thing. It is confusing, especially since all of these
are made from 2-Row barley. This is an all-purpose base malt that shares
many flavor characteristics with Pilsner malt. In literature you may see it written as either
pale malt or 2-Row, but here I’ll refer to it as 2-Row for clarity. Pale Ale malt adds to the confusion! Despite the nearly identical name, Pale Ale
malt is distinct from, and one step darker than 2-Row, usually 3-4 Lovibond. It has a somewhat richer and toastier flavor
than 2-Row and is well suited to classic English-style ales. Vienna malt is also around 4 Lovibond, but
subtle differences in production result in a malt that has similar toasty flavors to
Pale Ale malt, but often includes slightly nutty characteristics. It also contributes rich orange color to beer. Vienna lagers and Marzens often use lots of
Vienna malt. Munich malt is among the darkest of what are
usually considered base malts. They have a wider color range than most, but
10 Lovibond or so is common. Munich malt adds rich and full toast and bread
crust flavors to beer, and a deep amber color. Marzen, Bock and Dunkel often feature Munich
malt, and many brewers add it to their pale ales or IPAs to enrich the malt profile. The final standard process malt is Melanoidin
malt, which is often around 25 Lovibond. Higher kilning temperatures during processing
eventually reduce the malt’s diastatic power -- or the ability to convert starch into sugars. This means it can’t really be used on its
own as a base malt. Melanoidin is a standard process malt, but
it’s distinct in that it generally isn’t used as the bulk of the grist. It adds honey-like sweetness to beer. Other names for this type of malt are Honey
Malt or Brumalt. In malting, it’s sometimes called Super
Munich, but that’s not a name that home brewers are likely to encounter. Caramel or Crystal malts are a relatively
modern invention. Their production differs from standard process
malts in that after germination, the wet malt is loaded into roasting drums and brought
to mash temperatures, which converts starch to sugar inside the grain itself. This temperature is then increased to roast
them to the desired color and flavor. They can be used in the mash or steeped for
color and flavor in extract brewing. They range in color from “special glassy
malts” like Carapils which are almost colorless, through a wide range of colors ranging from
light, which tend to contribute flavors like candy sweetness, to dark, which range more
toward dark dried fruits and burnt sugar. Each product is a bit different though, so
be sure to read the description when deciding which one to use. Beyond the standard range there are hybrid
malts like Special B -- with a Lovibond of about 145 -- which bridge the gap between
this family and the next family, roasted malts. Special B and the similar Double Roasted Crystal
add rich caramel, raisin and dried plum and burnt sugar flavors, and are only used in
small quantities. The names caramel or crystal can be a bit
confusing. There are subtle production differences that
matter to the maltster, but for brewing purposes they are interchangeable. If you have a recipe that calls for a 60 Lovibond
crystal malt and all you can find is a 60 Lovibond caramel malt, that caramel malt would
be a great substitution. In contrast to crystal malts, roasted malts
do not undergo a starch conversion step. Pale malt is loaded into a roaster and roasted
to the desired level, like toasting bread until it gets to how you like it. Successful roasting requires a great deal
of skill from the maltster. For the brewer, the darker end of the range
can be steeped, but for best use the lighter examples like biscuit or amber malt should
be mashed. Usually, they’ll make up no more than 5%-10%
of a grist. They range from Biscuit Malt at the light
end, to Amber, Brown, Chocolate and Black Malts. Flavors provided by roasted malts range from
toast and biscuit to chocolate and coffee… to an almost burned or ashy flavor depending
on the degree of roast. Compared to crystal malts of a similar color,
the flavors contributed by roasted malts are usually drier and more astringent or bitter. Roasted barley is usually included here also,
though that’s typically actually made from unmalted barley rather than malt. Earlier I mentioned that every malt falls
into one of four families. The reason that works without exception is
because this last family -- Special Process Malts -- is specifically a grab bag full of
unusual things that don’t really fit anywhere else. The most common special process malts you’ll
find are smoked malt and acidulated malt. Smoked malt is, as you might expect, malt
that is flavored with smoke. This can be done during the kilning process,
or it can be smoked later. Much like smoking meat, different fuel sources
impart very different flavors. The subtle beechwood smoke used in German
Rauchmalt is pretty pleasant and can be used in large amounts in a grist. On the other hand, peat smoke is intense,
and would only ever be used in tiny quantities in beer. Acidulated malt is a trick that German maltsters
developed to get around the requirements of Reinheitsgebot, the German “beer purity”
law. In the US, UK, or even elsewhere in Europe,
it’s common to add phosphoric or lactic acid to the mash to correct any potential
mash pH problems. In Germany acid additions like that are not
permitted, since beer can only contain malt, water, hops and yeast (with some exceptions). To get around that limitation, maltsters can
inoculate wet malt with lactic acid bacteria in order to acidify that malt itself! Since that’s a malt addition, brewers in
Germany can use that in small quantities to correct their mash pH. Remember that any grain can be malted, and
any of those other grains can be found in these families! There are a variety of interesting malts from
a lot of different maltsters, from crystal rye to smoked wheat malt. Unmalted grain adjuncts are also common ingredients
in beer. Most often for homebrewers these take the
form of flaked grains. These are basically the same thing as oatmeal,
but rye, wheat, corn and rice are all available in addition to oats. In general, flaked grains have a big effect
on body and mouthfeel. In the case of wheat, rye or oats that’s
usually contributing a fuller body, but rice and corn can lighten it. Again, that’s pretty broad. Each has its own unique characteristics. Again, this lesson is part of our Northern
Brewer University Ingredient Series course on malt. For more information on this course and all
of our NBU courses, visit northernbrewer.com/university or see the link in our video description.
