The usual types of malt you will meet with when your brew your own beer are made from barley. By kilning them at various temperatures and over varying lengths of time, brewers have been able to create malts that produce a wide variety of textures and tastes in beer. That is the reason why, if you brew your own beer, you have to know all about the varieties of malt.
The two main groups of malts are the base malts and the kiln malts. The latter have more flavor
The base malts used when you brew your own beer
Base malts are so called because they produce the volume of the beverage, and the base of the mixture into which flavors may be added by using the darker types of malt. This ability stems for their having been cooked at lower temperatures and for a more limited length of time than have the kiln or flavored malts. They retain a lot of their protein and starch content and can supply most of the sugar that the yeast turns into alcohol when you brew your own beer.
Lager malt is the most common type of base malt you will meet with when your brew your own beer. It forms the base beverage for most types of beer. It may also be brewed by itself to produce lager beer, the beer that is very commonly produced and drank.
You may also use pale ale malt to brew your own beer.. It is slightly darker than lager malt and was traditionally brewed without hops to make ale. Today, however, the distinction between beer and ale is blurred and the two words are identical for all intents and purposes.
The other types of base malts are not used as often to brew your own beer.. They include wheat malt and rye malt. To brew your own beer that has plenty of protein, you should use either of the two. They are so rich in proteins that lautering mash containing either of them takes a longer time to complete.
The kiln malts – A knowledge of the different kinds of flavored malts is important for making specially formulated blends. Flavored or kiln malts are darker in color than base malts. They also have characteristic odors that are used by brewers to enhance their beers. Besides being thoroughly kiln-dried, some types are also roasted in a revolving barrel above a flame.
When you brew your own beer, knowing the types of flavored malts will be an advantage for coming up with the right brew to suit your taste. In general, flavored malts are more or less fully baked in the kiln, the differences arising from the specific temperature used for each type and the baking time. Some types are also roasted in addition to being kilned. Biscuit malts can be used to brew your own beer that has a distinct aroma of toasted bread. This type of malt is roasted as well as cured. It usually constitutes about 10 % of the initial mash. Owing to the fact that it is practically completely cooked, it no longer possesses the enzymes for converting sugar into alcohol. You cannot use it by itself to brew your own beer.
A malt that is typically used for Oktoberfest beers is Munich malt. It is not as thoroughly processed in heat as Biscuit malt and may be used alone to brew your own beers that are darker in color. It is a commonly used adjunct to pale ales.
Crystal malts are those which are oven-steamed after malting. This makes their starches form longer chains of sugars which are not entirely transformed into alcohol. This malt creates sweet and thick beers that are malt flavored. There are many other strains of malt, many of which you will get to use as you continue to brew your own beer. It is important to research on any malt that you intend to use for the first time.
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