Brewtips - All Grain

Ok ok. We all have our opinions. Jack your approach reminds me of a brewing friend here who won't budge from his tried and true methods. Despite all the renovations and improvements my brewery has gone through much in part due to major learning/ideas/creations developed from net knowledge. His brews are all made from the basics:Pale malt, crystal malt, the three dark malts (choco/roast/black). He basically rotates between: Pale, golden, amber, stout. It works for him. He likes his beer.

Me...I adventure. I've tried most anything, from pumkin to pepper, to vast arrays of fruits and spices. Plus...a number of specialty malts. Yes they add color and flavor. They can give an extract brewer a grainier taste. But many of them will perform best in the presence of mashing enzymes. To an extracter they may just lead to starch and haze.

Here's some examples of ones I use and why (I've been all-graining for about 4 years now, so I've tried a couple along the way...)

Basics:

• Pale malts, 2 row, 6 row. Basic mashing enzyme power- fermentables
• Vienna 2 row. A slightly darker maltier base malt. Good for ambers
• Munich malt. 2 or 6 row, depending on supplier (see discussions) A bit darker still, has enzymes. Good in strong lagers styles.
• Crystals. The whole shlew of lovibond ratings. Use em all. 10-120. Don't just settle for generic "crystal". Get the rating, try high and low. I don't think I've ever made a beer w/o crystal. The higher end add a particularly nice heavier maltiness to mid-color brews.

Specialties worth trying

• Use 0.5-3 #/5 gallons Victory. Adds a nutty/roasty flavor, but MUCH more subtle than the dark malts. Great for a nut brown, or vienna
• Dextrine. Want the full body mouth feel in your stouts? That sweet chewy kind of character you find in a good full porter.
• Wheat. Go 50/50 for a real wheat beer, or just a touch to add some serious head retention. I usually toss in a few cups for fun.
• Rye. A bit more unusual. Not for everyone. Adds a red tone. Try some DARK crystal with about 30% rye in a golden/amber brew. It has an unusual flavor. Sort of "bitey" , tart almost. Hard to describe by a nice change of pace. One taster swears by it.

Dark malts

Chocolate, Roasted, Black Patent. (These should almost be in the basics!) I love chocolate. I bought 30 #'s so I'd NEVER run out. Get to know them separately or in combinations. The battle over which belongs in porter may never end- black or roast?!!!! Try a full pound, or just toss in a handful to a "light" beer and see what happens. Wonderful things come to life. Dark grains are NOT only for dark beers. A sublte roast taste can do wonders for a pale.

How to get to know specialty malts

Thoughts to ponder. So many variables, so much beer, so much tasting, and brewing... Make a lighter beer with just pale and crystal as the base. Add a slightly oversized amount of the specialty malt. Say 3 or 4 pounds. see how it Really tastes. Then use it in smaller quantities to your liking. Do this SEPARATELY with different batches and different malts, then start to mix and match. Look to style recipes for what is "appropriate" for a particular style and go for it. Alternate combinations. Use victory and munich, then munich and dextrine, then victory and dextrine.

I have gotten to a point where I don't formulate a recipe ahead of time. I decide on degree of color, and go to my grain room and mix and match letting the grains speak to me and call out who wants to give their allto this particular batch. I try to add several but NOT ALL types in each batch. I've had brews with as much as 10 differnt types of malt. The resulting flavors can be very complex and perform dances of ectasy on the taste buds and "brew senses". Then there is the whole world of hop varieties to play with, but that's another story.

I know there are many other types of malts out there. Belgian and all, which I have yet to sample. There are certainly differnces between american 2 row and english 2 row, or lager malts. Worth the prices to try for that special holiday ferment, or all the time