The brewer can use a variety of malts. These malts can be divided into two categories: one type of malt can be soaked (suitable for extraction and brewing), and the other type of malt needs to be mashed (requires whole grain brewing).
Lager Malt can be used to brew both ales and Lager beer. Pale lager beer is the most common beer style, and its name comes from this fact. Lager malt is the most commonly used type of malt for brewing beer because it is always the easiest to buy. Also, Lager Malt is used in almost all types of beer.
Compared with Lager Malt, this type of malt has a higher drying temperature in the drying oven and produces a slightly roasted malt flavor, which is very suitable for brewing Pale Ales beer.
The history of wheat used to brew beer is almost as old as barley, and wheat has the same mashing ability as barley. Depending on the beer style, 5 to 70% of the malt used for mashing can be wheat malt. Wheat has no husk and has fewer tannins than barley. The grains are usually smaller than barley but have more protein, which contributes to the foam persistence of beer. Due to the high protein content, it is much more viscous than barley. If the “Protein Rest” is not carried out during the mashing period, it may cause difficult infiltration.
Sprouted rye is not common, but it is easily available because it is currently popular. In the grain formula table for winemaking, 5-10% of rye can be used to get the flavor of rye. It is even more viscous than wheat during mashing, so it should be treated accordingly.
The palest malt of all, largely used in many styles. The drying temperature starts at 35 °C and gradually rises to 70-85 °C with variable stops. It has the delicate taste of cereal and acacia honey.
The drying temperatures are higher than Pilsner malt, and give notes of bread crust and, in some cases, biscuity nuances (as is the case for the renowned English Maris Otter).
Kilned Malts are usually obtained by directly increasing the baking temperature during the production of basic malt. Also, the processed basic malt can be baked on a stove for a certain period of time. You can also process these malt at home.
This fully roasted and lightly roasted malt gives the beer the aroma of biscuits and panels. The use of this malt usually accounts for 10% of the entire grain formula table. It can make the beer appear dark amber.
This Kilned malt is like Biscuit Malt in taste, but it makes the beer nuttier. Victoria malt can bring an orange to beer and stress the color of beer.
This kind of malt is amber, and gives the beer the flavor of wheat, and has enough mashing ability. But, it is usually mashed together with the base malt. This malt is used in Oktoberfest beer and many other types of beer, including Pale Ales beer.
Compared with Munich Malt, this malt has a lighter color and a sweeter taste. It is an important component of Bock beer. It retains enough enzyme capacity to transform itself, but it is usually used for mashing together with basic malt.
This is the well-known American Carapils, this kind of malt should be used conservatively. It will darken the color of the beer a little, strengthen the taste and feel the thickness of the beer. The usual usage of 5 gallons of beer is 1/2 pound. If soaked in Dextrin Malt, a lot of starch that cannot be converted will be formed and the starch will become cloudy.
Caramel Malts (Crystalline Malt) is made by a special heating and cooking process to crystallize sugars. These sugars are long-chain molecules that have been caramelized and cannot be converted into monosaccharides by enzymes during mashing. This results in a thicker malt flavor and caramel sweetness in the beer, which makes the beer taste thicker. These malts are used in almost all ales beers and high-strength Lager beers. Usually, 5 gallons of beer is added with 1/2 pound of different types of crystalline malt, which accounts for 5-25% of the total malt formula.
This malt brings a slight honey-like sweetness to the beer, and can partly increase the thickness of the finished wine.
This malt deepens the color of the beer and adds a slight caramel sweetness. This makes it quite suitable for brewing light-colored Ales beer and amber-colored Lager beer.
This is the most commonly used Caramel Malts, and it is also called medium crystal. It is very suitable for brewing Pale Ales beer, English style Bitter beer, Porter stout, and Stout stout beer. It gives the beer a rich caramel flavor and thick character.
This malt can be used to brew dark red beer, and give the beer a slightly sweet and bitter caramel flavor.
This malt deepens the color of the beer and adds a bittersweet caramel flavor. A small amount can be used to increase the complexity of the beer, or a large amount can be added to old ales beer, barleywines beer, and doppelbock.
This unique Belgian malt has the sweetness of roasted nuts. In brown ales, porter, and doppelbocks, the right amount (1/4-1/2 pound) is great. Using more than 1/2 pound in a batch of 5 gallons of lager beer will give the beer a plum-like flavor.
This heavily roasted malt can give porter and Stout a coffee or burnt taste. Obviously, these malts should be used in moderation. Some brewers recommend adding this malt towards the end of the mashing process. They think this can reduce the astringent taste of the malt. Also, using soft water or water with low bicarbonate content seems to produce a smoother taste. Generally, this type of malt is used in a low amount, and when the pulverization is finer, a smaller amount can be used to get a better color.
A small amount of this malt is used in brown British Ales beer and is widely used in porter and Stout. It will give the beer a bittersweet chocolate taste and pleasant roasting characteristics, and make the beer appear dark red and black.
This is the darkest black malt and must be used conservatively. The amount added to every 5 gallons of beer is usually less than 1/2 pound. If used in excessive amounts, the beer will smell of coke, which makes it very uncomfortable to taste. The use of this malt can be used to color the beer or to limit the sweetness of other types of beer that uses a lot of caramel malt. This can be achieved by using 1 or 2 ounces of this malt.
This is not real malt, but heavy roasted normal barley. It has a dry, distinct coffee taste and is the signature flavor of Stout. Compared with Black Patent, its “astringent” charcoal flavor is less.
