Application of special malt in beer brewing?

The pursuit of perfection is human nature, and the perfect and unique high-quality craft beer is of course the dream of every craft brewer. However, affected by various factors such as environment, equipment, raw materials, process technology, consumption, etc., sometimes the beer produced often fails to reach the ideal goal, and there are always defects of one kind or another.

Due to the different production processes, special malts have different characteristics, flavor styles, and use requirements, and they will play a unique role in brewing. Mastering the use of special malt can make a certain (some) characteristics of beer stronger and more prominent than using ordinary malt. For example, black malt, dark malt, and caramel malt can be used together to correct the color of beer; using caramel malt can make the taste of beer more mellow; using wheat malt can improve the foam of beer; using sour malt can adjust the mash The pH value of the beer can be adjusted to improve the overall appearance, taste, style, and even the quality status of the beer process.

Application characteristics of special malt

1. The influence on the flavor of beer

During the beer brewing process, special malt can integrate a large number of typical aromas and special tastes into wort and beer. Taking caramel malt as an example, the addition of caramel malt has a significant impact on the flavor of the beer, especially it can increase the mellowness of the beer, and the malt aroma is impressive. Therefore, when producing light beer or low-strength beer, caramel malt can be added appropriately to make up for the monotony of taste and flavor.

2. Effect on foam

Everyone is already familiar with the fact that adding caramel malt, wheat malt, etc. in an appropriate amount can improve the foam performance of beer. With the popularity of crystallized malt in the market, everyone began to try an appropriate amount of crystallized malt in order to prolong the brewing performance of beer. Generally, it is ideal to control the dosage within 10%. The specific use depends on the type of wine required, raw material indicators, It depends on the process implementation status.

3. Impact on brewing environment and overall quality

Specialty malts that improve the quality of beer by improving the environment of the brewing process are represented by lactic acid malt. Using a certain amount of lactic acid malt into the mash is actually a kind of biological acidification. It is safer and more effective than the general acid addition method to adjust the pH value of the mash, increase the enzyme activity in the mash, and improve multiple Composed of phenolic substances, so that the taste of beer is softer, more harmonious and fuller.

Suggestions for the use of special malt

1. Caramel malt

Caramel malt has different chroma, although it can adjust the chroma of beer, for example, adding 3∽4% light caramel or 0.5∽0.7% dark caramel malt can increase the chroma of 8EBC pale beer to 11EBC (the specific color enhancement effect needs to be calculated according to the chroma value of the used caramel malt and the expected chroma value of the wine); but its main function is to improve the mellowness and malt aroma of beer, improve the flavor of beer, and promote Beer Foam Properties.

For low-color caramel malt, the dosage for brewing ordinary pale beer is 3∽5%; the dosage for brewing low-concentration light-colored beer is 10∽30%, and the maximum can reach 50%.

For the light-colored caramel malt with a chroma of 25∽30EBC, it is more suitable for ordinary light-colored beer, but for dark-colored beer, it can also enhance the mellowness of the beer.

For dark caramel malt with chroma of 100∽120EBC, the dosage should be less than 1.5% when brewing pale beer, while for brewing dark beer, the dosage can be increased to between 5∽10%. If used in excess, it may cause a burnt smell.

2. Dark malt and black malt

It is generally only used to produce dark beer, and its dosage depends on the chroma of other malts in the ingredients and the chroma of the beer required, and the influence on taste and chroma is taken into account.

Some dark malts can be used in more amounts and have a wider range of applications. For example, when producing dark beer, the amount of dark malt with a color of 15EBC can be 85%, while the dark malt with a color of 25EBC can only be used at 25∽40%.

For the production of dark beer, the amount of black malt is limited within 0.8∽1.5%. Excessive use will adversely affect the taste and appearance of color.

3. Lactic acid malt

Generally malt contains 2~4% lactic acid. For hard water brewing, using 6∽9% sour malt is equivalent to adding 300∽350g pure lactic acid/100kg malt; for soft water brewing, 3∽4% sour malt can better adjust the pH to the ideal range ; But a higher dosage will bring a certain cooking and sour taste to the beer, and the specific usage should be determined by referring to the technical requirements, test data and correct usage methods.