Since we were investigating the subject, I thought it would be cool to have a chart for some common malts’ diastatic power.

This list in not complete so I will probably add to it as time goes on.

Since I am brewing a Maibock with it, I thought I would whip up a malt profile for Pilsner Malt.

Pilsner malt is a base malt that can be made from 2 or 6 row malt. It gets its characteristics from the drying and curing steps in the malting process, where in the kiln the temperatures are kept lower in comparison to other malts’ productions. The kiln is also well ventilated in Pilsner malt production so it dries out quickly. The malt is cured at lower temperatures too.

What is produced is a very light-colored, highly-modified malt with excellent glucan and protein levels.

Pilsner malt seems to be produced in a number of different countries including Germany, Belgium, The UK, and the US. Without doing an experiment, my guess is that each area produces something that is similar but a little bit different…probably not much different though.

It be used at up to 100% of total grist since its diastatic power tends to be over 100° Lintner (which is the measure of the malt’s ability to break down starch to sugar)

Some suggest a protein rest during the mashing of this malt, but others state that it should produce an excellent wort with a single infusion procedure.

It is recommended to boil your wort for 90 minutes when using Pilsner malt. If your grist has over 50% Pilsner malt in it, then you should plan for a longer boil to combat the production of DMS. DMS is Dimethyl Sulfide and it produces a cooked vegetable/corn aroma in your beer. Not good. Boil for 90 minutes and cool your wort down quickly to stave off DMS as much as possible.

More stats:

Flavor: Ferments clean, some grainy notes

Color:1.4 to 1.9° lovibond

Body: Good body and mouthfeel

Use: All lagers, but especially pilsners. Belgian beers work too.

I originally wrote this post back in November of 2007.  I was wondering about smoking malt and if anyone had done it.  Alas and alack, it didn’t seem that anyone had.

I am reviving this subject to add more information about this type of malt and to ask the question again.  Here’s the profile for smoked malt also known as Rauchmalz:

This type of malt was made historically by taking malted barley and drying out over open flame, rather than the sun’s rays.

The town of Bamburg in Germany is well known for making smoked beers, although they are now made all over the world.

Flavor: Smoky

Color: 2.5  to 5°L - Light in color…

Body: I don’t think it adds body to your beer…it’s all about the smoke!

Use: Certainly in Rauchbiers and other smoked beer varieties like a smoked Porter or brown ale. Although Scottish ales have a smoky quality to them, it is frowned upon stylistically to impart that smokiness through smoked malt.

Now for my question:

I saw a recipe for a smoked porter.  It called for smoked malt (Rauchmalz) or that you could smoke your entire grist to get the same effect.  The question is:  Have you ever smoked malt?

Leave a comment and we will get this discussion going.  I would like to know any techniques or tips to smoke my own malt.

Since I will be waiting around for a while (at least two weeks) for my pale ale to carb up in the bottles, I have time to research and write about some ingredients.  One that caught my eye was Franco-Belges Kiln Coffee Malt.  Any malt that has two countries in the name has to be interesting.   This malt is roasted and described as a lighter version of Weyermann’s Carafa malt.   Some sources stated that it was similar to Brown malt, but homebrewers on forums did not agree.  Nor do I, for the record.

Some homebrewers debated the strength of the coffee flavor and aroma.  I think you may need to brew it for yourself to taste and smell and make your decisions

Flavor: Coffee, some dark roast flavors

Color: 150 to 180°L - Dark brown hues

Body: No mentions of body building in the descriptions I found, but I am pretty sure it would add a little heft to your beer.

Use:  Most sources said adding it to your stout, porter, Scottish ale, or dark Belgian style beer recipe wouldn’t be a bad thing.  No more than 5% of your total grist is recommended.

Chocolate Malt

Special Roast Malt

Oat Malt

I was looking through my Northern Brewer catalog and found Oat Malt. It appears to be a pretty rare malt. Along with Wheat Malt, it is an interesting alternative to the actual non-malted grain as an addition to your beer recipe. I did some research into this malt but I also wanted to get more information from our readers.

Flavor: Not much information about the flavor. I am guessing it adds more to the mouthfeel of the beer which is sorta slick, sorta creamy.
Color: 4° L – I don’t think it adds much color.
Body: Northern Brewer described the warmth that Oat Malt adds to a beer. It’s got to be similar to the feel of oatmeal.
Use: It’s got to be great for Oatmeal Stouts. Probably good for robust porters and ambers.

So what say you? When you brew recipes that call for oats, would you rather brew with oats or oat malt?

Does anyone have experience in brewing with oat malt?

Pleas leave a comment. Thanks!

Special Roast Malt is a…well you guessed it…specially processed malt from the American Maltster, Briess. It is kilned using 6 row barley and it appears to be Victory Malt turned up a notch. Here is the malt profile on Special Roast Malt:

Flavor: Toasty, Strong Biscuit, Sour Dough, Tangy

Color: 50 °L - Most sources claimed it added a dark orange/red color to beers. Briess claimed the color contribution range was from “deep golden to brown hues.”

Body: Adding this malt to your grist would add body to your beer.

Use: I think any non-straw colored beer where roasty, toasty flavors are acceptable is a good candidate for this malt. Porters and Nut Brown Ales could take a good helping of this malt, and smaller amounts (less than 8 ounces) would work in Viennas, Märzens, and Alt beers.

Check out some other malt profiles:

Victory Malt

Rye Malt

To continue our malt profile investigations, I thought we could start with some of the base malts.  The first base malt that I chose is Munich Malt.  It’s a little darker than the base malts I am used to, but it does have enough diastatic power to convert its starches.   The dark color comes from the higher kiln temperatures; higher than lighter colored base malts.

Flavor: Produces a malty, some even say slightly grainy taste.

Color: I saw ranges of 8.0° - 12.0° Lovibond.  Most sources said 9° L.  Imparts a golden to amber or orange hue to a beer.

Body: Does not contribute to increasing the body of the beer.

Use: I have been toying around with the idea of brewing a bock…more than likely a doppelbock…as you can see, sometimes these malt profiles are self-serving. :)   From what I have gathered, Munich Malt is the choice for base malt in bock beers.  I have seen it paired with Vienna a lot…wondering if that is to add more diastatic power to the mix?  It can be used in smaller amounts in other amber beers.

Check out some other malt profiles:

Chocolate Malt

Victory Malt

Honey Malt