Degrees of Crystal: Tips from the Pros
Confused by the dizzying spectrum of crystal malts? just like a palatte of artist’s colors, crystal malts are available in many different degrees of lovibond. Two brewers and a malt expert discuss how they use crystals and how to choose the right grain.
Brewer: Aaron Morse, Dark Horse Brewing Company in Marshall, MI
At Dark Horse, we have pretty much settled on the selection of crystal malts we use most frequently. We are a production brewery, so we brew a lot of the same beers all the time, therefore we often use the same crystal. But we do still have fun and sometimes make one-off beers. When we do those kinds of experiments I sometimes get to use some different levels of malts.
I use different kinds of crystal malts in our beers because I think they are great for adding some color to a beer as well as a malty sweetness.
We use crystal malt in about every beer we make at the brewery. For the majority of our beers we use 77 and 45 °L and occasionally some others. For maltsters, we use Rahr Malting for our base malt and for most of our specialty malts we use Crisp or Simpson.
If you’re homebrewing and want to know more about the different kinds of crystal, study the different malts so when you use them you understand what you are using them for, whether it be the color, body and malty sweetness, or even just a particular taste in a beer.
I think the best way to gain a better understanding of what each crystal malt can do is simply trial and error, but you can also read up about the different levels of crystal in books and on the Web.
Always ask pro brewers and your fellow homebrewers questions about their beers, the kinds of crystal they use and why. Also, taste the raw product. It will futher your understanding of the malts.
Brewer: Mark Medlin, Sweetwater Brewing Company in Atlanta, GA
We use a wide variety of caramel/crystal malts, including 20, 40, 80, and 120 °L varieties. For the paler and hoppier beers (420 and IPA), typical usage amounts are 5-10%, moving up to about 20% for our ESB.
We use Bairds malt for caramel 20, 80, and 120. Canada Malting Company supplies our caramel 40. We also use Briess, Cargill and Weyermann for some of our other specialty malts. It really depends on personal preference by variety and experience using different malts from various suppliers.
I typically like to use Caramel 20–80 for beers that require a more subtle caramel sweetness. For very malty beers, I prefer to use a higher percentage of low Lovibond caramel so that the resulting beer doesn’t have a lot of burnt sugar character. I usually reserve Caramel 120 for stouts and porters, or when some burnt caramel flavor is desired.
Homebrewers have the advantage of brewing many different beers. I recommend trying several varieties then deciding which is best for each type of beer based on personal preference. When deciding how much to use, remember to consider what characteristics you are looking for in the finished beer, such as burnt character, malty, hoppy, or a balance of several.
Also, taste the malts. This will give you a good idea of what to expect in the finished beer. The best way is to experiment by brewing the same type of beer with varying amounts. You will get a feel for how much to add based on experience with prior brews.
Brewer: Bob Hansen, Briess Malt and Ingredient Company in Chilton, WI
There are many different types of crystal malts in varying degrees out there because brewers love variety.
Lighter styles of crystal malt (up to 50 °L) are used in lighter colored beers where subtle caramel flavors and increased body and mouthfeel are desired. This would include many of the more popular styles such as märzen/Oktoberfest, pale ale and amber ales.
Darker malts are used for a variety of effects. The medium dark range (50–80 °L) are used where light reddish hues or color contribution are desired but with less flavor and unfermentables, such as adjusting color in light beers or bock. These or darker (80–120 °L) crystal malts are used anytime intense reddish or mahogany hues are required, such as in Belgian abbey or barleywine. The darker crystal malts have distinct, complex flavors described as raisiny or pruney. Percentages of crystal malts in a grist can vary quite a bit depending on the effect desired.
A fun experiment is to brew a batch of beer and then split the fermentation and add worts from steeped and boiled crystal malts to the same color equivalent to the different fermenters. For example you can add 4 ounces (113 g) of Caramel 120 °L or 8 ounces (227 g) of Caramel 60 °L or 1 pound (0.45 kg) of Caramel 30 °L to a five-gallon (19-L) batch to add six degrees Lovibond of color.
Crystal malts work great to adjust color and flavor when simply steeped, removing the grain and adding to worts from all-grain or extract batches. Brewers should make sure they are brewing with true crystal (or caramel) malt produced in a roaster when using this practice. That’s because only roasters allow for the uniform application of significantly high temperatures to green malt. This is a must for the true consistent caramelization of sugars in each kernel. European and some American caramel, or crystal, malts are produced in a roaster and are uniformly caramelized and glassy in their kernels (true caramel malts). However, some American malt marketed as caramel, or crystal, malts are actually produced on a kiln and are only partially converted. These can be identified by cracking the kernels. If mealy starch is discovered in many of the kernels, the product was produced on a kiln or blended and will require conversion in a mash.
The highest amounts of say 1/4 to 1/2 a pound per gallon are limited to beers that desire a lot of unfermentable dextrins (low color) or really intense reddish colors (high color).
