Maximizing Malt Aroma and Character

I have been on this same journey before and it can be a real challenge chasing elusive flavors that sometimes seem impossible to capture, and perfect malt flavor is one such genie. It’s hard to play this game without starting with malt: They may be lacking in the flavor you are chasing. Although you state in your question that you have tried different malts, don’t walk away from that exploration. Malt flavor is influenced by where barley varieties are grown, the variety itself, and how the barley is malted. Try to uncover more about the malts used in the beers you really like; there may be some commonalities. For the sake of this question I am going to assume that you are seeking maltiness in styles like Pilsner and helles lagers, and pale, and lightly hopped, ales.

When I troubleshoot brewing problems, I roll through the brewing process in my head to think about places to focus attention. Water, malt, yeast, and hops. Milling, mashing, boiling, cooling, aeration, fermentation, racking, and packaging. I am going to venture out on a limb with this one and suggest that you focus on water, mashing, and oxygen pick-up in your process following wort production. The flavors you seek are delicate, and nuances do have a significant influence on things when you start to strip layers of complexity back to focus on the subtle.

Water represents ~90% of most beers and you need to check that box when embarking on this journey. Very pale beers, especially those with superb balance and cleanness of flavor, greatly benefit from water that has very little in it other than 50-100 ppm calcium and the requisite balance of calcium and chloride. Readers of my column know that I am a fan of reverse osmosis (RO) water because it is easy to adjust, and free of components that may not show up on the brewing radar until a problem pops up with flavor. Consider using RO water adjusted with an equal blend of calcium sulfate and calcium chloride (10 L/2.6 gallons of RO water with 1.7 g calcium chloride and 1.7 g calcium sulfate gives 100 ppm calcium, 96 ppm sulfate, and 107 ppm chloride).

When contemplating malt flavors, it is tempting to take a deep dive into thoughts about how decoction mashing just makes all traditional lager styles better. The problem with this sort of thinking is that traditional wort production methods were developed in conjunction with malt types that are all-but-extinct from the world of brewing. Most commercial breweries these days use relatively short and simple mashing methods when possible because modern malts are generally well-modified and highly enzymatic, and simply do not require long, complex mash methods. Plus, breweries with newer brewhouses are focused on minimizing energy consumption during wort boiling, reducing thermal stress caused by excessive wort boiling, and using engineering solutions to reduce wort dimethyl sulfide (DMS) that also reduces energy use. This means color and flavor development during wort boiling is something not seen much in many commercially-brewed craft beers. You reference Founder’s Brewing in your question; Founder’s is well-known for their use of infusion mashing. Their largest brewhouse in Grand Rapids, Michigan features a 300-BBL system where they mash directly into the lauter tun using two, very large, grist hydrators, and a kettle designed to minimize thermal stress while maximizing DMS removal.

How does mashing and boiling relate to preserving these delicate malt flavors? Depending on a variety of factors, such as lipoxygenase activity in very pale malts, degree of malt modification, and complexity of mash; wort composition and wort flavor can be skewed in a direction that often ends in aged-beer flavors. May I suggest for your winter reading, which may further your understanding of these general concepts including the relationship between malt lipoxygenase activity and staling flavors in beer, wort FAN and its influence on beer flavor, and how thermal stress during wort boiling influences the thiobarbituric acid index (TBI).

The last topic that I really believe relates to your quest is oxygen pick-up in the downstream processes following wort production. Chasing oxygen pick-up is all about the details, and examples include removing air from empty hoses used in racking, completely purging carboys and kegs of air before filling with fermenting or finished beer, evacuating air from bottles during filling, capping on foam, making sure that fittings and couplers do not have leaks that can suck air into the system during use via the Venturi Effect (especially real when pumps are used), and using deaerated water whenever adding water to fermenting or finished beer. This pursuit can be taken to the next level by pursuing low dissolved-oxygen procedures in the brewhouse, but I don’t think those methods are required to sate your thirst for beautiful malt notes.

There is no single approach to chasing this dragon, but if I were to design a plan it would begin simply. Excellent base malt, very limited use of specialty malts, simple water, mash method aligned with malt, minimal thermal stress in wort boiling, clean fermentation, and obsessive attention to oxygen pick-up. Additional complexity only added as needed. Good luck in your pursuit of the elusive!

Response by Ashton Lewis.