Specialty Grains

Gambrinus Honey malt is a unique specialty malt. It is placed in the same category as German brumalt and melanoidin malt. It contributes an intense malt character and sweetness without bitterness or astringency, and flavors reminiscent of honey. These characteristics make it suitable for use in almost any beer style where more maltiness and honey sweetness is desired. Gambrinus is a small malting house, but they have made a big impression in the brewing industry with their superior malt products. Try some honey malt in your next recipe!

Chocolate rye malt from Weyermann is a rye product that has been deeply roasted. The resulting malt can be used in small amounts to add the roasted, spicy flavor of rye to specialty beers. It contributes a deep color, much like roasted barley or chocolate wheat, but with different flavor and aromatic characteristics. This malt is usually used in roggenbier or dunkelweizens, among other styles. However, creative homebrewers have been known to add a small portion in a number of different beer styles to give them a unique roasted flavor. Use as up to 5% of the grist.

Briess crystal 10L is a roasted malt that imparts a very slight golden color. Due to the roasting process, Briess crystal malts develop unique flavors and aromas which are passed on to the beer during mashing or steeping. Briess crystal 10L contributes a candy like sweetness and a mild caramel character to beers. Used by all-grain and extract brewers alike because it requires no mashing. It will add a slight golden color to beer, as well as add to body, residual sugars, and help improve head retention.

Another wonderful crystal malt from Simpsons! Their medium crystal will add residual sweetness to beers, as well as help foam stability and increase body. Flavors of caramel that are almost honeylike can be contributed to beers when Simpson's medium crystal is used as part of the grist. The color contributions are not as drastic as when using darker crystal malts. Simpson's medium crystal tends to lend a light to medium amber color to beers, which increases as a higher percentage is added to the grist. A wonderful malt that can be used in any beer style where crystal malt is called for, including pales ales, IPAs, milds, and porters. Try this malt in your next beer!

German wheat malt from Avangard is a high quality, authentic German wheat malt with a wide range of applications. It can be used as the base in any wheat beer, from traditional German Hefeweizens to American and Belgian wheat beers. In addition, it can be used in small amounts in other styles to increase body and head retention. This wheat malt makes a fine addition in any recipe calling for wheat malt. Avangard is Germany's largest maltster, and their fine products are known for their superior quality. Try their wheat malt today and see for yourself!

Dingeman's Special B Malt is a dark crystal malt that is used in the production of Belgian style beers, such as Belgian dubbels and trappist high gravity ales. It is known for its rich and luscious flavor contributions, which are reminiscent of dark stone fruits. Cherries, raisins, plum and currant are terms often used when describing the flavors contributed by Special B. Because it is darker than many other crystal malts, it can begin to contribute roasted notes and dark brown to black colors without the usual bitterness that is attributed to dark roasted malts like chocolate or black patent. Use this not only in Belgian style ales, but any beer where are dark, fruity sweetness is desired.

Swaen Kiln Coffee Malt is a very unique malt indeed! It has a very distinct coffee flavor and aroma that is unmistakable. It goes well in browns, scottish ales, porters and stouts among other styles. It is similar to pale chocolate malt but with more coffee and burnt toast characteristics. It contributes a ruby to dark brown color to beers, depending on how much is used. A very interesting malt, try substituting this for pale chocolate or chocolate malt in recipes.

Weyermann Carafa III is a de-husked roasted barley that can add all the roasted flavors, aromas and color to beer without the astringency sometimes associated with dark roasted grains. Suitable for all darker beer styles, such as porters, stouts, dark lagers, dunkelweizens, schwarzbiers, altbiers and bocks, Carafa III can also be used  in small quantities to add a slight dark character to lighter beers.

Briess crystal 20L is a roasted specialty malt that imparts a light golden color that is slightly darker than that contributed by crystal 10L. It also adds a sweetness and mild caramel flavor to beer, but contributes a more pronounced golden to light orange color to beers. Like the other crystal malts, this one will add body and head retention to beers.

Munton's Black Patent malt is a malt made by taking fully modified pale malt and roasting it to the point of carbonizing. The result is a very dark malt with no diastatic power that is used to contribute color, roasted flavor, acidity and dryness to beers. A small amount will contribute dark color additions and a bit of dryness without impacting flavor too greatly. A bit more will add roast character and may help balance some crystal and caramel flavors contributed by other specialty malts.

While it is sometimes described as bitter and astringent, Black Patent malt can also lend deep, rich fruit notes of currant and plum when balanced with other crystal and specialty malts. Black Patent can also contribute dryness to beer. Used mostly in porters and stouts, Black Patent malt may also be used in very small amounts for color adjustment in recipes.

Special X is a dark toasted malt that adds unique and complex flavor and color characteristics to wort. It adds a nice dark red to brown hue to beers, and has a toasted aroma that brings to mind stone fruits. As far as flavors go, it is toasted but mild, coming through gently on the palate with no harsh astringency. While it adds some malt character, it is not overly sweet like a dark crystal malt. While the stone fruit sweetness comes out more in dark crystal malts, it is more in the background in the flavor profile of Special X, as the toasted flavors take the center stage. A wonderful addition to many mid-to-dark colored beers, this malt is recommended for up to 20% of the grist and can be used in ambers, altbiers, bocks, schwarzbier, dark Belgian ales and abbey beers, and a range of English ales including old ale, porters and stouts. A wonderfully complex toasted malt, now available to you from Great Fermentations!

From Rahr Malting comes this unmalted wheat product. Unmalted wheat has no diastatic power, but makes a great addition in traditional beer styles, such as witbiers or lambics. It will contribute mouthfeel and a very cloudy texture to beers. Because it is unmalted it needs to be mashed, preferably with a more rigorous mashing schedule, or decoction mashed to get the most out of the grain. Those who use it in traditional beers swear by it. If you need an unmalted wheat, look no further!

Weyermann chocolate wheat malt is a rich, roasty wheat malt, primarily used to add dark color and a slight roastiness to beers. It is noted by Weyermann that chocolate wheat is often used to intensify roasty aromas in top-fermented beers, as well as to improve color. While the obvious choice for this grain would be a dark wheat beer such as a dunkelweizen, it can also be used to great effect in porters and stouts to add color and aroma. In addition, it has also been known to be used in altbier, or in any beer where dark grains such as chocolate or roasted barley would be used. Only a small proportion of 1 to 5% of the total grist is needed to make a strong flavor, aroma and color contribution to the finished beer.

Crystal 120L is another delicious roasted caramel malt from Briess that imparts a red to deep red color to beer.  It has a very unique flavor contribution as well, with many people describing it's character as having a very pronounced caramel flavor, with hints of burnt sugar, raisins and plums. This malt works very well in darker beers that require a depth of character and sweetness from specialty malts. Being a crystal malt, it will also add body and head retention qualities to the beer.

Munton's Chocolate Malt is a dark roasted malt that can be used in very small amounts for color adjustment and adding a slightly dry complexity to beer. It is often described as having a rich coffee or dark cocoa flavor, as well as a slight bitterness. It is used in small amounts in some English and British-style ales, such as milds, and in larger amounts in brown ales, porters and stouts. It is also used in small amounts to give a red hue to beers, such as Irish Red Ale or some amber beers.