Specialty Grains

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.

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!

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!

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.

Golden Promise is an early maturing spring barley grown in Scotland. It is basically the Scottish equivalent to Maris Otter and has many similar applications. It is often used by brewers to replicate classic Scottish ales, to wonderful effect. Its flavor is often described as being clean and slightly sweet, almost honeylike. Because of this, it makes a great base for pale ales and IPAs, among other styles. It can also be used as the base  in making almost all British style ales, and many hoppy American style beers as well. A wonderful grain with a world of potential!

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.

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!

Vienna malt is the base malt for the famed Vienna lager, and is also used as a large proportion for many traditional German beers, such as bock and fest beers. It can contribute golden to light orange color to beer, and may be used to lighten the body of beers where Munich malt is used as a majority of the grist. It contributes biscuit and malt flavor and character to beer. A wonderful base malt for many German beers, it has also found its way into many American pale ale and IPA recipes as a small portion of the grist. Vienna malt can be used creatively in a number of beers styles; see what you and your imagination can do with it!

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.

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.

Pale chocolate malt from Crisp Malting is an excellent roasted barley product. It is not roasted to as dark of a degree as traditional chocolate malts, and thus will have a lighter color and flavor contribution than traditional chocolate. It will still contribute a slight roasted flavor and aroma that resembles coffee with brown color, but will be more subtle. This makes it perfect for use in small amounts, as little as 1 or 2 ounces, to add character and color to lighter beers. It can also be used to make darker beer styles, such as brown ales, milds, and porters.

Briess crystal 80L is a roasted specialty malt that imparts red to deep red hue to beer. It will contribute a pronounced caramel flavor to beer, as well as burnt sugar and raisin notes. A small amount of crystal 80L can be added to lighter beers to darken them and add complexity, or more can be added to darker beers to increase their color and flavor complexity. Like other crystal malts, crystal 80L will aid in body and head retention.

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.

Avangard's Dark Munich malt is a wonderful malt that can contribute maltiness to beers. It is slightly darker than standard Munich malt, which is reflected in its color and flavor contributions to beer. Dark Munich will add more malt character with a toasted flavor, and darker colors. It can also add body to beers. Often used in traditional German beer styles such as bock beers, Oktober and other festival beers as well as amber and dark lagers, dark Munich malt has also been found to work well in small portions in English and American style ales. A wonderful malt ripe for experimentation, try some today!