Grains.

[mark_68]

After reading an article in BYO magazine i am wondering what is the difference between crystal malt and carafa special I,II&III?They both produce a sweetish caramel flavour and darken beer in large amounts plus improving body.Which one is the best to use if available?

[Ed]

Crystals are quite different to the roasted malts like Carafa. Carafa is a dark roasted chocolate malt which has had the grain husk removed. What happens with heavily roasted malts is the outer husk imparts quite an astringent flavour to the beer and if this is removed then that astringency is also less. Both malts are sweet but add different flavour to the beer.

Crystal malts impart caramel flavour and sweetness, and Carafa gives sweetness and roasted flavour. Just a little Carafa goes a long way and so far I don't think I've used any more than 100 grams in any one brew whereas I have used up to 500 grams of crystal.

Cheers, Ed

[bobbioli]

So Ed the carafa would be good in the darker brews?

[chris.]

So Ed the carafa would be good in the darker brews?

Right on. Carafa is a choc/roast grain. Not really a wise substitute for Crystal.

I'm not 100% certain but I believe the standard Carafa still has the husk whereas Carafa Special is dehusked.

[mark_68]

I will have to order some of this stuff ASAP before he runs out by the sound of it,i would be able to use it for a stout or maybe a slightly roasty dark ale.Amazing what you find out by asking,i have been reading heaps of stuff about these grains but they don't tell you how they are made very often.

[chris.]

I will have to order some of this stuff ASAP before he runs out by the sound of it,i would be able to use it for a stout or maybe a slightly roasty dark ale.Amazing what you find out by asking,i have been reading heaps of stuff about these grains but they don't tell you how they are made very often.

A little will go a long way. I only use 50-100g in my Porters (along with chocolate).

[mark_68]

Thanks for telling me that mate ,i would have used 300 gms. or so.I was just wondering though if you could cold steep this stuff rather than mash it as from what i understand it has fewer enzymes than pale malt ,if any at all.I would steep it with any choc. malt ,black malt and roasted barley for my partial mash stout.It sounds like it has a strong flavour,would it be too much with the other dark grains if i used 125 gms. maybe?

[Trough Lolly]

Thanks for telling me that mate ,i would have used 300 gms. or so.I was just wondering though if you could cold steep this stuff rather than mash it as from what i understand it has fewer enzymes than pale malt ,if any at all.I would steep it with any choc. malt ,black malt and roasted barley for my partial mash stout.It sounds like it has a strong flavour,would it be too much with the other dark grains if i used 125 gms. maybe?

Holy shite! 300g of Carafa in a 23l batch and you're tongue will do a Tooheys Dry and run away!
Carafa is good stuff but a lot of it will turn your beer into a very harsh brew with lots of grain bitterness - sometimes the beer will also smell like an ashtray! Stick to small additions (<100g) as you get used to the contribution this grain makes and work your way up as you get experienced in using it...
Cheers,
TL

[Ross]

Thanks for telling me that mate ,i would have used 300 gms. or so.I was just wondering though if you could cold steep this stuff rather than mash it as from what i understand it has fewer enzymes than pale malt ,if any at all.I would steep it with any choc. malt ,black malt and roasted barley for my partial mash stout.It sounds like it has a strong flavour,would it be too much with the other dark grains if i used 125 gms. maybe?

Just steeping is fine. Carafa still has the husk, it's carafa special which is dehusked & smoother. We stock carafa special in I, II & III

cheers Ross

[socal surfer]

I've used carafa in a brown ale to replace roasted barley since my shop was out. I really liked the flavor that it gave off. I've since cut my roasted barley down by half and replaced it with a bit of carafa. It really adds a nice complexity. =D

[buscador]

going off thread!
for socal surfer-
wats yer break?
body/short/longboard?
Creek/T-Street/SanO/LowersTrestles?

give me an update, please!

b

[socal surfer]

I used to live in huntington and that was my spot but would take the quick drive to San O and Trestles alot. BUT, now that I have a real job and the Gods seem to hate me, I am pretty much stuck to Huntington/Newport.

Oh yah! On my longboards. My shortboard is a 9'0" and my longest is a 10'0". But there has been zero surf. ZERO! So I decided to find out about homebrewing in Australia.

I put this in another post but I hear about all of these California Styles of beer. In CA, we take everything we get and add more flavor/effect to everything. I don't know if it is good all the time but I like West Coast beer better than the English cousins due to the higher alcohol and spicer hop flavor. Hence, we ended up with our own types of yeast strains, hops, and grains.

I figured that the Australians are no wimps. They must have been doing the same thing. For God's sake, your animals have pouches! There has to be something in there you can add to a brew. I find it really interesting to see recipes in milliliters and kilos. Damn Americans have yet to convert to logic. So fill me in . Keep no secrets.

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Interestingly, the USofA is officially metric, but also have official conversion factors to their own old measurement system. I guess that it is the fault of the regulators as they have focussed on other things, rather than getting with the program...

[socal surfer]

My brother,
There is no plan to get with the program. It is a bit of arrogance on the part of our.....I don't know who. Industry? Government? Regardless, people in the US are resistant to anything that involves conforming to another country's ideas. They won't learn languages. They wont' convert measuring systems. On and on. Oh well! At least we have good hops and grains I guess.

[mark_68]

While on the subject of grain,has anybody had any issues with carapils?I have read that it has a cloying sweetness which a lot of people don't like,but on the plus side it improves body and foam stability,so how much is enough of this stuff?

[lethaldog]

I use 500gms in my pilsner ( not a common practice) in a 4.5kg mash and i think its pretty bloody good, ill experiment more with the recipe but for no its working out just fine

[Trough Lolly]

Same here - up to 500g in a 23L batch. I often use it in my Oktoberfests and dark lagers. 250g in an APA is nice too. I don't notice the cloying sweetness, but I do like the additional body that this dextrinous malt provides. Then again, it also depends on the base malt that I use with it...for example, it goes well with IMC and Bairds pale ale malt, and Weyermann Pils, but I prefer to leave it out if I'm using Maris Otter...Just my thoughts anyway...

Cheers,
TL