Brown Malt

[rickthebrew]

I bought a kg of brown malt - i`ve read that it`s slightly smoked, is this correct? I imagine it would suit a mild - anyone brewed with this malt and if so what have you brewed :

 

[Aleman]

Modern brown malt is unlikely to be smoked . . . old time Brown malt is more than likely to have been kilned over a wood or even straw fire and would have had a considerable smoke character

 

[rickthebrew]

Cheers Aleman - very prompt reply :thumb: What would you brew with it...... or wouldn`t you

 

[Aleman]

Porter, Stout, Brown Ale

Traditionally a Porter would have been 1/3 Amber 1/3 Brown and 1/3 Roast . . . but the Amber and Brown malts of the era were diastatic and therefore would convert . . . Today versions are not, so we have to be much more careful about how much we use

 

[jonewer]

Interesting. So how much brown and amber would recommend using in a porter these days?

 

[Aleman]

Unless you are going to cheat and use something like Biase ( an amylase and gluconase enzyme blend) from Murphys. you would need at least 50% of the grist being Pale malt . . . then you can go for the remaining grist being 1/3 Amber, 1/3 brown and 1/3 Roast . . . Personally I like to add a couple of percent of Rauchmalz as well. The good thing being that the colour of the Amber and Brown malts is somewhat darker than traditional malts of the time and so it does not make too much difference to the colour fo the final beer.