Confused about Crystal malt

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Bashley

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Is 500g of crystal 200 ebc the same as using 250g Crystal 400 ebc + 250g Crystal 100 ebc?

In short, if you don't have the exact Crystal Malt for a recipe, can you mix and match to get obtain the desired EBC?
 
You can use the different crystal malts to get the same colour but you won't get the same flavour. They did an experiment on Brulosophy about this a while ago. If you are only using a small percentage of crystal malt it might be very hard to pick up but if it is a beer that users a lot and it matters to you that it tastes like it was intended then you may want to get the right malt.
 
I don't know the answer to this but it's a slow afternoon at work so I have nothing better to do than add my tuppence worth based on completely untested hypothesis. My contribution to this forum is pretty spurious most of the time!

On the colour point, I'm not sure how this works exactly but if I assume EBC is something that defines the contribution to colour for a specific weight of grain into a specific volume of water for a specific time at a specific temperature, then the mix might be out.

500g x 200 = 200

vs

250g x 400 = 200
250g x 100 = 25
Total 500g = 225

Is that even right / can you do that!? Who knows, but worth checking.

If it is, you might want:
166g x 400 = 132
334g x 100 = 67
Total 500g = 199

On the flavour point, I would think that a darker roast would naturally impart a different flavour. Think of heating sugar in a pan - you go from melted, to golden, to dark, all of which taste different despite being the same ingredient.

Not sure to what extent the extended roasting changes the percentage of fermentable sugars either??
 

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