Malt Substitutions

cannondale · Post by **cannondale** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 3:13 pm

I often find myself searching for the best subsitute for a specialty malt that is not conveniently available. One resource that I've used (although I'm not in complete agreement with a few of them) is here:

http://kotmf.com/articles/maltnames.php

One that I'm specifically interested in is Biscuit malt. I see that Victory and Caraamber are often used in it's place. Does anyone who has every used actual Biscuit know whether Caraamber comes close? Or any other locally available specialty malt for that matter? Alternatively, there is always the option of toasting your own Biscuit. Anybody tried this and care to share the specifications that got them close? i.e. starting grain, temperature, time, etc.?

thatleetboy · Post by **thatleetboy** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 3:39 pm

Derek and I had a discussion about this over on the SOBs page a while back...

Victory & Biscuit are actually trademark names for Amber malt (which seem to be 25-30L in colour).

I wouldn't worry too much. Whatever you use, it'll be better than roasting your own.

jcc · Post by **jcc** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 4:33 pm

thatleetboy wrote:I wouldn't worry too much. Whatever you use, it'll be better than roasting your own.

But it makes your house smell good!!! At least it smelled good to me. The wife? Not in agreement.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 5:10 pm

And I think CaraAmber is Weyermann's trademark for their version of 'biscuit', though I don't know if they produce it in the same way. {on edit, scratch that... it seems to be a light crystal}

There's some interesting reading here:
http://www.weyermann.de/eng/faq.asp?ume ... &sprache=2

"Replacement for differnent specialty malts
Question I was hoping you could recommend a couple of your malts.I am trying to replace Briess Chocolate and Briess Victory malts with your malts. I use a bit of the chocolate and victory for my Schwartzbier. The chocolate gives me the dark color I need but does impart a bit more roasty flavor than I woudd like. The victory gives me a touch of biscuit flavor that helps add a bit of mouthfeel to the beer.
Answer My suggestions to replace the Malts would be:

Briess Victory:
Weyermann Melanoidin Malt would be a wonderful possibility to use instead of this malt. It enhances body and mouthfeel."

Note: There's NO way I'd substitute Melanoidin for Biscuit.

http://www.homebrewersretail.com/servlet/Detail?no=67 has Dingeman's Biscuit. It does seem to have a dry, biscuity, British flavour.

On the topic of home roasting... has anyone tried making their own diastatic brown malt? I'd like to do an all-brown porter sometime.

cannondale · Post by **cannondale** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 6:10 pm

Ya, I'm not sure about melanoidin for biscuit at all. I've used melanoidin as a substitute for aromatic, and it seemed to be pretty close to the desired contribution.

I have some caraamber, and the colour is certainly in line with that of biscuit. I think I'll give it a try and see if it does what I would like it to.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:39 am

Timely topic...

Caramber sub for amber malt?
http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/2546637

cannondale · Post by **cannondale** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:36 am

Derek wrote:Timely topic...

Caramber sub for amber malt?
http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/2546637

Thanks Derek. Certainly timely, but still no clear verdict as to whether Caraamber is a kilned or a roasted malt. I'm going to do what I should have long ago, and split some Caraamber and Caramunich I to compare.

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 11:27 am

thatleetboy wrote:Whatever you use, it'll be better than roasting your own.

I don't know about that - I've been very happy with the flavour contribution from my home toasted malts.

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 11:36 am

Derek wrote:On the topic of home roasting... has anyone tried making their own diastatic brown malt? I'd like to do an all-brown porter sometime.

Not really the same as a 100% brown malt beer, but I made my own brown malt for a historical imperial stout (circa 1850-1860). Grain bill was:

75% maris otter
20% homemade brown
5% black patent

Excellent flavour, but I didn't get very good fermentability (original yeast was Windsor, a very poor choice). I ended up aging it on some brett C... only to find that brett C doesn't really help with attenuation, just gives it an insanely fruity nose.

Definitely one I would like to try again with a big dose of 1028 or Nottingham.

cannondale · Post by **cannondale** » Tue Feb 02, 2010 12:26 pm

After doing a little more research and grain comparison at home, it's quite clear that Weyermann Caraamber is a roasted light crystal malt (25-30°L).

Biscuit on the other hand is a kilned malt around 30°L, and is roughly equivalent to Victory and Amber. It can also be simulated by oven toasting 2-Row.

In fact it appears that Weyermann look down their noses at the practice of kilning malts, claiming that the end product is inconsistent or inhomogenous.

A strange stance, because while that may be true, there is no denying the significantly different flavour and aroma profile resulting from the use of kilned malts.