ADDING GRAINS


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Adding Flavor Grains to Your Beer

Brewing beer from extract kits can give you great beer, but after a while, you may feel that you want more control over the beer you brew. Using flavor grains to impart taste and color in your beer is a great way to tailor the beer you make to your liking.

Flavor grains come in several general types. Within each type there are variations that can have a significant effect on your beer. You must experiment to discover what works best for you. Some general guidelines for the categories of flavor grains are

Crystal malt - Crystal malt is probably the most common flavor grain used by the home brewer. Crystal malt is made by heating malted barley until the sugars it contains caramelize. For this reason crystal malt is sometimes referred to as caramel malt. Crystal malt gives a sweet flavor to beers brewed with it. It also adds body and imparts an amber color when used.

Toasted malt- Toasted malt is simply malt that has been toasted to add flavor. It is typically similar in color to crystal malt. Its flavor is slightly bitter, but with some sweetness. It contributes less body than crystal malt. It is used in amber and dark beers usually from 1/4 to one pound, or in smaller amounts in light colored beers.

Chocolate malt - Chocolate malt has been roasted to a dark brown color. Its deep, bitter flavor has been likened to dark chocolate. It is typically used in small amounts of 1/4 to 1/2 pound or less to add color and flavor to many dark beers. Although its bitter flavor predominates, it is sweeter and smoother in flavor than black patent malt.

Black Patent malt- Black patent malt has been roasted at a higher temperature than chocolate malt, and hence has no sweet flavor remaining. It is the darkest malt type and is used mainly in stouts.

Roasted barley - Roasted barley differs from the above flavor grains in that it has not been malted. This means that it does not contain a significant amount of sugar. It is typically similar in color to chocolate malt, but adds more of a red color to beer made with it than chocolate malt does. It is often used in small amounts (up to 1/4 pound) in amber beers, as well as in larger amounts ( 1/4 to 1/2 pound or more) in dark or "red" beers.

The Method to add flavor grains to your beer is very simple.

Crushing Grains:	The Results:

Lighter colored grains such as crystal malt must be crushed before use, however this is not necessary with darker grains, such as chocolate malt.

Filling the Grain Bag:	Adding it to your brewpot:

Add two gallons of cold water to your brewpot and bring to a boil. Add the flavor grains you intend to use to the cold water in your brewpot and remove them at the first sign of boiling. The grains can be easily removed if they are first placed in a Grain Bag. Alternately, they may be strained out with a colander. Some recipes ask you to monitor the temperature and remove them at a specific point. As with most brewing techniques there is more than one way to get the job done.