I recently listened to Experimental Brewing - Episode 141 - Re-Crisping Your Malt. One of the topics was Crisp Chevallier Heritage Malt. I am thinking of brewing a English Brown Ale or Mild with this malt. Wondering if anyone has brewed with this malt and has any tips? Also the podcast was very interesting about Crisp resurrecting these older English malts.
I’m thinking about buying some on my next order. The Crisp guys said a longer mash is called for compared to modern malt. I’m thinking that using 75% chevelier and 25% modern malt would eliminate that while still letting the flavor of the chevelier come through.
I used this malt (Chevalier) for several ordinary and special bitters when it first came back out 5-7 years ago and I liked the results. Out of an abundance of caution, I went with a longer mash regimen of 90 minutes when used on its own with a touch of crystal, but when I mixed it with some regular pale malt blends for other English styles (milds or pale ales), it converted well enough in a 60 minute mash regimen. I only had one full sack that I went through, so I can’t say if they have changed the malting since the initial release. I would follow the proposed guidelines, since these fellows surely have the experience to justify the appropriate mash regimen. Worst case, you might end up with a slightly higher gravity wort.
Thanks for the comments and tips! I think I’ll get about 10 pounds of this malt and give it a try.
I always do a 90-minute mash. There is a definitely a difference between a 60-minute mash and 90-minute mash extraction rate-wise even with modern malt. I lose 2 to 3 points per pound when I limit my mash time to 60 minutes.
I, too, have gone to mostly 90 minute mashes…but only because it gives me time to run out on weekend errands (I usually brew on Saturdays). The extra conversion is a reasonably good byproduct of the added time.