Does 1/3 Caramel/Crystal Malt 40L plus 1/3 Caramel/Crystal Malt 60L plus 1/3 Caramel/Crystal Malt 80L equal 3/3 Caramel/Crystal Malt 60L?
In other words, I have a recipe calling for 5% Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L and I don’t have enough of that malt. I have a little C60 and plenty C40 and C80. What will be the effect?
Is there a reference for these kind of questions?
I found this:
40- Sweet, caramel, toffee — Drum roasted, crystallized malt; improves foam; enhances viscosity; golden hues
60- Sweet, pronounced caramel — Drum roasted, crystallized malt; improves foam; enhances viscosity; deep golden to red hues
80- Pronounced caramel, slight burnt sugar, raisiny — Drum roasted, crystallized malt; improves foam; enhances viscosity; red to deep red hues
If that’s what you have to do, though, go for it. It’ll be beer, just a little different. Switching out 5% crystal malt for something similar isn’t going to make or break a recipe.
I agree wholeheartedly with Hoosierbrew, but I would add that what you end up with might be even more delightful than what you’d get with just a straight C60.
One time I couldn’t get crystal malt in the Lovibond that the recipe called for, it was an English ordinary bitter, so I mixed up a couple of crystals, and I ended up entering it in a competition and taking the gold for it. So, go for it. It just may be the thing that gives you the complexity that makes it stand out.
Just want to say, I wasn’t (and wouldn’t be) making fun of the OP - just found the ‘short answer no, longer answer nope’ response pretty damn funny! I also agree with Frankenbrew that, while the two combined don’t = each other, they can have a nice character together. C40 is pretty much lightly caramelly, where C80 starts to have elements of dark fruit and deep caramel . Lots of possibilities there.
Kind of the same way that 500L coffee plus 200L pale chocolate doesnt equal the same as all 350L. More drastic example, but same type of effect. Right?
Exactly. That is why the Simpson products are presented as a color range. Just looking at the mix, you can easily see the differing levels of kilning. That provides a more interesting range of flavor.
While 40L + 80L will produce a color around 60L, the flavor will be quite different from 60L crystal.
In short, it helps to taste each grain before composing a recipe with it. Pop a fair amount of it your mouth and chew it up a bit. Keep in mind that a lot of crystal adds a sweetness that is (IMO) not desirable. It’s rough to brew 5-10 gallon experimental batches in this context (because that’s a lot of beer to drink or toss), so I try to brew 1-2 gallon experiments to dial it in and then ramp up.
+1 to what Sean says. Again, taste it first. Next step would be thinking through percentage usage and at what ABV you are shooting for. It’s easy to go over the top.
