I’ve been wanting to do some single hop beers for a while. I want a slightly maltier background I think than just 2-Row and Crystal malt, like i did in my pale ale. I don’t want to go overboard on the malts either so Should I keep some crystal in and add munich and vienna, or just munich? Or do i get rid of the crystal completely?
After doing some searching this is what I am leaning towards for a grain bill:
2-Row
Munich
Victory
CaraPils/Dextrin
I find I can get a ton of maltiness from 100% munich. If you want even more you can boil longer as well.
I agree with this.
When I use predominately Munich though, I always include some regular 2Row pale though, since the Munich seems to benefit from a little bit of extra help in the enzyme department.
I recently mad a version of my standard porter with 90% Munich and will probably never make it any other way ever again. It really took it to a whole different level.
I have only used the great western munich 10L but did not have any problems with conversion. I know different malters have different levels of kilning. and regardless I don’t think a couple lbs of 2row is going to detract from the munich character. I have found my barley wine recipe from here on out. 100% munich and long 2 hours boil. that was a SMaSH with belgian goldings (belgian cause they don’t grow organic EKGs apparently, but the belgian seem fine)
For a single hop ale, a little Munich would work well to add that slight maltiness you are looking for.
Personally, I might drop the Victory to keep it basic.
Have fun. What are the hop varieties you are considering?
Mort suggested this on another thread and I tried it. I ended up with 88% Munich, 8.8% homemade Amber, 1.66% C45 and 1.1% C120.
5 gals disappeared in about 1 week. One of the best beers I’ve made so far and really nice malt character. Needs a lot of hops to balance all that malt though. Worth trying in my opinion.
I like to use an American Amber as a base. A bit maltier than an APA without going overboard.
Was thinking Cascade, Amarillo definately. Maybe Citra, Centennial, Even something like columbus. I really want to see what contributes what. I’ve used most of these together before, but never by themselves.
You guys have given me a lot of good options. I might try the Munich/2-Row combo, also gmac’s amber combo might be a good route too.
My preferred si gle hop base beer is 100% Thomas fawcett Maris otter. It gives you a nice biscuity malt background without having any caramel malt in the way of the hoPs.
I did a “use the rest of my malt” brew yesterday and single hopped with fuggles. I am targeting a malty English Bitter with Golden Promise, some biscuit, wheat and rye and Ye Old Fashion San Diego Super Yeast and to top it off, the zest from the oranges I happened to be eating at the time (seemed like a good idea/experiment).
I also recently brewed a Porter with a much larger percentage of Munich than normal ( I think it was around 40%), and think it is fantastic! Really brought out some stone fruit flavors that I wasn’t expecting.
So, I think adding some, or alot, of Munich for body would be a great idea for your single hop varieties. I also agree with another poster that 100% Thomas Fawcett Marris Otter works very well with a single variety.
I don’t think that Munich malt contributes to body any more than 2 row or Pils, just has a different flavor and enzyme level.
Agreed. No more body but much more maltiness IMO.
How would one go about making homeade amber malt? I think i’m going to use a similar base, and make this beer an amber. I may go the extract route and use the Munich malt extract from NB.
If you’re going to go single hop, why not keep it single malt too. SMaSH all the way. 
I’m planning a Vienna/Simcoe AIPA soon…
I use the method that was in BYO magazine not that long ago.
I have sort of modified it slightly but the basic method was something like this. I may not have the temps exact but this would be pretty close.
Take 5 lbs malt, Maris Otter was recommended although I use pale.
Place in a backing dish about an inch thick.
Heat at the following:
185F for 25 - 30 mins
195F for 25 - 30 mins
210F for 25 to 30 mins
220F for 25 to 30 mins
230F for 25 to 30 mins
250F for 30 mins - check colour of grain. Should be a pale buff colour (you are checking the starch on the inside, not the husk so you have to break open kernels. If not buff, leave another 30 mins and check.
As you can see, that’s a lot of steps and my stove isn’t that exact that I think a 10 degree increase does very much.
So, I go
190 for 45 mins
210 for 45 mins
230 for 45 mins
250 until I think it’s the right colour. There’s always some that are coloured and some that are still sort of white so at this point, I just turn off the oven and let it cool in there overnight. The grain probably won’t look that different on the outside, it’s the starch inside that seems to matter so don’t worry if it doesn’t look “amber” when you’re done.
I really like what this adds to beers and gives a real nice toasted grain flavour. I use it in almost all my APA’s etc now. You can also just buy amber malt but I think that the fresh roasted is nicer when used fresh. It really gives the kitchen a warm, malty aroma while it’s roasting. It’s easy to put it in, set the timer and then just come back and up the temps so although it takes a while, you can do a lot while it’s roasting.
I thought about it, and probably for another brew day. My “single hop beer” has kind of evolved into a let’s play with all cascade hops and munich malt. Sometimes I like simple, sometimes I like taking a simple concept and developing something a little more complex. (Plus it sounds delicious!)
Here’s what I came up with. It’s about 60% munich malt. (Munich malt extract from NB is 50/50 munich/pale). The late addition of extract is a little odd but necessary to keep the OG down around 1.051. I wanted as much Munich as possible since everyone seems to say that higher amounts of munich are tasty.
Partial Mash
Batch: 5gal
Boil: 3gal
Est. OG: 1.051
SRM: 12ish
IBU: 27-28.
2.75 lb Munich Malt
0.5 lb American 2-Row
0.5 lb Crystal 120
Mash (1.4 qt/lb) at 154 for 60 min. Batch sparge with 2 steps.
3.15 lb Munich Malt Extract
1.00 oz Cascade Hops (60 min)
1.57 lb Munich Malt Extract (30 min addition)
1.00 oz Cascade Hops (20 min)
0.5 oz Cascade Hops (10 min)
0.5 oz Cascade Hops (5 min)
1 oz Cascade Hops (0 min)
Wyeast 1056
Dry Hop with 2oz cascade for 7 days.
This is why I recommended a floor malted MO as the base and going 100%. I find that this is a great way to give the beer a malt back bone that is interesting enough to stand on its own but that stands out of the way enough to really get a grasp of what the hops are trying to tell you.