Good Malt Reference?

[Thurston Brewer]

I'm looking for a good reference to help me understand the nature and usages of the myriad kinds of malt available at my LHBS: http://surfbrewery.com/homebrew-supplies

Anybody know of a comprehensive source or site that can explain for instance what a caraXXX malt is and why, or the diff between a vienna and other types of malt, etc.? I'd just like a guide that I can use to make some sense of the cornucopia of malts that exist these days.

 

[Gerry P]

I like this one. Their hop and yeast guides are good too.
https://byo.com/resources/grains

 

[GFHomebrew]

That's one lovely home brew store there thirsty. Your white labs selection is unbelievable compared to my homebrew which have zilch. If you want to try a real clean well attenuating ale yeast that's pretty much like an lager yeast try sandiego super yeast wlp090 is see your home brew has it you will thank me for it you have a ferm fridge yea? It's got a narrow fermentation range 18c - 20c

 

[Mark D Pirate]

Brew some SmaSh recipes , that will really help you understand what each base malt brings to the party
it does get a lot more complicated with crystal as so many have similar effects on the beer other than just colour and residual sweetness
Brewing is an art and a science , i tried a few different IPAs the other night i would have sworn were very different and it was just different yeast or water chemistry .
Frankly the more i learn the less i know

 

[GFHomebrew]

And the closer you look the more you find life's like that eh...

 

[Mark D Pirate]

First world problems hey !
there's simply that many top quality yeasts , hops , base and crystal malts on market that the older brewers must curse us

 

[GFHomebrew]

Yep they did the hard work for us.. And here we are paving the way for up and coming Brewers

First world problems hey !
there's simply that many top quality yeasts , hops , base and crystal malts on market that the older brewers must curse us

 

[Mark D Pirate]

Well there's also the fact that the APA has finally reached Australia , most of our mass produced beers they just wave the late hops over the kettle and use cane sugar to boost the ABV .
now i serve a proper fruity and aromatic beer ( or a rye ) and our bearded / tattooed hipster friends love me

 

[Thurston Brewer]

That's one lovely home brew store there thirsty. Your white labs selection is unbelievable compared to my homebrew which have zilch. If you want to try a real clean well attenuating ale yeast that's pretty much like an lager yeast try sandiego super yeast wlp090 is see your home brew has it you will thank me for it you have a ferm fridge yea? It's got a narrow fermentation range 18c - 20c

No fermentation fridge... gotta go with whatever nature gives me. 18-20C (65-68F) might well be doable over the 'winter' months.

I need to stick a pail of water in the garage and check its temp twice a day to see what my yeast environment is like...

 

[Thurston Brewer]

Well there's also the fact that the APA has finally reached Australia , most of our mass produced beers they just wave the late hops over the kettle and use cane sugar to boost the ABV .
now i serve a proper fruity and aromatic beer ( or a rye ) and our bearded / tattooed hipster friends love me

Well, if my wife would let me grow a beard or tattoos, I'd be heading out to Radelaide, pronto!

 

[KC]

Anybody know of a comprehensive source or site that can explain for instance what a caraXXX malt is and why, or the diff between a vienna and other types of malt, etc.? I'd just like a guide that I can use to make some sense of the cornucopia of malts that exist these days.

Most of the malt houses have helpful documentation, especially Weyermann and Briess. They'll tell you appropriate styles, max amounts, key characteristics, DP, and more.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Most of the malt houses have helpful documentation, especially Weyermann and Briess. They'll tell you appropriate styles, max amounts, key characteristics, DP, and more.

As with some yeast manufacturers. Like fermentis for example I wonder if anyone's brewed these mmm