cara malt & crystal malt

[Zambi]

Besides the standard base malts, I also got
Cara malt (simpson's, 30-42 EBC)
Crystal malt (thomas fawcett & sons, 150 EBC)
Aromatic malt (dingemans, amber 50 EBC)
I'm not sure of the exact difference between them, except their contribution to colour

I like the aromatoc malt in 5-10% in blondes & tripels
I find the others a bit overpowering.

What would you all use them for, or recommend them for?
I don't like porters, stouts and doubles.
My preference is for blondes, belgian ales and tripels, saison, wheat beer, Irish red etc. Nothing too hoppy.

Any ideas?

I used the caramalt in a triple (sylla) but found the caramel taste far too strong

 

[The Brew Mentor]

5% of the crystal in a pale ale is great.
I'd think the lower cara malt would work well in a blond.
The aromatic is very malty and would be good in an Irish ale

 

[Zambi]

I've used the aromatic in blondes and belgian ales and I really liked it.
I'm definitely going to look into an irish ale, just hoping I have a yeast to go with it.
Also, I need to go back to my sylla recipe and check how much caramalt I used.
Maybe the caramel was overpowering because of too much, or too hot fermentation, or wrong mash temp. I used T58 for this

 

[Minbari]

My understanding is that cara-xxx and crystal-xxx are the same thing with different names

Aromatic malt is the same as melaniodin? So it would impart a very strong malty flavor and add some red color

 

[Zambi]

I found this via mr & mrs google:
all crystal malts are caramel (type) malts, but not all caramel malts are crystal malts. (https://www.brewingwithbriess.com/blog/is-it-crystal-or-caramel-malt/)

I'll need to take some time to read it all

 

[Minbari]

I found this via mr & mrs google:
all crystal malts are caramel (type) malts, but not all caramel malts are crystal malts. (https://www.brewingwithbriess.com/blog/is-it-crystal-or-caramel-malt/)

I'll need to take some time to read it all

Really good read. So it would seem what I read was correct with a couple exceptions.

 

[Sunfire96]

My understanding is that cara-xxx and crystal-xxx are the same thing with different names

This is false. Crystal malts are British and produced via a different method than the American caramel malts
https://byo.com/article/crystal-caramel-malt/

 

[Minbari]

This is false. Crystal malts are British and produced via a different method than the American caramel malts
https://byo.com/article/crystal-caramel-malt/

I am not a member, so can't see it. But the other article said they are with a couple caveats.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Yeah it's been my understanding that they are similar.
Yes different maltsters are going to have different techniques but as I brewer I approach crystal and cara malts with the same view of adding a bit of caramel malt complexity and some dextrines to my beer the lovibond will determine weather that's a honey flavour all the way up to prune rasins burnt caramel with the dark special B or extra dark English crystal malts.

 

[MaxStout]

Aromatic is often used in Belgian styles. The crystal can be added (in modest amounts!) to pale ales, bitters, etc., to add some color and dimension. Cara malt helps add some body and head retention in many beers.

 

[Sunfire96]

I am not a member, so can't see it. But the other article said they are with a couple caveats.

Cara malt is kilned and the crystal malt is roasted. Most people probably wouldn't taste a difference but they are not the same though they can be used in similar applications
https://beerandbrewing.com/learning-lab-distinguishing-the-types-of-crystal-malt/

 

[GFHomebrew]

Cara malt is kilned and the crystal malt is roasted. Most people probably wouldn't taste a difference but they are not the same though they can be used in similar applications
https://beerandbrewing.com/learning-lab-distinguishing-the-types-of-crystal-malt/

Now there is a great malt comparison brew hey Sunfire if you've not done so already

Brew one base jumper with crystal and one with caramel of the same lovibond and see what the difference is if any?

I'd imagine you'd have to taste a difference think of Coffee for instance different coffee roasters provide a different flavour from their unique roasting techniques.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Cara malt is kilned and the crystal malt is roasted. Most people probably wouldn't taste a difference but they are not the same though they can be used in similar applications
https://beerandbrewing.com/learning-lab-distinguishing-the-types-of-crystal-malt/

Now there is a great malt comparison brew hey Sunfire if you've not done so already

Brew one base jumper with crystal and one with caramel of the same lovibond and see what the difference is if any?

I'd imagine you'd have to taste a difference think of Coffee for instance different coffee roasters provide a different flavour from their unique roasting techniques.

 

[Sunfire96]

Now there is a great malt comparison brew hey Sunfire if you've not done so already

Brew one base jumper with crystal and one with caramel of the same lovibond and see what the difference is if any?

I'd imagine you'd have to taste a difference think of Coffee for instance different coffee roasters provide a different flavour from their unique roasting techniques.

I agree! Sounds like a good experiment

 

[Ward Chillington]

My understanding is that the end results are about the same despite the malter's processing...I wanna say that's Brulosophy sourced footnote...

 

[Minbari]

Cara malt is kilned and the crystal malt is roasted. Most people probably wouldn't taste a difference but they are not the same though they can be used in similar applications
https://beerandbrewing.com/learning-lab-distinguishing-the-types-of-crystal-malt/

Not true, plenty of cara-xxx that is roasted. Breiss and weyermann are two English roasted malts that call it "cara". True, there are kilned ones as well. But you can't make that blanket statement.

I urge you to read the article @Zambezi Special posted. It doesn't disagree with what you are saying on methods.

 

[GFHomebrew]

My understanding is that the end results are about the same despite the malter's processing...I wanna say that's Brulosophy sourced footnote...

Yet I here Marshal saying in his tiny bottom pale for he subbed out C60 for Cramunich and it was a totally different beer...

Might be worth exploring.

OK think of it like this a maltster in the UK V Aus V US V Eu making their version of crystal/Cara malt with their native barley grown In their country has gotta have some difference?

 

[Sunfire96]

Not true, plenty of cara-xxx that is roasted. Breiss and weyermann are two English roasted malts that call it "cara". True, there are kilned ones as well. But you can't make that blanket statement.

I urge you to read the article @Zambezi Special posted. It doesn't disagree with what you are saying on methods.

I read it a few months ago when I delved into some research on this topic a square's a rectangle but a rectangle's not a square

 

[Minbari]

I read it a few months ago when I delved into some research on this topic a square's a rectangle but a rectangle's not a square

which is exactly what he said in the article. but the terminology is not black and white. in many cases cara and crystal are the same thing and sometimes not. that was my only point.

 

[GFHomebrew]

Oh I feel a comparrison brew comming up!