Brown malt

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Thanks. Is that straight in at 200,or any stages? Does it need turning to prevent any burning and can I use it straight away/next day?
I fancy trying the GH porter or similar and only need 300g,so doesn't warrant an order making...
 
Straight in at 200. I have read that home smoked malt needs two weeks before use for harsh flavours to die down, but I am not aware of any issues with roasting malt. I would be tempted to stir / turn part way through to keep it evenly heated.

Interested to hear how it turns out, it could be a good way to get small quantities of specialty malts when needed.
 
Hello all
Can I home roast malt to make brown malt?
Cheers
Clint
The Durden Park Beer Circle give full instructions on making light amber malt (in their rather thin book). Brown ale malt is just a bit darker. But as both the Malt Miller and Brew UK do a Brown Malt, is it worth filling your kitchen with smoke?
 
Roasting malt at 200 degress C for 50 mins will get you much darker than most commercially available Brown malts. See the below which reckons this would produce a 170 lovibond (L) roasted malt whereas most Brown malt is around 60L I believe. I'm not sure what colour of Brown malt the GH recipe calls for but you might want to adjust accordingly.

http://barleypopmaker.info/2009/12/08/home-roasting-your-malts/

In terms of whether the malt should be crushed or uncrushed I'm not sure but my instinct tells me uncrushed. To my mind roasted crushed malt seems wrong but I don't know why that is - I feel like it would burn a lot easier.
 
Uncrushed would give a more even result. I'd imagine doing the same with crushed would result in combination of amber, brown and chocolate malt depending on the size of each particle. As if you roasted randomly sized pieces of beef, you'd end up with some rare, some medium and some well done.
 
Out of interest why are you trying to make it and do you expect it to have active enzymes left? Also no idea what the time and temps quoted are based on but check its not for unroasted freshly malted grain or compensate for it as I imagine it would make a big difference.
 
I can't think of any grain that's crushed first and roasted after, indeed, it would be too soft to crush until it's been kilned. By the time you've bought some whole grain MO to roast, you might as well buy some brown malt. I use it regularly in my browns and milds and it has a particular flavour- can't think of any substitute that'll give the same taste.
 
My best advice then would be if you want the recipe to come out perfectly buy some if not compensate with a mix of lighter and darker grains to match the colour or if you want roast some MO until it looks about right and let us know how it goes.
 
If you are anything like me Clint, when you have used it the once, you will use it again, and again and again.... The flavour it gives in a darker beer like a porter is unmistakable, and is absolutely delicious.
 
@AdeDunn I really like what brown malt brings to a beer too but i find it almost intangible. I also find you need to keep the percentage low, like 5% or less, otherwise it can get a bit harsh. Having said that, I've found that if the harsh character does come through, it tends to round out and become quite pleasant with a bit of ageing.
 
@AdeDunn I really like what brown malt brings to a beer too but i find it almost intangible. I also find you need to keep the percentage low, like 5% or less, otherwise it can get a bit harsh. Having said that, I've found that if the harsh character does come through, it tends to round out and become quite pleasant with a bit of ageing.

I used 7.3% in my last porter Jon, no harshness at all bud. I used a Kveik to ferment it though, in the form of Omega Hothead Ale, and that stuff works wonders. I also mash with harder water and a higher pH than I would a pale beer, which gives a much softer character.
 
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