Is Crystal/Caramel Wheat Malt fermentable?

Hi,

I was planning a weizenbock style beer but when I visited my LHBS they were totally out of wheat malt. In it's place the guy recommended Crystal Wheat. It is obviously a much darker malt but that wasnt really an issue seeing as i was brewing a weizenbock anyway. I was, however, concerned about the level of fermentables i could extract from this kind of malt. The guy at the LHBS assured me it would be fine and would produce a rich and full bodied beer. I am relatively new to brewing to, in the moment, i bowed to his superioir knowledge and took the crystal wheat.

However, this is playing on my mind. when i put the numbers into my recipie software it looks fine but surely this malt will not produce the same level of fermentable sugars? Bearing in mind that this makes up over 50% of my grain bill i am concerned this is going to screw up my beer.

Can anyone advise?

Thanks

Sorry but a lpt of what you get out of crystals is not fermentable and using this malt at 50% of the grain bill is unwise as the beer will end up being cloying sweet from unfermentable sugars. Crystals should be limited to the teens, max. He misled you.

Crystal malts are essentially precooked, having had their starches converted at the plant. What you extract from them is pre-prepared sugars of varying complexity , with some being fermentable and others not. Mashing them is unnecessary, but I recall ready some tests done that some additional conversion can be had... fairly moot though.

Bummer. Thanks Weezy.

I will have to find it, but I recall some one did an experiment and it was somewhat fermentable. Def more than 50% I will try to find it and report back

It sounds like that guy doesn't know anything about the products he is selling. I would definitely go back and get your money back, or at least get them to give you the correct grain bill or one that will produce a drinkable beer. Also, if you have another LHBS around I would start going there instead.

Weezy was right, here is the thread: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/testing-fermentability-crystal-malt-208361/index5.html results on post 50

Yes the sugars in crystal malt are fermentable, but they are NOT a replacement for base malt flavor wise at all. 50% crystal malt would make an undrinkable beer.

You would probably want to use 10% of crystal malt as a max, although in certain well-hopped beers you could go up to 15%, as in an American amber.

Crystal wheat is a premashed (so to speak) wheat, and it is not at all a substitute for wheat malt.

http://morebeer.com/category/crystal-malt.html for a short description of what crystal malt is.

Thanks to all for contributing. I had thought as much myself but being new to this game I ended up doubting my own knowledge in store against what he was telling me. Looks like i've been royally screwed. Will need to pay my LHBS a visit!

peterj said:

It sounds like that guy doesn't know anything about the products he is selling. I would definitely go back and get your money back, or at least get them to give you the correct grain bill or one that will produce a drinkable beer. Also, if you have another LHBS around I would start going there instead.

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+1. Not only should the guy have known better but it sounds like they are not managing their inventory very well. It's one thing to be out of or not carry certain specialty malts but to be out of wheat malt entirely - not great.