Victory malt, Special Roast

Finn · 03-13-2008, 07:22 AM

Hi guys! Say, I recently made a batch of something with equal parts Victory and Special Roast in it. I really liked it. Now I'm trying to get a mental handle on which of these grains adds what flavors so I can adjust the amounts intelligently. Since I have to do this five gallons at a time, I thought I oughtta mention it on here.

How familiar are you guys with these grains as part of an AG (or mostly AG) grainbill? What do they do? Do they add significantly to fermentable SG?

I'm thinking of using them in my bitter trials, using a pound of one in one batch and a pound of another in the other. First, though, I'd really like to get a batch of IPA going; it's my favorite style and it's taken me this long to get over being pissed at the price of hops; so my other question is, should I use one of these in an IPA?

Thanks heaps!

--Finn

**cubbies** · 03-13-2008, 03:09 PM

I've used victory before in an APA, which is not overly different from an IPA; so I am sure you could use it. It is a medium roasted malt 20-30L that is usually describes as toasty or sort of biscuity.

Special Roast I have never used, but might go well with an IPA in small amounts.

lackofstyl · 03-13-2008, 03:13 PM

from my understanding victory and special roast impart the same basic flavors to your brew, the biggest difference is the deg. love . I would stick to one or the other and play around with the amount you add to your batch.

zoebisch01 · 03-13-2008, 05:40 PM

They can be a little weird if you use too much. I revamped my NutBrown which used (iirc) over a lb. of the Victory and to me it reminded me of Centipedes. *shrug*. It mellowed, but took way longer than I had expected. The Special Roast is described as having a 'sour' or 'tangy' component to it. I have some in my NutBrown that is just finished fermenting so I can't really confirm it, but usually I find most Maltster's descriptions to be fairly accurate. I'd imagine the 'sourness' would probably show up in usages over .33 lb per 5 gallons, but that's just a guess.

javedian · 03-14-2008, 05:03 AM

They are successive British style (dry) kilned malts.
Pale (3) -> Mild (4-5) -> amber / Victory (20-25) -> special roast (40-50) -> brown (70)

The other progression is German style (wet) kilned malts
pilsner (2) -> Vienna (3-4) -> Munich (8-10) -> dark Munich (20) -> aromatic / melanoiden (25-30)

Most of the above darker than Muncih are considered specialty malts, and typically used in small quantities. I used 20% aromatic and 30% munich in a stout, and it was wonderful. Although I have not tried large % of any of the other darker malts above, I plan to. Randy Mosher suggests in several places using larger amounts of moderate toasted / roasted grains (20-70L) and less very dark (chocolate / black / roast).

Beerthoven · 03-14-2008, 03:08 PM

I used 1/4# of special roast in my recent Ordinary Bitter. It imparted a distinct grainy, somewhat toasted flavor. It took me a few beers before I got used to it, but I like it now.

I think 1# would be too much in almost anything.

Maybe I'll try 1/4# of Victory in my next Bitter and see how the two compare. Thanks for the idea!

Finn · 03-15-2008, 05:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoebisch01

They can be a little weird if you use too much. I revamped my NutBrown which used (iirc) over a lb. of the Victory and to me it reminded me of Centipedes. *shrug*. It mellowed, but took way longer than I had expected. The Special Roast is described as having a 'sour' or 'tangy' component to it. I have some in my NutBrown that is just finished fermenting so I can't really confirm it, but usually I find most Maltster's descriptions to be fairly accurate. I'd imagine the 'sourness' would probably show up in usages over .33 lb per 5 gallons, but that's just a guess.

Well, I stocked my latest nut brown -- Jack-in-the-green -- with 3/4 pound of each of these, just to see what would happen. It's still very young -- I bottled it just 9 days ago -- but the sample I popped tonight was really tasty! I'm pretty sure I'll be adding it to the regular beer list around here. (In addition to the Victory and Special, it has 6 pounds of Munton's, 3/4 pound of Caramel 136-165, 1/4 pound of chocolate 350, and a pound of Crystal 60.) It does have a tangy tone, but it's not at all overpowering, and it's certainly roasty.

Yum! Maybe could use a spot more chocolate, though.

Cheers!

--Finn