Techniques for learning malt profiles

Evenin'. I've been wanting to get a better understanding of malt profiles and the flavor they give, so I can pick up a given brew and be able to discern the different flavor profiles it contains. As well as have a solid foundation of recipe fundamentals when I switch to all grain eventually. Would steeping some grains like a tea bag at about 160 give the right flavor or would it need to be boiled? Are there any other techniques I could try? I can read all day about a malt giving so-and-so taste but I'd like some firsthand knowledge.

That might work...I did it the hard way. I'd say my first 30 brews were Smash brews and I just went through the main base grains to get a handle on them. Not necessarily the fastest way but I really got to learn what I liked and did the same with some basic hops.

Unfortunately, I don't think that approach will work. Really, the only way to really drill sensory evaluation into your, er, senses is what Cali just suggested.

The good news is it'll make you a much better brewer than flitting from recipe to recipe like a butterfly. Brewing the same sort of recipe over and over again drills technique and process into you. It sounds like a drag, but it will actually FREE you. Think of it like practicing a musical instrument. You can't go riffing like Clapton until you actually can play the guitar. Homebrewers are funny - we try to start shredding like Kirk Hammett before we've even learned three chords.

So go forth, conquer the basics, and learn!

Bob

Here's what I did - make the same recipe over and over again keeping everything but the grain the same. Use Maris Otter one time, Golden Promise the next, American 2-Row, Pilsner, Munich, etc.)

In my case, I made a lawnmower beer - mash at 149 and add enough Centennial at 60 to get 25 or so IBU. You don't want so much hops that it overwhelms the grain flavor. The final beers are really tasty, by the way.

JonM said:

Here's what I did - make the same recipe over and over again keeping everything but the grain the same. Use Maris Otter one time, Golden Promise the next, American 2-Row, Pilsner, Munich, etc.)

In my case, I made a lawnmower beer - mash at 149 and add enough Centennial at 60 to get 25 or so IBU. You don't want so much hops that it overwhelms the grain flavor. The final beers are really tasty, by the way.

Click to expand...

So you did one grain at a time per brew, or you changed one grain at a time and used the rest of the recipe as your controlled variables?

The latter. If you keep the rest of the recipe consistent, and keep your procedure consistent, the only variable is the base malt. That lets you experience the differences.

Roger thanks for the advice. Ill have to do some one gallon batches since I've been doing extract with specialty grains and only have a 5 gal kettle. Ill have to research some simple recipes now!

You can easily do 3 gallon batches with a 5-gal kettle. It's perfect for BIAB (search on that here on HBT). 1-gallon batches, I don't recommend. They're too big a PITA for what you get out of them. 3 gallons is more rewarding. Plus, 3 gallons is easier to pitch properly than 1.

I have a bunch of 3-gallon simple recipes if you want them. Happy to share.

Bob

Bob said:

You can easily do 3 gallon batches with a 5-gal kettle. It's perfect for BIAB (search on that here on HBT). 1-gallon batches, I don't recommend. They're too big a PITA for what you get out of them. 3 gallons is more rewarding. Plus, 3 gallons is easier to pitch properly than 1.

I have a bunch of 3-gallon simple recipes if you want them. Happy to share.

Bob

Click to expand...

Please! I've been wanting to try BiAB for awhile, never considered doing a smaller batch for some reason.

Short of time just now, but if I don't get back to this by tomorrow, ping me.

Another thing that really helped me is tasting the grains. It's not exactly how they are in beer, but if you get used to the taste of certain grains, then you can sort of know how it will affect the beer.

If you have a homebrew store with bins of grains, try tasting a few grains of black malt. It's acrid and ashy. Then try a different one. It really did help me get to an Aha! moment with grains and how they complement either other (or not!) just like spices in cooking.

True! Grain tasting is an excellent way to start wrapping your head around flavor impacts. Even tasting the difference between, say, Pils and English pale ale malts can be enlightening.

Here's a quick-n-dirty SMaSH to get you started:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/smashing-baby-96442/

You can safely swap Safale S-04for the yeast. Windsor, the yeast in the recipe link, is less attenuative but has a more pronounced flavor profile. I chose it in the original because I wanted more yeast character. Since you're looking to characterize malt flavors, better to go with a "cleaner" yeast.
I mash in quite thickly. If you use more than 1 quart per pound, adjust your batch-sparge liquor amount accordingly. I also split the sparge liquor into two charges. Target 152F for your mash. I use the batch sparge to mash out, looking for 165-170F in the first batch sparge.

The trick to this exercise is simply to sub in different pale malts. Start with US 2-row, which is probably the least characterful. Then use, say, British pale ale malt (Maris Otter or some such), then Pilsner malt. Take careful notes at tasting. Soon you'll have a handle on pale malts. Then you can move into adding different specialty grains to assess their impact.

Make sense?

Bob

Makes sense, however my all grain process is a little shaky. How do you sparge with BIAB, and what does that bring your pre-boil volume to?

For that it's better to search HBT for "brew in a bag" or "BIAB". There are excellent tutorials here.

Bob

Bob said:

For that it's better to search HBT for "brew in a bag" or "BIAB". There are excellent tutorials here.

Bob

Click to expand...

Thanks for all the help. Looking forward to it.

I'm looking forward to reading about your successes!