Substitute for Brown Malt

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You can toast your own. I did this for a historic porter I brewed this past Friday, following the guidelines in 'Old British Beers and How to Brew Them'.

Simple straight forward process, using Maris Otter (or similar English pale malt):

30 minutes at 250 degrees to thoroughly dry the malt
30 minutes at 300 degrees
30 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring every 10 minutes to prevent scorching

The smell is awesome while the malt is toasting - reminded me an awful lot of Butterfingers. :mug:
 
I've heard that Special Roast is almost the same thing as brown malt, or can be substituted for it. It's I think a darker version of Victory.
 
I'm looking for a substitute for brown malt in a porter recipe. Any suggestions?

There is no substitute for brown malt, at least as far as flavor is concerned. How much is in the recipe? You can follow undallas' advice for small amounts if you are only concerned with color. For the best results or if the brown is a significant addition follow flyangler18's advice and make your own. British pale would be the best raw material for homemade brown malt.
 
Small amounts of pale chocolate +/- a little biscuit or mild malt would be my substitute. I would use about 1/8 lb *pale* chocolate + 1/4 lb of biscuit to replace 1 lb of brown malt. You can make good the balance with Marris Otter. As Big Ed states above, nothing really tastes the same as brown malt. This is especially true if you are making a Porter, Brown, or Mild. Its a bit like asking,"what can I substitute for roasted barley?" You'll get lots of answers, none of them entirely correct.
 
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