Differences between Crystal and Caramel grains

Hello all,
Just wondering what differences are they between Crystal and Caramel grains. I'm using Caramel at present for a IPA recipe. Just wondering if crystal would be more appropriate?

Thanks,
Rob

None...other than differences between maltsters, but that is pretty small. Only large differences come in when comparing something like a British crystal to domestic.

So in essence, I'll get the same results if I keep using caramel? The reason why I ask is here in Spain Caramel is cheaper than Crystal. Wanted to know if I should stick with it or go Crystal. If I won't see any differences then I'll stay with Caramel.

All in all you will be pretty close. I don't know what maltsters you have available over there so play around and see what you like best.

From the Home Brewing Wiki:

The terms Crystal malt and Caramel malt are used interchangeably to describe a type of grain that undergoes a special stewing process during malting resulting in a crystalline sugar structure inside the grain's hull. These grains give a sweet, caramel flavor to the finished beer and can almost always be used as steeping grains by extract brewers.

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robbo007 said:

So in essence, I'll get the same results if I keep using caramel? The reason why I ask is here in Spain Caramel is cheaper than Crystal. Wanted to know if I should stick with it or go Crystal. If I won't see any differences then I'll stay with Caramel.

Click to expand...

In very general terms they are two different names for the same thing. UK and US use the name crystal while German, French and Belgian producers use caramel. However, as has been noted, there are differences in flavors due to the use of different base malts and different maltsters.

Perfect. Much appreciated chaps..

Here is a great chart for comparing grains like that. http://www.kotmf.com/articles/maltnames.php

sooo; a caramel L40 is most likely a reasonable substitute for a crystal L40. N'est pas?

william_shakes_beer said:

sooo; a caramel L40 is most likely a reasonable substitute for a crystal L40. N'est pas?

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from what I have read yes. Different name given by different maltsters. Just like weyerman patented the cara///// name.

The only reason Crystal is more expensive is probably because it is imported from somewhere further away and includes more export/import taxes/tariffs of a sort. Even in the US though there will be slight differences between a 10L Crystal from one manufacturer and a 10L Crystal from another even if their both American. I doubt most could tell much of a difference, since such things have generally gotten to a very high level of quality.

Kind of like Cara-Pils/Dextrine..there's a lot of malts that have different names because of different points of origin. Just different maltsters. Is that a word? maltster? It's kind of like mobster, but beer related. It should be a word if it isn't. It makes the whole occupation much more intimidating.

It would be interesting to see for a British Bitter for instance...a recipe with american caramel grain vs english crystal of the same Lovibond level.

I've always heard that there are differences between the sweetness and the flavor of the grains. If you think about it, climates change the way things taste and it's not perception...it's factual based.

Oranges from Brazil vs California vs Florida - they are the same tree...same variety...but different tastes. Grapes - California vs Virginia vs France vs Italy...again - different climates make the final product taste different.

I wouldn't see why grain isn't the same way based on the climate from these places AND their malting process.