Hugh Baird Brown Malt - what exactly is it?

I picked up a pound and a half of this malt last weekend (and brewed with it). It was the only "brown malt" at my LHBS. I've tried to do a little research on it, and can't seem I find any actual manufacturer info on it. Several homebrew stores and online vendors sell it (with varying descriptions) but I can't even find it on the Hugh Baird's website. I've browsed through posts on here, and have read it may or may not be actual brown malt...might really be closer to an amber??

So, what exactly is it? Can anyone with experience with or knowledge of this malt please offer up any solid info about it?


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Anyone used this stuff or know anything about it?


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No info on HB Brown malt on their website.

If the Homebrew descriptions aren't enough info try other manufactures.. Thomas Fawcett,Crisp and others all make a version of it.
E.g.
Here some details:
http://www.fawcett-maltsters.co.uk/specif.htm

But I'm guessing something more like this is what your after?
General info:
https://byo.com/stories/issue/item/1751-brown-malt

Cheers

Thanks for the links. HB's was all they had at my LHBS, and I was brewing the next day. The vendors that I've see sell it have somewhat varying descriptions, so I was trying to find an "official" description of color (most stores are at least pretty similar on that), conversion potential, how it's malted, etc.

The descriptions I've seen differ the most seem to be in whether it's roasty, or more toasty, or more of an amber, etc. - which is why I was reaching out to the crowd here if anyone has used it or other browns for comparison.

I guess I'll just have to repeat my recipe a couple times with the other brands of brown, and compare flavors to see what I like best. Not a bad experiment...Just surprised there's not more feedback from those that have used it, since I seem to come across it quite a bit.

FWIW - I probably would have preferred TF brown if my LHBS had it.


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I've used brown malt, but not the HB variety. It's "the" distinctive malt in brown porter. It's roasty, a bit, but not like roasted barley. It's a bit toasty and nutty, and slightly roasty. I love it, although I don't make brown porters often.

Hugh Bairds "Brown Malt" is listed as an Amber Malt on their website.

Awesome - Thanks for the feedback! I've not yet brewed with amber malt, let alone brown malt, so I don't have a reference point in that regard. I do like roasty, toasty, nutty flavors - so hopefully this will lend that.

Curious why it's listed as amber on their site, but sold at various vendors as "brown"?

So my recipe I brewed last weekend was:

5 lbs Marris otter
3 lbs Munich
1.5 lbs HB Brown
.5 carapils
.5oz Perle for 60 min
.5 oz EKG @ 30 mins
.5 oz EKG @ 5 mins
Mashed at 153
Fermentis S-04 been going at 62-63 since pitching on Saturday.

Not sure exactly what to call it? A light brown English ale of sorts, maybe? English brunette? I'll report back with tasting notes in 4-6 wks. Thanks again for the replies!



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Brown and Amber malt vary their specs a lot and have always done so. However, Brown malt is more consistent across suppliers while the Amber malt of some can be as dark as the Brown malt of others. These malts used to be brewed on request to what each brewery wanted so I guess what we get hold of is sort of an average. If you find a supplier of Amber you like stick to it!

Btw, brown malt is the fundamental malt for all British beers in the porter family: porter, India porter, stout, milk stout, double stout, triple stout and Imperial Russian stout. Historically it was widespread and few breweries skipped it (mainly breweries outside London)

After playing around with Beersmith, "northern brown ale" seems to be the most fitting (all in the green zone...color was on the lighter end, but still in the green) as far as style goes. We'll see how the taste comes out. Thanks again for the replies!


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JKaranka said:

Brown and Amber malt vary their specs a lot and have always done so. However, Brown malt is more consistent across suppliers while the Amber malt of some can be as dark as the Brown malt of others. These malts used to be brewed on request to what each brewery wanted so I guess what we get hold of is sort of an average. If you find a supplier of Amber you like stick to it!

Btw, brown malt is the fundamental malt for all British beers in the porter family: porter, India porter, stout, milk stout, double stout, triple stout and Imperial Russian stout. Historically it was widespread and few breweries skipped it (mainly breweries outside London)

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But the original brown malt had diastatic power unlike the current type. It's been said it probably was a bit smoky as it was killed with wood rather than coal. Either way the new stuff is delicious.

i'd likely back down off the brown a bit there. i love brown malt and baird is what i use but i usually hold it to a pound or less in a 5gal batch.

505-Brewer said:

But the original brown malt had diastatic power unlike the current type. It's been said it probably was a bit smoky as it was killed with wood rather than coal. Either way the new stuff is delicious.

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Brown malt has a very long history. It's not been diastatic since around 1820 as most porters used mainly pale malt since 1800 and Black Patent arrived in 1817. The stuff we get nowadays is pretty similar to the late Victorian brown malt for which you have good malting descriptions.

ddrrseio said:

i'd likely back down off the brown a bit there. i love brown malt and baird is what i use but i usually hold it to a pound or less in a 5gal batch.

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Thanks for the feedback. I had already brewed it with 1.5 lbs last weekend, for a 5.5 gal batch into the fermenter. So we'll see how it tastes in a few weeks. If it's a bit overkill, I'll tone it down the next time. I do like pretty toasty/roasty flavors - so hopefully it will turn out!


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JKaranka said:

Brown malt has a very long history. It's not been diastatic since around 1820 as most porters used mainly pale malt since 1800 and Black Patent arrived in 1817. The stuff we get nowadays is pretty similar to the late Victorian brown malt for which you have good malting descriptions.

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Yes, agreed.

BrewinBromanite said:

Thanks for the feedback. I had already brewed it with 1.5 lbs last weekend, for a 5.5 gal batch into the fermenter. So we'll see how it tastes in a few weeks. If it's a bit overkill, I'll tone it down the next time. I do like pretty toasty/roasty flavors - so hopefully it will turn out!


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If I recall typically 5-10% is recommended range but 15% with all your rich Munich could be quite nice. You can always blend it out if it's a bit too much.

Could be interesting. I'll be sure and report back.


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