Using Specialty Malts

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jas3019

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There's been a lot of discussion lately about mashing CMC's malts but I'm just not ready to make that big of a leap in brewing. What I am considering is using some of their specialty malts to steep with and then using a sorghum/BRS base for my fermentables. But it doesn't seem like anyone has tried this (or I just can't find a post about it). Steeping the specialty malts just seems like a good way to add some malt flavor without the process of mashing. Plus, I've seen plenty of glutenous recipes that use pale malt extract with specialty grains to get flavor. If it works for them, why not here?

What does everyone think? Am I just way off base here?
 
jas3019 said:
There's been a lot of discussion lately about mashing CMC's malts but I'm just not ready to make that big of a leap in brewing. What I am considering is using some of their specialty malts to steep with and then using a sorghum/BRS base for my fermentables. But it doesn't seem like anyone has tried this (or I just can't find a post about it). Steeping the specialty malts just seems like a good way to add some malt flavor without the process of mashing. Plus, I've seen plenty of glutenous recipes that use pale malt extract with specialty grains to get flavor. If it works for them, why not here?

What does everyone think? Am I just way off base here?
Click to expand...

When you say "specialty malts", I assume you mean their crystal or chocolate millet and not anything barley/wheat/rye based.

Plenty of people have roasted their own buckwheat and steeped it in their GF, extract beers. I'm sure you can do the same with the CMC specialty malts and I hope you share the results if you try.
 
Sorry for the confusion! Yes, I'm referring to their crystal/vienna/munich/chateau abbey malts using millet, buckwheat or quinoa. Seems a lot of people prefer millet so I'd probably start with that. I've steeped roasted millet before but this seems like a better option. I'm just not willing to invest in the time/money right now for mashing to replace the sorghum.
 
When I ventured beyond gluten free extract brewing I did a few partial mashes. Long brewing days with good results. To make a few quicker batches I did several batches with steeped grain from CMC. They were excellent! I am still experimenting with partial mash batches but honestly wonder if the added benefit is worth the added effort. I would definitely go for steeped crystal. I will likely brew partial mash batches from time to time but will never again brew without some steeped crystal. Go for it!
 
Perfect. I'm sold - gonna send an email to them today for a quote. When you used the crystal, how much did you use and what darkness did you get? I saw quite a few recipes in the main section used around 6-8 oz crystal at 80L in a 5 gal batch and am thinking about doing the same.
 
I posted a recipe that I used:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f240/steep-yourself-gluten-free-ale-442319/#post5659360

For steeping I have just used the CMC crystal. I purchased 5 lb each of millet and buckwheat and I am working through that. I just started venturing into roasted grains in partial mash. Honestly, I really like moderately hopped pale beers so I am probably not the one to ask about darker roasts. Also, others really like the darker belgian candy syrup but I prefer the 5L. As others have stated, belgian candy syrup (not hard sugar) is a key ingredient in combination with the sorghum.
 
Thanks for the recipe! I might try something similar and use yours as a base. The recipes I saw that used the darker crystal was for some lighter beers - a yuengling clone and a pale ale. Those are the type of beer I for too so we probably are pretty similar in taste. Maybe that's just my clue to stick to a lighter crystal.
 

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