So I made some crystal malt today

Used 2lbs of pale 2row, soaked it, stewed it for 2 hrs at 150 - 160, then cooked it in the oven. However, some of it came out real light and some fairly dark. I was shooting for 40L, but I have no idea what ive got lol. Anybody try this and get results like this? I mean the grains taste great and I am going to brew with them on my next batch, but I was hoping for more consistency.

Where did you get the idea for this? Was it divine inspiration?

I have read that it is best to store toasted grains in a paper bag for a week or two after toasting. Something regarding dissipation of harsh volitiles created during the toasting.

You can get better consistency if you turn the grains every 5 minutes or so, continuous turning would be better. I haven't tried crystal yet, what temperature did you kiln them at? Did you use any water spraying while cooking? You do need to let them rest for a couple of weeks (depending on degree of roasting, etc) before utilizing them for reasons stated above.

Too much work for me but if it works, congrats.

Here's a copy of a link with quite a bit of info on malting and crystal malting of different gradients I posted in a previous thread during my research of making crystal, :rockin: As a side note, it appears the big maltsters make cyrstal from green malts, that is, before it has been kiln dried directly after malting, if you're interested:

. . . . . . . . . "Found some interesting/more detailed instructions here: BMG - Pauls Malt, Limited

Another edit: I believe it is the higher temperature of stewing (Mashing) i.e. 155F + or -, that stops the growing process, DUH, I read this at the same site I linked above:

Beeston Crystal Malts
Beeston's caramalt and crystal malts are all produced from green two-row malt using the following method: The surface moisture is dried off at about 122 °F (50 °C) for approximately five minutes. The malt is then stewed at approximately 149-167 °F (65-75 °C) for about 40 minutes to stimulate the conversion of starches to sugars (crystallization). Drying and curing then takes place at about 176 °F (80 °C) for another 40 minutes, depending on the color required. The final drying and curing temperature varies among products; curing is typically done at about 275 °F (135 °C) for approximately two hours, depending on the color required. The darker the colors, the more intense the flavor."

Philsc said:

Where did you get the idea for this? Was it divine inspiration?

Click to expand...

I dunno about COLO, but the idea of "internal starch conversion succeeded by carmelization", basically the exact same thing they do on that website, was something I concluded for myself (omg that ****er they stole my idea! lol =p ). Getting educated in biochemistry has it's perks, but I used to do this and it takes way too much time in addition to the brew day itself. You have to essentially mash your specialty grains, roast them, then mash them again LOL. Waaaay too much f'in time. Your time is better spent just buying grains instead of spending all day roasting them.

~regards

Time, we don't care about stinkin' time. It's kind of like deer sausage. Bill Gates and Ted Turner are the only two people that could enjoy both with any frequency. - Dwain

well I work in education and I have the summer off right now. I was just playing some video games:

For those that were curious, I mashed the grains about 2 hours in a metal bowl floating in about 2 - 3 gallons of water (big pot with closed lid), turning occasionally. I controlled temperature by bringing the water up to 160 and bringing it back up when it dropped to 150. Pretty low maintenance procedure overall, but did require a bit of babying.

For the kilning, I put the oven on the lowest heat, 175ish, and dried the grains for 2 hours or so, turning every 15 minutes. Then turned up the heat to 250 ish for around 20 more.

I asked because you can't get amber malt where I am. The best bet is the Weyerman caraamber. I was thinking of making my own after I read a thread on turning pale malt into brown malt.

Akaryrye, you have to stress what a living nightmare your job is during term time so that people with 2 weeks annual leave feel slightly less inclined to lynch you.

I'm working in education, loads of holiday, I'm trying to find the escape hatch.

Dwain, your avatar reminds me of too much time spent watching telly as a nipper.

amercuric said:

I dunno about COLO, but the idea of "internal starch conversion succeeded by carmelization", basically the exact same thing they do on that website, was something I concluded for myself (omg that ****er they stole my idea! lol =p ). Getting educated in biochemistry has it's perks, but I used to do this and it takes way too much time in addition to the brew day itself. You have to essentially mash your specialty grains, roast them, then mash them again LOL. Waaaay too much f'in time. Your time is better spent just buying grains instead of spending all day roasting them.

~regards

Click to expand...

Since when was a home brewer interested saving time above the DIY projects. I think it's pretty cool idea to kiln your own malts. I don't know if I'd do it my self, but it's pretty cool. Save your time by doing extract brewing and then use that free time to kiln your own malts. I can just think of the fun conversation you could have at home brew club meetings.

A: So what kind of brewing do you do? Extract? All grain?
B: Mainly extract.
A: (thinking he's bad ass) I used to do extracts. It's easy, kinda like making koolaid, but I switched to all grain a while back so I could have more control.
B: So where do you get your specialty grains?
A: Just at the local home brew shop, where else would I get them?
B: Yeah, I was like you at one time. Bought all my specialty grains, but I prefer to kiln the grains myself now, so that I have a little more control over the process. :rockin:

I read on another forum about this guy whose first batch was all-grain. He lived on a farm, so he just had to go out and collect the barley. He malted it himself and kilned it.

First Batch!!!

That's hardcore.

amercuric said:

. . .. it takes way too much time in addition to the brew day itself. You have to essentially mash your specialty grains, roast them, then mash them again LOL. Waaaay too much f'in time. Your time is better spent just buying grains instead of spending all day roasting them.

~regards

Click to expand...

That's why I do it in bulk, (well 50lbs) So I can store it for future brewing. If it costs $70 for 50lbs of commercial pale malts to my door, then I am willing to spend $8 for 50 lbs of raw barley and utilize a little of my "spare" time creating my own.

I grant it is not of the quality (yet) that you get from commercial maltsters, but so far it has made great beer, even the over-modified stuff I had. I've yet to use step mashing to see what the greatest yield will be, but that is next.:rockin:

COLObrewer said:

That's why I do it in bulk, (well 50lbs) So I can store it for future brewing. If it costs $70 for 50lbs of commercial pale malts to my door, then I am willing to spend $8 for 50 lbs of raw barley and utilize a little of my "spare" time creating my own.

I grant it is not of the quality (yet) that you get from commercial maltsters, but so far it has made great beer, even the over-modified stuff I had. I've yet to use step mashing to see what the greatest yield will be, but that is next.:rockin:

Click to expand...

No LHBS? At my local shop, I paid $1.17 / per lb on my last batch and he crushed it for me too. I've heard people getting it cheaper with bulk grain buys. Do you have a local club that does bulk grain buys?

brian_g said:

No LHBS? At my local shop, I paid $1.17 / per lb on my last batch and he crushed it for me too. I've heard people getting it cheaper with bulk grain buys. Do you have a local club that does bulk grain buys?

Click to expand...

The somewhat local store (1hr away) sells 50lb pale malt for $63, everything goes up from there. Local club fizzled out last year. Might be time to start a new one?

Philsc said:

I read on another forum about this guy whose first batch was all-grain. He lived on a farm, so he just had to go out and collect the barley. He malted it himself and kilned it.

First Batch!!!

That's hardcore.

Click to expand...

He's either hardcore, or it's an act of desperation. Maybe he lives in a dry town.

It ain't about time. It's about love! (And control, also) Home roasting is fun too!

Congrats on your first crystal!

Went ahead and brewed it up yesterday:

22.5 Lbs Pale malt
2 Lbs DIY crystal (~20L)
2oz cascade (60min)
2oz cascade (30min)
2oz cascade (0min)
OG - 1.056
Yeast - WL1056

Color seemed to come in aroudn 5 - 7L which is fine by me. I like simple beer like this.

brian_g said:

He's either hardcore, or it's an act of desperation. Maybe he lives in a dry town.

Click to expand...

He lives in England. So NOT a dry town

I live in california. Crystal malt is a 25 minute drive and $1.75 a pound. Mainly I wanted to have an understanding of what makes the malt what it is. Now I feel like I do so it was worth my time.

Here it is in the glass, kegged it 2 days ago so still a little cloudy

Too much work for me but if it works, congrats.

Click to expand...

+1............

I like this page i just found. Not too much new info, but it speaks to me in my dumbed down language.

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

I like this page i just found. Not too much new info, but it speaks to me in my dumbed down language.

Click to expand...

Some good info there on making different malts, of course there is a little more to crystal/caramel, i.e. mashing.

Im going to use a cement mixer to continuously turn my grain when I start large scale malting. Put a Burner under it and put it on spin cycle. Hehehehehe.

COLObrewer said:

Some good info there on making different malts, of course there is a little more to crystal/caramel, i.e. mashing.

Click to expand...

Yeah, and that is what I was looking for, didn't find it there........I just liked that page was all.

So, could I use my converted cooler mash tun for the stewing?

Laughing_Gnome_Invisible said:

Yeah, and that is what I was looking for, didn't find it there........I just liked that page was all.

Click to expand...

Gnome et. al. - you probably already know this, in Radical Brewing, the author has directions for making crystal/caramel malt. I just looked for my copy and can't find it - dammit.



If/when I do, I'll post the directions.

Pappers said:

Gnome et. al. - you probably already know this, in Radical Brewing, the author has directions for making crystal/caramel malt. I just looked for my copy and can't find it - dammit.



If/when I do, I'll post the directions.

Click to expand...

I've tried to find it in there but there are only basic instructions like everywhere else, nothing I've found gives procedures for specific Lovibond colors.

I've almost come to the conclusion I need to make my own color samples to compare to. The easiest way would be to get a sample of each commercial crystal and save in a jar somewhere but they would probably fade over time.

I still think it is a "trade secret" and most maltings are just a touch different from others. I haven't seen specifics on any of the maltings sites. By the way Briess has some interesting malting info on their site: Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.: Malting 101 - History of Malting, The Malting Process, Handcrafting Specialty Malts, The Row Less Traveled, Benefits of Brewing With CBW Malt Extracts, Gluten Free Brewing. Still no specifics.:cross: