Every Caramel of the Rainbow

[uncommonsense]

Would this be any good. I thought of it last night while coloring with my kid.

9# 2row
.25# 10l caramel
.25# 20l caramel
.25# 30l caramel
.25# 40l caramel
.25# 60l caramel
.25# 80l caramel
.25# 120l caramel

 

[specsman]

It would turn out pretty sweet-tasting wouldn't it?

 

[remilard]

Eh, 1.75 lbs of crystal in a 5 gallon batch isn't over the top. Worth a try.

 

[Egghead]

1 3/4 pounds of crystal to 8 lbs of base malt? You didn't say what size batch. I might try that ratio in a 7-8 gallon batch of mild or a 1-2 gallon batch of barleywine, but I think it's too crystal-heavy for any sort of pale ale.

Also, I think that there might be a tendency for the flavors to interfere with each other instead of complement each other. I'm definitely of the "less is more" school of recipe creation. I'd probably never use more than 2 types of crystal in any given recipe. What flavor contributions were you looking for in using every kind of caramel malt?

What hops were you planning to use?

 

[Homercidal]

Give it a shot and let us know how it goes!

 

[uncommonsense]

1 3/4 pounds of crystal to 8 lbs of base malt? You didn't say what size batch. I might try that ratio in a 7-8 gallon batch of mild or a 1-2 gallon batch of barleywine, but I think it's too crystal-heavy for any sort of pale ale.

Also, I think that there might be a tendency for the flavors to interfere with each other instead of complement each other. I'm definitely of the "less is more" school of recipe creation. I'd probably never use more than 2 types of crystal in any given recipe. What flavor contributions were you looking for in using every kind of caramel malt?

What hops were you planning to use?

Im not sure that im ganna brew it at all. I didnt plan hops or yeast or what flavors i hope to get. It just came to me when we were coloring a rainbow in a coloring book.

 

[badhabit]

Kind of an interesting idea. I just wonder if the 120 wouldn't just overpower the other caramels, particularly the lower L. I've mixed some caramel before, but that was more in the 30 to 60 L range and more for color. I'd like to hear if others have mixed a bunch of caramels.

 

[Homercidal]

Each of those has a different flavor from the others, it's not just about color. I suspect that it would not taste great, but mostly because the darker colors have raisin and toffee flavors, among others, that I don't think would be that great in a beer like that.

BUT - It might be cool to portion them out for a beer like a barleywine, where those flavors would be expected, and the beer strong enough to support it.

 

[PVH]

I often use a low L, like 10 or 20, with a higher Lovibond crystal. I perceive just caramel sweetness from the lower range, while the 40L+ crystals offer a lot more character. I have used three varieties in the same batch (10, 60, 120), but not in equal amounts as you propose. Also, those three are very different from each other.

My guess is that the 0.75 lb of 40-80L crystal malts will be the most apparent and hard to distinguish from one another. I bet the 120L will be easy to pick out. If you make this, it might be interesting to do tastings with the crystal malts. You could taste the beer and then the kernels, and try to determine how much they show up in the beer.

 

[dcp27]

I did an esb last year with a similar bill
8.5lb marris otter
0.5lb special roast
3oz each 10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 90, 120, Special B
it came out real well, but in my case the darker ones overpowered the light. i'd consider weighing it slightly light heavy so you don't have the same problem.