Beersmith blog says not to mix caramel malts?

[Trail]

I was reading this article on Beersmith.com about the use of caramel malts. I encountered this strange warning:

Rarely should the total caramel malt exceed 10% of the grain bill, and 5% is probably a better target. Don’t add a rainbow of caramel malts – select the one you need and use it. Also, use the darker caramel malts sparingly – as the color approaches 100 SRM, these malts get increasingly astringent, and have a more burnt flavor, which can often destroy the flavor balance in your beer. Moderation is the key.

I've mixed caramels before and thought it worked OK. A search of the forums indicates I'm not alone in this... and I can't find anything that explains why mixing "a rainbow of caramel malts" would be bad.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

I like to limit any flavor component to no more than 3 of a kind, typically 1-2. Otherwise it tastes less complex, and more muddled. Take dark roasted malts for an example, you'll rarely see black patent, roasted barley, and two kinds of chocolate malt together in a grain bill. It's too "busy".

With that said, I don't really view brad as an authority figure. He posts incorrect information all the time so take anything you read there with a grain of salt.

 

[jmark]

It depends on the style, but I quite often layer crystal/caramel malts - especially with styles like porters, stouts, RIS, brown ales... I would agree that you don't want to be heavy handed or mix too many, but I find adding a couple of varying colors adds some complexity (e.g. some 40 and 120, rather than just some 80).

 

[MaxStout]

You can use different caramel malts to dial in your desired color and flavor. For example if a recipe calls for caramel 40, and you don't have any, you could mix 20 and 60 to get the equivalent. I don't see the problem with mixing it up a bit.

I do agree with the moderation advice--5-10% total is plenty.

 

[Trail]

I do agree with the moderation advice--5-10% total is plenty.

Absolutely. Most of the time, even 10% is too much. I'm doing a recipe next weekend with 8% caramel in the grist, and I'm nervous...