Caramel/Crystal malts substitutes

[felipefranco]

I've been seen a lot of recipes with the Caramel/Crystal 20L,40L,60L,80L malts but I can't get it here in Brazil.
All I can get are malts from Castle Malting (http://www.castlemalting.com/CastleMaltingMalts.asp) and Weyermann (http://www.weyermann.de/).
Do you guys know what would be great substitutes for them?

Thanks!!!

 

[gbarron]

Use The Google and search for grain substitute charts, and you'll find some answers. Carahell, Carared, and the Caramunich grains are Weyermann's crystal malts. Not sure about Castle.

 

[felipefranco]

I've done this a lot already
I got that the Carared would be ok for the 20L and that the Châteu Crystal could be for the 80L.
But dind't get any responde about the diference in flavours and characteristics.
I am hoping that anyone could help me with these informations and experiences

 

[pm5k00]

Looking at the castle page, anything that says cara is a crystal malt, look at the lovibond rating and round to the nearest equivalent.

Cara blond 8l - C10
Cara Ruby 19.3l - C20
Cara gold 45.7l - C40/45
Crystal 57.1l - C60
Special B 113.7 - Special B/C120

I don't have personal experience with the malts from castle but the differences from what they have to an equivalent will be subtle.

 

[philber]

I stopped buying specialty grains about 6 batches ago. I found this web site and I follow all his steps, I even bought his book.

I do Crystal 10 to 100L, Sudo-Caramel, Chocolate Malt (In a 13" iron pan and have the doors and windows open), Amber Malts and I even did some Patent that smells just like the stuff I paid $4 for.

If you play a little, 1/2# to 1# you can get the process down quickly for your stove.

Roast your own Grains!

I have made beers from Miller Lite, Czech Pilsner, Irish Red, Boddingtons to a Brown Ale with my own roasts.

 

[IslandLizard]

I stopped buying specialty grains about 6 batches ago. I found this web site and I follow all his steps, I even bought his book...

Excellent link!
And a great resource for those who don't have the convenience of an HBS. I bet those home toasted, roasted and crystal malts taste better (fresher) than what we buy.

 

[AllHopAbandon]

Like gbarron said, googling "malt subsitution chart" will give you plenty of info. I usually look at this page since I use Weyermann crystal malts almost exclusively.

For instance, I'm planning on brewing a version of NB's Caribou Slobber which uses Crystal 60L and 80L, and I'm using Caramunich III and Carabohemian instead. With about 57L and 74L respectively, they come close enough.

I'm also using Golden Promise instead of US 2 row, so it's going to be a slightly different beer, but close enough. It's going to be a European version of Moose Drool/Caribou Slobber, so I'm calling it... Elk Dribble!

 

[felipefranco]

Like gbarron said, googling "malt subsitution chart" will give you plenty of info. I usually look at this page since I use Weyermann crystal malts almost exclusively.

For instance, I'm planning on brewing a version of NB's Caribou Slobber which uses Crystal 60L and 80L, and I'm using Caramunich III and Carabohemian instead. With about 57L and 74L respectively, they come close enough.

I'm also using Golden Promise instead of US 2 row, so it's going to be a slightly different beer, but close enough. It's going to be a European version of Moose Drool/Caribou Slobber, so I'm calling it... Elk Dribble!

I'm going to use the Carabohemian to replace the c80 as well. But I couldn't get the Caramunich III, so Im gonna use the Chatêu Crystal(cara 150).
Let's see how it works.

Thank you all for the help!

 

[Dynachrome]

I bought a bag of Carabohemian EBC 190-210 Lovibond 72-79 today - substitute for 1 lb Cara Amber? ...Cara Amber - that's all my recipe states.

 

[ESBrewer]

Yes, Castle (and Weyermann) malts should be fine. Castle Chateau Crystal is a medium range crystal malt and useful in many recipes. Then there are these Cara malts that are crystal malts too. Please be aware that many (homebrew) recipes around the internet contain excessive amounts of crystal malts and may not give you exactly what you are looking for. So you probaby want to do a little bit of research to find out the amount of crystal that is most suitable for the beer style you are brewing.

 

[joebrewstoo]

I stopped buying specialty grains about 6 batches ago. I found this web site and I follow all his steps, I even bought his book.

I do Crystal 10 to 100L, Sudo-Caramel, Chocolate Malt (In a 13" iron pan and have the doors and windows open), Amber Malts and I even did some Patent that smells just like the stuff I paid $4 for.

If you play a little, 1/2# to 1# you can get the process down quickly for your stove.

Roast your own Grains!

I have made beers from Miller Lite, Czech Pilsner, Irish Red, Boddingtons to a Brown Ale with my own roasts.

I know that this is an old post! I just started roasting my self. I’m wondering what’s your advice on determining when chocolate malt and black malt is reached.