I was lucky enough to get two sacks of Crisp Chevallier Malt back in June (helps to have connections) and have brewed 5 batches with the malt so far. First two batches were simple English bitters, both around 1.040, one using 100% Chevallier and the other included 3% medium crystal. Both were hopped (moderately) with EKG and Challenger, wlp006 yeast.
My initial impressions were that the malt does have a rich and complex flavor, more so than MO or GP. Tasting notes were along the lines of oven-baked bread, toast crust, earthy-straw, cocoa, and a sweet honey/caramel flavor. The malt definitely leaves a full and round malt character in the beer, with a slightly higher than normal FG. Interestingly, the color of the grain is quite pale (almost chalky) but the color of the wort is indeed darker. A similar wort color could be achieved with Mild Malt, although the flavor is different. Moreover, I also noticed the flavor of the Chevallier brewed beers took longer to come around; when very young the beers were pretty hazy and had a slight roughness/cereal flavor, like eating raw flaked oatmeal or something. After a month in the keg, that flavor went away and the pleasant richness of the malt came through.
I watched Don Os video and while I can see his comment on apricot flavor (there is a sweetness that goes almost fruit-like), I wouldnt go so far to call out stone fruit. In the IPA that I brewed with it (100% Chevallier, Jester/Amarillo hops), the malt provided a nice malt balance with a similar earthy-honied flavor you get with UK floor malt. I dont think it particularly stood out in the IPA, although it had the same initial cereal roughness and darker color. That beer was pretty heavily hopped though.
Where the malt really stood out was in a high gravity Strong Ale (8.0%), where the concentrated wort produced really nice flavors of toasted bread, sweet caramel, and cocoa. I didnt use much roast or crystal malts in the recipe (less than 8% total), but the beer had a great, rich cocoa flavor with excellent mouthfeel. It tasted like the wort had been boiled down for hours; sweet, full, very moreish.
I recently brewed Rons 1949 Adnams XXXX Old Ale with it, and hope the results are similar.
All in all, I have been very happy with the Chevallier malt and definitely recommend trying some if you can source it. The flavor is certainly different than what we normally get - this isnt a bigger MO/GP, its a different flavor altogether. My only complaint of the malt is the roughness is imparts when the beer is young. Ive found it mostly ages out and the flavor holds up well as it ages. It seems perfect for beer styles that you can age.
