Crystal malt question

[ozorgnax]

Hi to all, I'm thinking of trying a partial mash for the first time but I have a question (well lots of them actually but never mind
I have a recipe for a Bohemian pils that calls for 20L crystal malt. My supplier though (www.brouwland.com) uses the EBC rating for malts which (as far as I have understood) corresponds to about twice the value of the Lovibond rating. So in my example I would need a 40 EBC malt. The problem is that in the description of the 40 EBC malt (Cara-red) one can read: "Used in brown ales, Flemish brown, bock-beers, Scottish ales", which is totally not what I want. To make matters worse, there is a specific pils malt (Cara-pils) which only has a 5 EBC rating!!! I'm officially confused, can anyone explain?

 

[djonas]

Hello. First of all, you are correct in the fact that EBC is about twice the value of an SRM or Lovibond rating. With that said, the CaraRed is still a 20 Lovibond malt, which means that it ought to be fairly light in color, especially if used in moderation. Examining the Weyermann website, they state that the CaraRed can be used for up to 25% of the total grain bill, so I would calculate the percent of CaraRed in your recipe. I imagine that in small amounts, it will add little redness. Then again, I have always known Pilsener to be a very fair colored beer so perhaps a 20 Lovibond malt will darken it too much.

About the malts; CaraRed ought to impart some sweeter malty flavors and aromas, while Carapils will only enhance the mouth feel and head retention. In other words, Carapils will not contribute much to aroma or flavor. The fact that it is called Carapils does not indicate that it must be used in a Pilsener! Why don't you post your recipe?

 

[ozorgnax]

Thanks for the info. Actually it's not a recipe per se, rather a guideline for beginners. Anyway the general instructions are: 6 pounds of the palest hopped malt extract available, 1 pound of 20L crystal malt (to be steeped and added to the wort), 1 ounce of Saaz hops in the last 5 minutes of the boil and a high-quality liquid lager yeast.
Based on what djonas has said I'm thinking of going with the carared anyway...

 

[djonas]

I'm sure that it will make a good beer, nonetheless! But do look into a computer program such as BeerSmith or BeerAlchemy, as it will help you predict many important aspects of your finished beer based on your ingredients. Both of these programs, I believe have free trial versions.

And not to be too picky but I highly recommend not using hopped extract but instead use an unhopped variety with real hops in the boil. Sometimes the hopping rates derived from the hopped extract can be unreliable.

 

[MX1]

Brouland is my local store as well.

If it were me, I would use the CaraAmber, it is a little darker than the 20 you need but not by much.

Let us know how it turns out.

Tim

 

[MX1]

You may also want to try just the plain Brewferm amber, but you will lose the mouthfeel aspect of the Cara malts

 

[BigEd]

Hi to all, I'm thinking of trying a partial mash for the first time but I have a question (well lots of them actually but never mind
I have a recipe for a Bohemian pils that calls for 20L crystal malt. My supplier though (www.brouwland.com) uses the EBC rating for malts which (as far as I have understood) corresponds to about twice the value of the Lovibond rating. So in my example I would need a 40 EBC malt. The problem is that in the description of the 40 EBC malt (Cara-red) one can read: "Used in brown ales, Flemish brown, bock-beers, Scottish ales", which is totally not what I want. To make matters worse, there is a specific pils malt (Cara-pils) which only has a 5 EBC rating!!! I'm officially confused, can anyone explain?

Look for CaraHell malt. This is a light, caramel/crystal malt usually between 10-20L in color. Hell is German for light. CaraPils is not a pils malt but a very light colored quasi-crystal malt that could also be used.