Crystal malt questions

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meteorbrews

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I just want to get a few things straight in my mind so I can better understand how things work. Crystal malts already contain pre converted sugars which will add to the gravity of your wort. Are these sugars fermentable or not? If they are unfermentable then am I correct in assuming that i should expect a higher OG/FG wort? Anyone know where I can find a list of ppg that crystal/toasted malts add?

Thanks,

B.
 
Crystal malt has not been converted. I think extract versions of said crystal malt is what you are thinking. There's dry and liquid forms of malt extract.

Steeping crystal malts in a boil is a little different too. That's called a partial mash (PM).
 
Crystal/caramel malts are made a bit differently than other malts.

This is from our wiki (link above):

To make crystal or caramel malt, maltsters take green malt and, instead of heating it in a dry kiln, stew it in an extremely damp or wet oven. In the presence of water, each kernel of grain essentially undergoes a mash in the hull, converting the grain's starch to sugar. However, since the grain is not crushed, the sugar does not go into solution and create wort. Instead, when the temperature is lowered, the sugar crystallizes in the hull, giving the grain the appearance of a crystal of sugar. The malt is then dried over heat, with the drying temperature and time determining the color and flavor characteristics of the finished product.

Because the stewing process essentially mashes the grain, crystal and caramel malts are some of the few steeping grains that can be used in extract brewing without needing to be mashed, although some of the palest crystal malts may not be sufficiently converted and may leave haze in the finished beer. All-grain brewers may also simply add crystal malts to the mash as they would any other specialty malt.

In other words, the grain is pre-mashed, so to speak. So, yes, it does contribute to OG, and the sugars are fermentable. Because you can plan on about 1.035 per pound of grain, using 1 pound in a 5 gallon batch will only contribute about .007 to the OG, though.
 
Alright then that makes sense to me. This question arose for me when I was having trouble figuring out my boil gravity/IBU's since I was assuming crystal malts didn't add any fermentables. I was looking at an extract version for BM's redhook ESB clone in which that malts were

5# Pale LME
2.5# Toasted malt
1# Crystal 60L
0.5# CaraPils

Which adds a fair amount to my OG.

Thanks!
 
Are these sugars fermentable or not? If they are unfermentable then am I correct in assuming that i should expect a higher OG/FG wort? Anyone know where I can find a list of ppg that crystal/toasted malts add?

Generally, you can estimate how fermentable a crystal malt will be based on its color. Very light crystals (like Carapils or dextrin malt) don't get hot enough to fully convert, and very dark malts have been caramelized to the point that they're unfermentable. So something like a 20-40 SRM crystal is going to be most fermentable, thought still not nearly as much as a base malt.

Here's the wiki page that lists the potential extract of most common grains, including crystal malts: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Malts_Chart
 
Crystal malt has not been converted. I think extract versions of said crystal malt is what you are thinking. There's dry and liquid forms of malt extract.

Steeping crystal malts in a boil is a little different too. That's called a partial mash (PM).

This one post is just chock full of disinformation.
 
Alright then that makes sense to me. This question arose for me when I was having trouble figuring out my boil gravity/IBU's since I was assuming crystal malts didn't add any fermentables. I was looking at an extract version for BM's redhook ESB clone in which that malts were

5# Pale LME
2.5# Toasted malt
1# Crystal 60L
0.5# CaraPils

Which adds a fair amount to my OG.

Thanks!
The toasted malt should be mashed and it probably can't convert it's self after being toasted. Carapils is a crystal that also should be mashed. You will get some flavor but too much starch. It really needs some base malt to convert it. IMO that is a poor recipe.
 
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