Grain guide
- Thread starter klane3
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Help Support Homebrew Talk:
Here's a start:
https://byo.com/resources/grains
I only have a few of the brewing books, but I'm not sure any actually have a extensive list or guide on malts and how and in what percentages to use them correctly.
In my opinion one learns the grains from reading and experience. If you're a new brewer, I would stick to the recipe until you get a feel for the ingredients going into the beer.
A good book here is: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381500/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
As far as head retention goes you can use wheat, crystal malts, oats, etc. But these have different uses (at least for me). If I want to brew up a dry IPA with decent head retention I might use white wheat or carapils if i'm feeling purist. If i'm brewing an ESB i'll use crystal malt, how dark depends on what flavor i'm after. I'll throw flaked wheat or oats into stout, porter or a Belgian wit to get the head retention, body and maybe some oils.
I am by no means an expert, but I hope I've given you some sort of idea...
https://byo.com/resources/grains
I only have a few of the brewing books, but I'm not sure any actually have a extensive list or guide on malts and how and in what percentages to use them correctly.
In my opinion one learns the grains from reading and experience. If you're a new brewer, I would stick to the recipe until you get a feel for the ingredients going into the beer.
A good book here is: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0937381500/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
As far as head retention goes you can use wheat, crystal malts, oats, etc. But these have different uses (at least for me). If I want to brew up a dry IPA with decent head retention I might use white wheat or carapils if i'm feeling purist. If i'm brewing an ESB i'll use crystal malt, how dark depends on what flavor i'm after. I'll throw flaked wheat or oats into stout, porter or a Belgian wit to get the head retention, body and maybe some oils.
I am by no means an expert, but I hope I've given you some sort of idea...
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masskrug
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From BYO:
Strategies in the Foam Game
Awesome Foam -- for the brewer in search of drop-dead head
Brew all-malt beer (no adjuncts such as rice, corn, or sugar); made from all-grain brewing.
Use foam-building ingredients such as wheat or unmalted barley.
Carbonate to a slightly higher level or use a nitrogen stout gas.
Use scrupulously clean glassware.
Leave no chemical residue on any brewing equipment, beer bottles, beer glasses, or body parts.
Foam suffers from the thought of some chemicals.
Brew hefe-weizen, wit beer, and stout (dispensed through a stout tap). These three styles have naturally awesome foam.
Good Foam -- for the brewer who wants a good head without jumping through hoops
Brew all-malt beer (no adjuncts such as rice, corn, or sugar) made from all-grain brewing. Extracts lose much of the foam-building proteins during processing.
Use a generous addition of hops. Hop bittering acids help foam cling.
Properly carbonate so the foam has enough gas to form correctly.
Thoroughly rinse your equipment but don't obsess -- no-rinse sanitizers are acceptable for the
brewer in search of good foam.
Bad Foam -- some of the most common culprits to avoid
Excessive use of adjunct ingredients. Ever see an American-style lager with awesome foam?
Very, very little hops. Light beers with low hopping rates have bad foam!
Fats and oils -- oats, coffee, chocolate, potato chips, and the like all contain fats and oils. Avoid the use of such ingredients if you want good foam. If you want chocolate porter more than foam, then don't worry -- you may get lucky and have good foam.
Foaming cleaners and sanitizers. Detergents destroy beer foam even though they are foamy themselves. These compounds must be rinsed off of all brewing equipment.
Foaming the beer before drinking. Once a foam forms, the foaming compounds do not form foam a second time.
Flat beer doesn't foam unless it is dispensed using special taps (beer engines for example).
Strategies in the Foam Game
Awesome Foam -- for the brewer in search of drop-dead head
Brew all-malt beer (no adjuncts such as rice, corn, or sugar); made from all-grain brewing.
Use foam-building ingredients such as wheat or unmalted barley.
Carbonate to a slightly higher level or use a nitrogen stout gas.
Use scrupulously clean glassware.
Leave no chemical residue on any brewing equipment, beer bottles, beer glasses, or body parts.
Foam suffers from the thought of some chemicals.
Brew hefe-weizen, wit beer, and stout (dispensed through a stout tap). These three styles have naturally awesome foam.
Good Foam -- for the brewer who wants a good head without jumping through hoops
Brew all-malt beer (no adjuncts such as rice, corn, or sugar) made from all-grain brewing. Extracts lose much of the foam-building proteins during processing.
Use a generous addition of hops. Hop bittering acids help foam cling.
Properly carbonate so the foam has enough gas to form correctly.
Thoroughly rinse your equipment but don't obsess -- no-rinse sanitizers are acceptable for the
brewer in search of good foam.
Bad Foam -- some of the most common culprits to avoid
Excessive use of adjunct ingredients. Ever see an American-style lager with awesome foam?
Very, very little hops. Light beers with low hopping rates have bad foam!
Fats and oils -- oats, coffee, chocolate, potato chips, and the like all contain fats and oils. Avoid the use of such ingredients if you want good foam. If you want chocolate porter more than foam, then don't worry -- you may get lucky and have good foam.
Foaming cleaners and sanitizers. Detergents destroy beer foam even though they are foamy themselves. These compounds must be rinsed off of all brewing equipment.
Foaming the beer before drinking. Once a foam forms, the foaming compounds do not form foam a second time.
Flat beer doesn't foam unless it is dispensed using special taps (beer engines for example).
