Help me with my pallet- examples of MALTY beers?

[PollardsVision]

I don't know if I've had any of the beers mentioned so far (except Newcastle). The only ones I've even seen are Old Chub and Dead Guy.

I don't drink malty beers very often, but I'd simply suggest Fat Tire. It's widely available. I don't know how it compares to the others mentioned, but it tastes like a big mouthful of malted barley to me.

 

[acefaser]

Go to any dessert place and order a vanilla milk shake and a malted vanilla milk shake and taste the difference.

 

[kramer]

Go to any dessert place and order a vanilla milk shake and a malted vanilla milk shake and taste the difference.

Okay, that's what I was looking for. That's "malty"....okay, got it Definitely can taste and smell that in the Marzen and Optimator. VERY clear in the Marzen though. Salvator is a little less prominent.

 

[StophJS]

I recently had Black Boss Porter from Poland, and that was very malty.

 

[kracken41]

I love this thread. Every thing is so hop centric these days I think a lot of brewers forget the wonderful diversity of flavors (and smells) you can get from the malt that makes up your beer. Think of malt as the sweetness in a beer. This sweetness can vary greatly from being subtle and mild to hitting your over the head with raisin or caramel overtones.

Beer at the end of the day is a balance between malt's sweetness and hop's bitterness. Take a beer you like, take a sip, and swish it in your mouth. Does it start sweet or bitter? Does is mature into other flavors while in your mouth (think malted milk ball, caramel, raisin) or does it become more bitter? And does it finish sweet or bitter or neutral? How does it taste on different parts of your tongue? Start doing this and you will start to see certain flavor patterns. Some you will like, others maybe not so much. You may have to drink a fair amount of beer to really grow your palette (oh nos!). Have fun!

 

[BenjaminBier]

In addition to drinking malty beers, you can also eat malted grains to get a feel for their character. It's amazing how recognizable malt flavors are in finished beer when you've sampled the grains going into them. My LHBS suggested the idea and they were always cool with sampling, but you might want to ask your local staff before tucking in

 

[johnnybrew]

In addition to drinking malty beers, you can also eat malted grains to get a feel for their character. It's amazing how recognizable malt flavors are in finished beer when you've sampled the grains going into them. My LHBS suggested the idea and they were always cool with sampling, but you might want to ask your local staff before tucking in

Great suggestion. I smell and taste each grain when I am weighing and crushing my grist bill. This is especially with grains I am less familiar with. You will find there are huge differences in both aroma and taste - especially with the specialty grains.

 

[Taypo]

Love this thread as well. We're not really hopheads, so most of our fridge is probably considered malty. Moose Drool, Scottish Ale, Irish Red (underhopped but tasty), Winter Warmers.

Slightly OT: I love that craft beer is growing, but it seems to be growing closer to the West Coast with the uber-hopped beers. Hell, I had a glass of Franconia Winter Wheat last night that almost made me choke. If all I can taste in your "wheat" beer is hops, you may want to rename it. Not at all what I was expecting.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

I recently had Black Boss Porter from Poland, and that was very malty.

Beer Club of the Month member by any chance?

 

[Beerbeque]

Pallet?

Maybe you mean palate.

 

[kramer]

Pallet?

Maybe you mean palate.

DOH! I'm a stickler for that kind of thing too.....or should I say two?

 

[boo boo]

Yeah, try an imported Carlsberg ( in a can ) or I even find Sam Adams Boston Lager to be malty.

 

[befus]

Love this thread as well.

Slightly OT: I love that craft beer is growing, but it seems to be growing closer to the West Coast with the uber-hopped beers. Hell, I had a glass of Franconia Winter Wheat last night that almost made me choke. If all I can taste in your "wheat" beer is hops, you may want to rename it. Not at all what I was expecting.

Couldn't concur more strongly. I honestly think West Coast styles are about as harmful to real beer production as Prohibition. If you look at the recipe indexes the "American" categories are just so dominate. American is usually another way to say, "I ruined the beer by adding so many hops you can't taste it anymore". Not saying this is correct or you should agree, but that is my opinion. The overwhelming character of good beer is MALT, with hops added to balance malt's sweetness, not dominate it. Call your stuff 'hop beverage' don't call it beer. Guess that makes me a Malthead. :fro:

 

[Quaffman]

I agree that malty beers are great, but sometimes nothing is better than a hopped up beer on a warm day. Since moving to san diego I've come to appreciate hoppier beers. I love hoppy beers that are in balance though like a blind pig or alpine brewing co beers. The super bitter ipa's like stone just don't do it for me.

 

[jholen]

Black Raven Scotch Ale - awesome maltiness!

 

[elvestinkle]

Orkney Brewerys Red McGregor is quite a malty Irish Red

Roth's Raleigh Red is also deliciously malty.

Love this thread!

 

[lou2row]

When trying to detect malts in your beer, try to think brown vs. green.

Hops are definitely more "green" tasting, with pine, citrus, grassy, herbal tastes.

Malts lean more to "brown" types flavors; earthy, chocolate, nutty, spices, coffee, biscuit, bready, and such.

As different malts lend different flavors, you may enjoy some while hating others. Same with hops; one of the first IPAs I drank was awful, loaded of lemon pith (to me). I have found several now that even though hop forward, are still enjoyable. It is all personal preference.

 

[BenjaminBier]

So....is it correct to think that "malty" flavor is just the hint of malt in taste and smell.....malt being that taste that is present in malted milk dud, a chocolate malt and malt extract? Is that all we're dealing with.....kinda like hops, only completely different?

Yes, exactly! Just like hops, malt flavors are detectable in the aroma, taste, and aftertaste. Think of a stout you can get at your local brew pub - you can maybe detect an aroma of chocolate, a taste like pie crust or bread crust, and a lingering roasted aftertaste like burnt toast, it's almost bitter or astringent.

That being said, you can also get extremely light ales and lagers that are very malty. If you're drinking german styles, try to find a "helles" or unfiltered lager. A lot of Blonde ales are light but malty as well.

But, something like Old Chub tastes like (to me) used motor oil with some dirt and peat mixed in...but, but many of you say that's also a "MALTY" beer?? Maybe I just didn't notice.....with all the peat and dirt overtone Am I even on the right track.....or....

Old Chub, while a "malty" beer, is also kind of a cloyingly sweet beer. "Cloying" has got to be my least favorite of all maltiness descriptions, but yeah, it is one of them.