Specialty grain substitute

pursuit0fhoppiness · Jun 19, 2017

Hey guys, so I'm hoping to brew this blonde ale recipe (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=54953) tomorrow, but just called my LHBS and they're out of CaraPils malt. Anyone know of a good substitute I could use for this type of beer? Cheers guys! :mug:

Morrey · Jun 19, 2017

Carapils is one of the Crystal Malts and is also known as Crystal 10 or Caramel Pilsner. Very light roast often used for body and head formation/retention.

There are malt and hop substitution charts available online so you can easily cross reference in a pinch.

https://www.brew.is/files/malt.html

pursuit0fhoppiness · Jun 19, 2017

Oh, weird the recipe calls for 0.5 lb of both CaraPils and Crystal 10 then. Safe to say I could just use 1 lb of Crystal 10?

Revvy · Jun 19, 2017

No carapils is not "Crystal 10" although carapils may have the same SRMs as Crystal 10 i.e. 10 lovibond, it's not the same.

Carapils is kilned in such a way to be dextrinous, and to add more body and a nice head to the beer.

If they sell a different brand called "Dextrin Malt" then you can substitute it for that. (Some companies use the term Dextrin Malt instead.) or Weyermann CaraFoam Malt.

If not, you can just double up on the C-10....

rhys333 · Jun 19, 2017

pursuit0fhoppiness said:
Hey guys, so I'm hoping to brew this blonde ale recipe (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=54953) tomorrow, but just called my LHBS and they're out of CaraPils malt. Anyone know of a good substitute I could use for this type of beer? Cheers guys!

You can use malto-dextrin powder in place of your carapils. It'll add body without flavor in much the same way.

pursuit0fhoppiness · Jun 19, 2017

Thanks guys! Ended up getting some CaraPils after all.. They had it, just not milled and their mill was broken but then they fixed it. Anyway, I have another quick question regarding the same recipe. If my final volume ends up being 4.75 gallons rather than 5.5, and my OG is something under 1.050, would 1 tube of WLP 060 suffice or should I pitch 2?

madscientist451 · Jun 19, 2017

You could get away with one, but two would be better. Proper management of your yeast will really help improve your beers and save you some money as well. If you make a starter in advance, you'd have a nice health amount of yeast and you would only have to buy one vial. You should also save yeast and re pitch into another brew later.