Specialty grain

[Spencecore24]

I feel like an idiot. Do specialty grains not add any fermentable sugars in all grain brewing?

 

[homebrewdad]

Edit: dropping my answer due to noobness. Listen to the vets while I go back to school.

 

[Yooper]

Sure they do!

Here's a cool chart (from our wiki) to show you what you can expect from common grains: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Malts_Chart

 

[pericles]

+1.

 

[Spencecore24]

haha so which is it? If they dont add much i have to change what i know about brewing!

 

[pericles]

The backbone of your fermentables is going to be base malts. Specialty grains (like the crystals) will add some fermentable sugars, but not as much as a comparable amount of 2-row.

The best way to determine how the specialty you have in mind will affect your recipe is to buy some brewing software or go to www.hopville.com and build a recipe there.

 

[Spencecore24]

Hopville is awesome! i had no idea! this would have made recipe creating much easier! lol

 

[pericles]

Welcome to the party!

 

[Jayhem]

Hopville is handy and it's nice to read some tasting notes from others who have made similar recipes before to point you in the right directions.

 

[944play]

I don't know of any brewing software that attempts to estimate fermentability (limit attenuation) based on anything but yeast strain.

This thread may be of interest:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/testing-fermentability-crystal-malt-208361/