SWMBO loves Strawberry Shortcake, and I must please her

[bmurph]

I'm formulating a strawberry shortcake ale recipe for SWMBO and I've been looking at a number of malts for that sweet cakey flavor. Here are the malts I'm trying to distinguish between.

Biscuit
Victory
Munich
Melanoidin
Aromatic

I understand that Biscuit and Victory are almost interchangeable, with Victory imparting a more "nutty" taste.

I'm familiar with Munich, and I've seen Melanoidin described as "turbo Munich," basically a means to achieve the maltiness characteristic of German bocks and marzens without having to do a decoction mash.

I've seen Aromatic described as imparting an "exaggerated maltiness," which sounds very similar to Melanoidin.

My main question is: What is the difference between Melanoidin and Aromatic? I've searched around and can't find anything comparing the two side-by-side. It seems like they might be largely the same, but one named by German and the other by Belgian maltsters.

Also, am I on the right track with these malts? I'm thinking I would use whatever "bready" malt I decide on with a nice proportion of a light crystal, say 20 or 40 (because bready/toasty + caramel sweetness = cake, right?).

Anyway I would love hear other brewers' inputs for this recipe.

 

[HitTheTwit]

Did you end up deciding on a grain bill? I'm starting to wrap my brain around a recipe for this as well.