What does 60L, 10L, etc. mean?

[corvax13]

Hey everyone

When a malt has 10L, 20L, etc, what does the number and the L refer to?

Thanks!

 

[arturo7]

L is for liters.

The metric unit of volume that most of the world uses.

4L is apprx 1 gallon

 

[Synovia]

10L = 10 degrees lovibond. It is essentially how dark the malt is, and how dark it will make the beer.

Crystal 10L is half as dark as Crystal 20L, which is 1/4 as dark as Crystal 80L, which is 1/5 as dark as Chocolate Malt (350-450L).

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

Lovibond. The measure of colour that the malt imparts to the wort. (I can hear Arturo 7's palm hitting his forehead)

 

[KingBrianI]

The L stands for Lovibond and it is a unit of color. The higher the number the darker the malt. So if you use similar amounts of 10L and 60L crystal malts in two beers, the one with 60L will be darker.

EDIT: Whoa, I'm slow!

 

[arturo7]

I should have read that a little closer...

 

[IrregularPulse]

What they all siad. Lovibond for color, Not Liters

 

[sp1365]

The L refers to the Lovibond Scale, which measures color. The larger the number the darker.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

The question has been answered. It is now fair to all take the rise out of Arturo 7

 

[jgln]

I thought you guys were talking about fish tanks all this time.

 

[corvax13]

Got it, thanks guys!

 

[corvax13]

Actually one other thing - aside from the color, does it change the flavor at all?

If a brew calls for 60L, but I only have 10L, will that change the flavor? Obviously it will change the color and possibly put it out of style, but anything else besides that?

 

[Freezeblade]

It will change the flavor greatly. The darker the L, the more toasty/carmalized the crystal malt tastes.

 

[corvax13]

Thats what I figured. Thanks!