Specialty Grains

Special X is a dark toasted malt that adds unique and complex flavor and color characteristics to wort. It adds a nice dark red to brown hue to beers, and has a toasted aroma that brings to mind stone fruits. As far as flavors go, it is toasted but mild, coming through gently on the palate with no harsh astringency. While it adds some malt character, it is not overly sweet like a dark crystal malt. While the stone fruit sweetness comes out more in dark crystal malts, it is more in the background in the flavor profile of Special X, as the toasted flavors take the center stage. A wonderful addition to many mid-to-dark colored beers, this malt is recommended for up to 20% of the grist and can be used in ambers, altbiers, bocks, schwarzbier, dark Belgian ales and abbey beers, and a range of English ales including old ale, porters and stouts. A wonderfully complex toasted malt, now available to you from Great Fermentations!

Crystal 120L is another delicious roasted caramel malt from Briess that imparts a red to deep red color to beer.  It has a very unique flavor contribution as well, with many people describing it's character as having a very pronounced caramel flavor, with hints of burnt sugar, raisins and plums. This malt works very well in darker beers that require a depth of character and sweetness from specialty malts. Being a crystal malt, it will also add body and head retention qualities to the beer.

Briess crystal 40L is a roasted caramel malt that imparts a gold to orange color to beer. It has a flavor that begins to approach complex, with notes of toffee emerging with the sweetness and caramel flavors that are typical in lighter malts. Briess crystal 40L also adds body and head retention, as well as residual sweetness.

Briess crystal 80L is a roasted specialty malt that imparts red to deep red hue to beer. It will contribute a pronounced caramel flavor to beer, as well as burnt sugar and raisin notes. A small amount of crystal 80L can be added to lighter beers to darken them and add complexity, or more can be added to darker beers to increase their color and flavor complexity. Like other crystal malts, crystal 80L will aid in body and head retention.

Special Roast by Briess is a roasted biscuit-style malt. It contributes toasted, biscuit flavors to beer, as well as tangy, bready notes such as those found in sourdough bread. It will contribute a deep golden to brown color to beers. It is well suited for use in British style ales, especially darker beers such as nut browns, porters and others. Special roast adds a nice complexity to beers and can be used in a wide range of styles.

Briess Victory malt is a popular biscuit malt used in a range of styles to give a toasted, bready character to beers. It is lighter than Special Roast and fairly clean, making it ideal for use in both ales and lagers. Just a little bit in a recipe can add a wonderful layer of complexity to the finished beer. It has also been described as nutty, making it a nice addition to nut brown ales and ambers. Use whenever a slight bread and biscuit flavor and aroma are desired.

Simpson's extra dark crystal is a beautiful, deeply colored crystal malt that does all the things standard crystal malts do...but better! Simpson's extra dark crystal can be used to add residual sweetness, dark dried fruit and caramel flavor and aroma, body and head retention to beers. It works wonderfully in British beer styles, such as bitters, pale ales, IPAs, milds, porters and many others, but will work whenever a deep crystal malt is called for. It will contribute a dark amber tint to beers that increases as a higher percentage is used in the grist. A wonderful crystal malt that is highly recommended!

Weyermann CaraWheat is a wheat product that has been steeped and kilned to create a unique wheat malt. Almost 100% caramelized, CaraWheat will contribute unique flavors of biscuit and almond to beer. It can add a creaminess to beers, as well as improve head retention and create a fuller body and mouthfeel. This malt is often used in hefeweizens and dunkelweizens, but can be added to many beer styles. It can contribute a slight phenolic wheat character that will work well with many German wheat yeasts. It can also substitute in for crystal malt in any recipe for interesting results.

Vienna malt is the base malt for the famed Vienna lager, and is also used as a large proportion for many traditional German beers, such as bock and fest beers. It can contribute golden to light orange color to beer, and may be used to lighten the body of beers where Munich malt is used as a majority of the grist. It contributes biscuit and malt flavor and character to beer. A wonderful base malt for many German beers, it has also found its way into many American pale ale and IPA recipes as a small portion of the grist. Vienna malt can be used creatively in a number of beers styles; see what you and your imagination can do with it!

Avangard's Dark Munich malt is a wonderful malt that can contribute maltiness to beers. It is slightly darker than standard Munich malt, which is reflected in its color and flavor contributions to beer. Dark Munich will add more malt character with a toasted flavor, and darker colors. It can also add body to beers. Often used in traditional German beer styles such as bock beers, Oktober and other festival beers as well as amber and dark lagers, dark Munich malt has also been found to work well in small portions in English and American style ales. A wonderful malt ripe for experimentation, try some today!

Pale chocolate malt from Crisp Malting is an excellent roasted barley product. It is not roasted to as dark of a degree as traditional chocolate malts, and thus will have a lighter color and flavor contribution than traditional chocolate. It will still contribute a slight roasted flavor and aroma that resembles coffee with brown color, but will be more subtle. This makes it perfect for use in small amounts, as little as 1 or 2 ounces, to add character and color to lighter beers. It can also be used to make darker beer styles, such as brown ales, milds, and porters.

Weyermann brings to the table a range of different de-husked roasted malts for your brewing pleasure! Carafa II is lighter than Carafa III. That means less color and flavor contributions, making it suitable for more subtle dark grain additions. It is suitable for any dark beer style, or any style where a little roasted grain would be added to give some color and complexity. Just like Carafa III, the fact that it is de-husked means that it will not be as astringent as other roasted grains, such as roasted barley.

Briess Smoked Malt is a very unique malt that has been produced using cherrywood. This results in a malt that contributes an intense yet flavorful smoky and sweet note to beer. The flavor and aroma are typically smooth, and intensity can be controlled by using more or less in a recipe. Smoked malt is often used in Scottish ales, smoked beers, seasonals, porters, and rauchbier. Just a little goes a long way!

Simpson's peated malt is a special kilned malt that is smoked with peat moss during the kilning process. This smoking gives it a very distinct smoky and spicy flavor that is highly phenolic. Although Simpson's peated malt is traditionally used in distillation to produce some of Scotland's finest whiskeys, it has found favor among brewers who use very small amounts to create a smoky flavor and aroma in their beers. Be careful with this one! Just a small amount can give your beer a strong smoked flavor and aroma with a phenolic spiciness.

Weyermann's Dark wheat is a darker wheat malt well suited for dark wheat beers, but can also be used in small amounts in other wheat beer styles to add darker color, flavor and aroma contributions to the final beer. Dark wheat, just like other wheat malts, can add body, head retention and unique wheat flavors, though those flavors contributed by dark wheat will be more pronounced and deeper. Typically used in dunkelweizens, dark wheat malt has also been used in styles such as hefeweizens, altbier, Kolsch, and other ales. Use as little as 1% of the grist, all the way to 50% of the total grain bill.

Avangard's crystal 10 malt is the German equivalent of a light crystal malt, similar to Briess's crystal 10. Used in a range of styles to add residual sweetness, body, head retention and a very light color without a wildly different flavor profile (though some slight sweet and light caramel notes can be derived from it). Avangard malts are known for their high quality and great extraction. Try some in your next brew that calls for a light crystal malt!

Another staff favorite! Golden naked oats from Simpsons, are a huskless oat crystal malt from one of the U.K.'s most prominent maltsters. Golden naked oats have a sweet nutty flavor and aroma that transfers wonderfully into beers. It has been known to give a rich, creamy head to beers, as well as a satin smoothness and body. These can be used in a range of beers styles. While commonly used in stouts, they can also be used in almost any beer style to give a creamy smoothness and nuttiness. We have heard of people using golden naked oats in many different beer styles, including porters, pale ales, bitters, milds...the list goes on! Try them in just about anything you care to brew. There is no other grain on the market that compares to golden naked oats!

Weyermann Carared is a unique caramel malt from Germany. It is equivalent to a caramel or crystal malt with a 20L rating. In addition to residual sweetness, Carared imparts a red hue to beers, and is used to great effect in red ales, Scottish ales, bock beers, brown ales, alts and amber beers. It improves body and malt aroma. A wonderful malt often called for in recipes, Great Fermentations is proud to bring this malt all the way from Germany to you!

Melanoidin malt is a great way to add the depth and complexity that comes from melanoidin compounds without resorting to traditional, time consuming and difficult methods such as decoction mashing or extended boil times. This kilned malt has been made especially for the brewing of beers that require a depth of malt character and color, and can be used up to 20% of the grist to bring out these characteristics. In addition, melanoidin malt can help improve flavor stability and round out the color of the finished beer. With a wonderful, bready aroma, it works well in many beer styles. It can be used in a range of beers, most notably in amber and dark lagers, amber ales, Scottish ales, red ales, Munich "Salvator"-style beers, and some wheat beers. Try adding a little to your next malty brew and see what happens!

Patagonia Caramel 190L malt is a deeply kilned malt that hails from Chile. Being grown and malted in the unique geography between the Andes Mountains, Patagonia malts are unlike any from other maltsters. Caramel 190L malt is the darkest crystal malt from Patagonia, contributing rich caramel, burnt sugar and toast, and plum characteristics to beer, as well as deep color. It can be used for up to 15% of a grain bill to add residual sugars, unique flavors, body, head retention and foam stability in the finished product. Try some of this malt today!

Brown malt is back! Used traditionally in the U.K. as a base malt, today's brown malt is not the same as the traditional malt. However, it is not radically different either. Made from green malt, Crisp brown malt adds a robust roasty flavor and aroma character to beer that is reminiscent of coffee. It adds a brown color to beer as well, and can be used successfully in a number of darker beer styles, such as porters, brown ales, milds, stouts, and others. Its flavor, aroma and color contributions are slightly different from any other malt out on the market, and must be tried to be properly appreciated it. Add a small portion to your next dark beer!