Beer Grains: The Complete Guide for Homebrewers

Grain: the lifeblood of beer. While barley is most common, the category of "grain" is as wide as it is intricate. This guide walks you through the types of grain you can use to make beer, and how to choose the right malted grains.

Click here to view the complete chart of beer grains.

Malt Overview | Base Malts | Caramel & Crystal Malts | Adjunct Grains | Kilned & Toasted Malts | Roasted Malts | Shop Malted Grains

What is malt?

Malt is grain that has been converted into sugar. That sugar is consumed by yeast to create alcohol; a process called fermentation. Grain becomes malt, which becomes beer. 

There are a wide variety of malts that brewers can use, all of which fall into two broad categories: malts which can be steeped (good for extract brewing), and malts which need to be mashed (all-grain brewing required).

Base Malts

Base malts make up the majority of the grist in all-grain beer, and the variety is, frankly, astounding. Named based on the formation of corns on the barley stalk (2-row vs. 6-row), the variety (e.g., Maris Otter, Golden Promise, etc), or the region in which it was grown or malted. Includes:

• Barley malts: pale malt, Pilsner malt, Vienna malt, Munich malt, mild ale malt, and more
• Non-barley base malts like wheat malt and rye malt (more on these in "Other Malts")
• High-kilned malts: responsible for the dark, malty lagers of Europe and have also found a home in some ales because of their unique character. Munich and Vienna malts are the prime examples 
• American base malt is generally mild and fairly neutral; British malts tend to be maltier, bready, and biscuit-like.

The European climate gives malts made from Continental barley a clean, "elegant" character. Pilsner malt has a soft, delicate maltiness that practically defines pale lagers. "High-kilned" (heated to a higher temperature at the end of the malting process) base are rof high-kilned malts, although mild ale malt belongs to this category too. The darker color lends these malts a more toasty, malty flavor than you get from lighter base malts.

Shop all base malts here.

Caramel & Crystal Malts

Crystal malts are steep-able and generally used to add sweetness and color to both extract and all-grain brews. They're usually named based on color. As a general rule, the lighter-colored crystal malts are more "sweet," while darker crystal malts add roastiness or nuttiness in addition to sweetness.

On the extreme light end sit dextrin(e) malts. They also add dextrins, which bring body and a thicker mouthfeel. But broadly speaking, anything labeled crystal, caramel, or cara-something are crystal malts (with the exception of Weyermann® Carafa®).

Shop all caramel & crystal malts here.

Adjunct Grains

Adjuncts are unmalted, starchy things (normally understood to be a cereal grain, but homebrewers have been known to use things like pumpkin and potatoes, too).

• Flaked barley and flaked oats
• Maize (corn)
• Torrified wheat
• Pumpkin/squash
• Potatoes
• Rice
• ... and more - any starchy vegetable/grain can be an adjunct

Adjuncts don't have sugars available like crystal malts, so they can't be steeped for extract brewing. They also don't have enzymes like malted grains, so they need to be mashed with base malt to extract their sugars.

Shop all adjunct grains here.

Kilned & Toasted Malts

Includes malts such as biscuit, amber, special roast, and aromatic malts. Usually used in low quantities to contribute unique flavor (half a pound or less for a 5 gallon batch).

• Biscuit malt contributes a light, "saltine cracker" flavor, while aromatic malt is deeper and maltier.
• Brown and amber malt are similarly toasted, but brown is darker and more toasty/bready and amber has less of a pretzel-like flavor.
• Victory malt is another light option that sits between biscuit and amber, with characteristics of both.
• Special roast is fairly unique and will impart a slightly darker, reddish color and has a fairly strong tangy, berry, deep flavor. 

Shop all kilned malts here.

Roasted Malts

Roasted malts are any malts or grains that are roasted to a very high degree. Dark, deep, bready, delicious. Can be steeped for extract brewing or mashed for all-grain, and add a lot of complexity and color in very low quantities. The three most common varieties are:

• Black malt (sometimes called black patent malt), chocolate malt, and roasted barley.
• Weyermann® range of Carafa® malts
• Kiln-coffee malt
• Distaff cousins like de-bittered black malt and pale chocolate. Roasted malts can be steeped for extract brewing or mashed for all-grain, and add a lot of complexity and color in very low quantities.

Some brewers get gun shy about roasted malts, but fear not. Roasted malts are delicious, provided you don't go completely overboard: 10% (or roughly one pound in an average-gravity 5 gallon batch) is about the most you would usually use. Stay below this amount and it's hard to go wrong. 

 Shop all roasted malts here.

Other Malts

Some malts do not come from barley: oats, rye, wheat, etc. These malts are essentially processed like, and can be treated as, their barley cousins. The difference is in how they're crushed.

Wheat malt can be crushed at the same setting as barley malt, but you will want to test before running a whole batch's worth of rye malt or oat malt through a mill. 

 

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