How to Brew: Ingredients, Methods, Recipes, and Equipment for Brewing Beer at Home by John J. Palmer

Author:John J. Palmer
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Non-Fiction, Reference
ISBN: 9780971057906
Publisher: Defenestrative Publishing Company
Published: 2001-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

How to Brew – J. Palmer

The diastatic power of a particular malt will vary with the type of barley it is made

from. There are two basic varieties of barley, two row and six row - referring to the

arrangement of the kernels around the shaft. Two row barley is the generally preferred

variety, having a bit higher yield per pound, lower protein levels, and claiming a more

refined flavor than six row. However, six row has a little higher diastatic power than

two row. Historically, the higher protein level of six row barley (which can produce a

very heavy bodied beer) drove brewers to thin the wort with unmalted grains like corn

and rice. Brewers were able to take advantage of six row barley's higher diastatic

power to achieve full conversion of the mash in spite of the non-enzymatic starch

sources (adjuncts).

Besides the lighter-colored base and toasted malts, there is another group of malts

that don't need to be mashed and these are often referred to as "specialty malts".

They are used for flavoring and have no diastatic power whatsoever. Some of these

malts have undergone special heating processes in which the starches are converted to

sugars by heat and moisture right inside the hull. As a result, these malts contain more

complex sugars, some of which do not ferment, leaving a pleasant caramel-like

sweetness. These pre-converted malts (called caramel or crystal malts) are available in

different roasts or colors (denoted by the color unit Lovibond), each having a different

degree of fermentability and characteristic sweetness (e.g. Crystal 40, Crystal 60).

Also within the specialty malt group are the roasted malts. These malts have had their

sugars charred by roasting at high temperatures, giving them a deep red/brown or

black color (e.g. Black Patent malt). The Lovibond color scale ranges from 1 to 600.

See Figure 70. To put this in perspective, most American mega-brewed light lager

beers are less than 5 Lovibond. Guinness Extra Stout on the other hand, is comfortably in the 100s. Specialty malts do not need to be mashed, and can simply be steeped in

hot water to release their character. These grains are very useful to the extract

brewer, making it easy to increase the complexity of the wort without much effort.

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