# Cara's Vs Crystal, What Do You Prefer?



## mje1980 (29/3/09)

Been using caramalts lately instead of crystals, and i must say the weyerman cara malts are much better than the crystal malts i've been using. I find they have more body, and much better aroma. Anyone agree???/ Disagree???. BTW i brew a lot of english ales.


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## Kleiny (29/3/09)

I agree that caramalt does add extra body and aroma and i like using it where possible (that is for a light crystal)

However crystal malt comes in a variety of EBC which gives a range of users so its not written off in my brewery yet


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## blackbock (29/3/09)

I never buy 'Crystal', had some bad experiences with poor quality ones in the past and now keep most of the Weyermann 'Cara' range in stock just in case.


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## matti (29/3/09)

I would say to use the Aussie JW crystal (140) in 1/2 portion to lighter crystals and only after mash is finished.
The colours seem a bit dark too me


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## Kleiny (29/3/09)

blackbock said:


> I never buy 'Crystal', had some bad experiences with poor quality ones in the past and now keep most of the Weyermann 'Cara' range in stock just in case.



You can swap the difference for Caraamber, Caramalt, Caraaroma and Carahell, Carared.

I think this is what Blackbock is saying by 'Cara' range

Blackbock please chime in if im wrong


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## blackbock (29/3/09)

Yeah, they're what I meant. I'm not sure what you mean though


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## Brewer_010 (29/3/09)

Wyermann 'Cara' for me, smoother and better aroma (less 'burnt' flavour IMO)
The Germans sure know a thing or two about beermaking....


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## warrenlw63 (29/3/09)

mje1980 said:


> Anyone agree???



Absolutely!! :wub: 

Edit: Weyermann "Cara" range seem far more tolerant to higher percentages than other crystal/cara spec grains.

Warren -


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## RobB (29/3/09)

warrenlw63 said:


> Absolutely!! :wub:
> 
> Edit: Weyermann "Cara" range seem far more tolerant to higher percentages than other crystal/cara spec grains.
> 
> Warren -



+1. Weyermann seems to think so as well, suggesting up to 40% with some of their caras.


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## mje1980 (30/3/09)

Glad im not the only one then!!. I have used all sorts of crystal over the years and ended up using very small amounts because too much and i'd get a sharp thinness to the flavour. But with the wey cara malts, my beers are much better. I just did a pale ale, which im pretty happy with, but i know if i'd used caramunich 3 instead if dark crystal it would have made a difference. Almost out of crystal now, and i dont think i'll get any more, i'll stick with the "cara" malts, especially weyermann. 

Cheers


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## chappo1970 (30/3/09)

Definitely the Cara's :wub: for aromas and body but crystals have their place as well.


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## Barry (30/3/09)

The English crystal malts are very good especially for bitters etc but I do love caraaroma.


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## Cortez The Killer (30/3/09)

matti said:


> I would say to use the Aussie JW crystal (140) in 1/2 portion to lighter crystals and only after mash is finished.
> The colours seem a bit dark too me


Must concur with this - my beers with JW Crystal 140L always end up a lot darker than the software predicts 

Cheers


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## kevin_smevin (30/3/09)

I've never used Weyerman cara varieties. I have found that i dont really like english crystals because they give too much of a toasty flavor. I've been using Joe White caramalt instead which i find very smooth and has a nice caramel sweetness without the big toasty notes.


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## drsmurto (30/3/09)

Bairds medium and dark crystals in my english bitters. 

Caramunich, carared, carafa spec....... in just about everything else.


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## Bribie G (30/3/09)

I've recently been seduced to the Cara Side with carared. To me, crystal in the bag smells like something you would feed the guinea pig, whereas the carared is like walking past the Arnotts factory at Virginia when they are baking the malted milk bikkies. Carafa T3 is also my default black malt and being huskless, doesn't risk astringency.

I still use crystal in Yorkshire bitters etc but with a fair whack of cara nowadays.


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## Fourstar (30/3/09)

I think both have their place. 

Ive recently shifted back to using JW Caramalt and JW Crystal in my American Ales only because ive found when using large amounts of Weyermann crystals like Caramunich II in the same proportions as JW crystal to be overly cloying rather than overly sweet. The next American Ale i will use a mix of lighter Weyermann Crystals (carared etc) rather than just caramunich to try and get that balance and weigh up the flavour differences.

On the other hand i have used Weyermann Caramunich in darker beers and it has definitely made an impact in rounding out the palate. Maybe its just me 'building my palate' but im tending to want to move away from medium crystal as a single cyrstal addition in a recipe and use low and high Lov. crystals to get the balance of sweetness from the low lov crystal and fruit/nutty/rich cara flavours from the 120's that 40-60lov crystals seem to lack. With a blend of crystal it seems to wake everything up compared to a 5% of cyrstal 60L being just 'bluntly sweet'.


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## pmolou (30/3/09)

so would a sub for 
light crystal be CaraRed
Medium Crystal -CaraMunich
Dark Crystal -CaraAroma

Sounds like the cara line tastes better so would it be a good idea to sub these or just stick to the crystals


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## Ross (30/3/09)

pmolou said:


> so would a sub for
> light crystal be CaraRed
> Medium Crystal -CaraMunich
> Dark Crystal -CaraAroma
> ...




The caramunich range are the subs for the standard British crystals, but i actually prefer the British.

Caramunich I = light crystal
Caramunich II = med crystal
Caramunich III = dark crystal 

Personally i use a mix of Carared & Caraaroma in lots of ales...love the combo.

cheers Ross


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## driveitlikeustoleit (30/3/09)

Hmm. I use both.

Then of course there is Carahell. The shit!


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## samhighley (30/3/09)

driveitlikeustoleit said:


> Then of course there is Carahell. The shit!



Where does the 'hell' in Carahell originate from? Hellas?


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