# Specialty Grains: Carapils & Caramunich



## wardy (18/7/04)

Hi Everyone!!

I bought 500g of each of these specialty grains, carapils and caramunich, and want to know what beers they are suited towards. Should i use them in Lager/Ale or both. They both look very light in colour and i that is why i bought them. When i used crystal malt and realised how fabulous it can make a beer (mouth feel and body), i figured my pale beers must be missing out.

Both say they have no enzime content, so i assume they can be steeped instead of mashed. 

Anyone ever added any amounts of these to any of their lagers or ales?


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## wessmith (18/7/04)

Wardy, both of these malts are crystal malts and can be steeped although Carapils is more intended to be mashed. The Carapils is VERY pale at 3 to 5 EBC and is mainly used to increase body, mouthfeel and head retention in lager beers and wheat beers. Use at 3 to 5% of the total grain bill.

Caramunich is a standard crystal malt and a trade name of Weyermann Malting. They produce this product in 3 colour ranges, so it may be helpful to get the colour from your supplier. Caramunich I is 80-100 EBC, Caramunich II is 110-130 EBC and Caramunich III is 140-160 EBC. 

You can use up to 10% of the paler version in ales and other specialty beers but I would hold the darker version at a max of 5%. The flavour can be quite strong and will overpower lighter styles of beer. Not normally used in lagers.

Wes.


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## Jovial_Monk (18/7/04)

Hmmmm thought the cara- malts were designed for lagers?

Jovial Monk


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## wessmith (18/7/04)

JM, from a puristic point of view, there is no place for "standard" crystals in a lager. Carapils, Caramalt and Carahell, yes, in very small amounts - but not Caramunich or those equivalent crystal malts from other manufacturers. If the brewer wants a more malty flavour/aroma they typically use munich or melanoidin to add a bit of maltiness, but not high colour/high flavour crystal..

Wes.


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