English Malts

[pablo_h]

My favourite style is english ales, but being an extract brewer it's hard to find an english pale extract cheaply, even the ones from the UK don't specify that they use marris otter or promise. I've heard that's essential to the style because of their nuttiness and biscuit flavours.

If I used regular malt, how could I add this. I've heard of 'biscuit malt' and 'victory malt' which can be steeped, but no one seems to sell those grains.

Where can I get them, how much to use?
edit: don't say go AG, I'm intending to get into that eventually, but I still want to brew with extracts while the weather is favourable.

 

[PostModern]

Mini mash, pablo. Mash a kilo or two in a pot. Seive then boil and add that to your kit.

 

[pablo_h]

Do you mean mini mash MO, if so how much? Is it worth the effort, and is a small amount of MO going to show through the beer over the dme?
How much extract would the mini mashed grain replace?
I wasn't sure that doing a mini mash of the regular grain would work, which is why I was looking at the stronger flavoured bicuit and victory.

 

[PostModern]

How much depends on how much you can mash and how much you can boil. I used to use a six pack esky. It was just enough to mash 3Kg of grain. I'd work out what speciality malts I needed, then make up the balance to 3Kg with base malt, be that MO or whatever. I had a small copper pipe manifold and PVC hoses, then run that into two large pots. I then boiled them on a stove, adding hops as usual and added the balance of required extract at the end of the boil. After the boil, I chilled in the kitchen sink (just floated one pot, boil-off usually meant all the wort could fit into one bot). When cool enough, I'd chuck it into a fermenter and ferment away as usual. It's just a matter of what you can get away with doing with the gear you have around the house.

 

[bconnery]

It most definitely makes a difference to the character of the beer, even at small amounts.
I used to regularly make a mini-mash with 1kg base grain, specialties on top of that and the remainder in extract and there was a definite improvement in the quality and flavour of my beers.
I did that amount because I could comfortably mash around 1.5-2kg in my stock pot system and my LHBS sold 1kg bags so it was just easy...
These are a couple of old recipes of mine.
I'd recommend dropping both the carapils and maltodextrin these days, but these are as I did them then...
Both are 23L batches.

Both of them use Medium and Dark Crystal.
Carared and caramunich malts are another two favourite caramel/crystal malts of mine for english beers, which are a style I make a lot of.

I used Windsor, So4 or Nottingham in all of these. Windsor is still my favourite dry english yeast. +1 for the previously mentioned 1275, or wlp023.

E=SB2
500.00 gm Light Dry Extract (15.8 EBC) Dry Extract 9.35 %
3000.00 gm Black Rock LME (5.9 EBC) Extract 56.07 %
1000.00 gm Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 18.69 %
250.00 gm Cara-Pils/Dextrine (3.9 EBC) Grain 4.67 %
250.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (118.2 EBC) Grain 4.67 %
100.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (236.4 EBC) Grain 1.87 %
30.00 gm Challenger [7.50 %] (45 min) Hops 20.1 IBU
30.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (45 min) Hops 13.4 IBU
20.00 gm Challenger [7.50 %] (15 min) Hops 7.2 IBU
250.00 gm Malto-Dextrin (2.0 EBC) Sugar 4.67 %


E=SB3
3000.00 gm Black Rock LME (5.9 EBC) Extract 61.22 %
1000.00 gm Pale Malt, Maris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 20.41 %
250.00 gm Cara-Pils/Dextrine (3.9 EBC) Grain 5.10 %
250.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (118.2 EBC) Grain 5.10 %
150.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (236.4 EBC) Grain 3.06 %
70.00 gm Progress [6.30 %] (45 min) Hops 45.6 IBU
20.00 gm First Gold [7.50 %] (10 min) Hops 6.1 IBU
250.00 gm Malto-Dextrin (2.0 EBC) Sugar 5.10 %


THis is an extract+grains only one. But it was one of my best extract beers. I used the specialty grain amounts for an AG bitter recently,dropping only the roast barley, and it came out fantastic as well.
It is a little on the dark side for a bitter but very nice.
The saphir was using up hops so add in a little more something, or else drop it altogether.
Pale Chocolate malt, available from site sponsors, at least one of them, is an excellent chocolate malt for bitters.

3000.00 gm Pale Liquid Extract (15.8 EBC) Extract 86.96 %
100.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (118.2 EBC) Grain 2.90 %
100.00 gm Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (236.4 EBC) Grain 2.90 %
100.00 gm Chocolate Malt (689.5 EBC) Grain 2.90 %
50.00 gm Roasted Barley (591.0 EBC) Grain 1.45 %
50.00 gm First Gold [7.50 %] (45 min) Hops 46.7 IBU
10.00 gm Progress [6.30 %] (45 min) Hops 7.8 IBU
10.00 gm Saphir [4.00 %] (45 min) Hops 5.0 IBU
20.00 gm First Gold [7.50 %] (5 min) Hops 4.1 IBU
100.00 gm Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 EBC) Sugar 2.90 %

 

[Back Yard Brewer]

I've heard of 'biscuit malt' and 'victory malt' which can be steeped, but no one seems to sell those grains.

Where can I get them, how much to use?

Referring to the craftbrewer site Caraamber can be used as a subtutute to "biscuit malt"

BYB

 

[Jazzafish]

You can make your own toasted/amber malt. Just put yor normal grain in the oven at 180*C for 15 mins. Then crack and mash. Will give a toasted/buscuit flavour.