Toasting My Own Malt

[Thirsty Boy]

Ok, so I can get discarded malt samples for free from work. I've been collecting them and I currently have a 20l bucket full, so its time to brew with the stuff. I'm making a Kolsch for the Vic x-mas in July case swap and it needs a bit of Munich as well as the pale. Now I figure I have plenty of malt to experiment with, so I decided to have a go at making the munich for myself.

I roasted about 1 kg of it in my Micro-convection (convection only option) in a cake tin. I took a 25g sample of the original, crushed it and made half into a tea with 100ml of boiling water, the other half on a sheet of white paper. repeated with roasted samples. So I could compare the results.

It worked pretty damn well. It took a lot longer than I thought, because my oven is really crappy. Its also pretty hit and miss because I dont have an oven thermometer at the moment, so I'm not exactly sure what temperature I was roasting at.


Heres the setup



Heres the results. Right to left - Unroasted > 2hrs > 3.5hrs (stirred every 30-45min)




Its a bit tricky really, as you can see, there isn't a spectacular colour change from the outside, but once you crush it...

Anyway, its all the colour of the darkest sample now, so thats whats going to make up 5% of my grist for this Kolsch. Anyones guess on the EBC??

Thirsty

 

[razz]

Afternoon TB. why don't you save the toasted/munich for a vienna etc and just use the plain malt for your Kolsch ?
It will be more authentic that way.

 

[Belgrave Brewer]

Pretty hard to say depending on quality of camera, image compression, my monitor settings, etc. It looks to be around 22-24 EBC.

BB

 

[DJR]

For a proper EBC spec mash trial for colour, you use a 10% solution, ie. 10g in 100mL.

Good article:

http://www.ibd.org.uk/igbsite/business/tra...%20Oct%2002.pdf

So if it was about 25EBC with a 25% solution, then perhaps 10EBC might be a better value. Sounds more like a Vienna malt.

Don't need munich/vienna in a Kolsch, but a little bit won't hurt, don't stray over 5%

 

[Thirsty Boy]

For a proper EBC spec mash trial for colour, you use a 10% solution, ie. 10g in 100mL.

Good article:

http://www.ibd.org.uk/igbsite/business/tra...%20Oct%2002.pdf

So if it was about 25EBC with a 25% solution, then perhaps 10EBC might be a better value. Sounds more like a Vienna malt.

Don't need munich/vienna in a Kolsch, but a little bit won't hurt, don't stray over 5%

Thanks guys

DJR - I have that article in amongst my study stuff. I actually made up the samples with regard to the 10% solution. I took a 25g sample, but only used half of it plus 100g of water to make the "tea" I used more than 10% to compensate for the fact that I couldn't be arsed actually mashing the stuff and just steeped it for a couple of minutes before straining, figured I would get a little less colour out of the malt in the shorter timeframe, ergo a bit of an increase in the ratio. Good enpough for a ball park while I was roasting it.

My guess was at somewhere around 25 EBC and I wondered what other people thought. Out of interest in our collective ability to pick the colour, I will actually do an LOB and run the result through the spectrophotometer at work. Then I will know for sure.

If it does turn out to be at 25, then I have over shot a little, I was looking for more like 15-20, but it'll do.

I'm using a recipe from a trusted source for the Kolsch, and they include munich. This time around I'll stick with their recipe. I am bastardising it a tiny bit by not using a malt that is strictly a pilnser malt, but essentially its

90% lager malt (OK, its schooner)
5% Wheat
5% Light Munich

Proper kolsch yeast

But thanks for the tips, next time I might try it with 100% pilsner just to see the difference.

See ya

Thirsty

 

[DJR]

Hey, don't get me wrong, i've used Munich in a Kolsch and got very good results with it (1st in Light Hybrid, Castle Hill show), and that was using 2% and the wrong yeast (WLP036 Alt)... see Here!

You'll be fine. I use melanoidin now because i can use less of it to get the same "malty" character in Kolsch. Of course, if i was using Weyermann Pils, i'd not bother.

Thirsty, where do you work exactly anyway? Malt samples, spectrophotometers, must be somewhere in the industry...

 

[Thirsty Boy]

Hey, don't get me wrong, i've used Munich in a Kolsch and got very good results with it (1st in Light Hybrid, Castle Hill show), and that was using 2% and the wrong yeast (WLP036 Alt)... see Here!

You'll be fine. I use melanoidin now because i can use less of it to get the same "malty" character in Kolsch. Of course, if i was using Weyermann Pils, i'd not bother.

Thirsty, where do you work exactly anyway? Malt samples, spectrophotometers, must be somewhere in the industry...

DJR,

You have made me feel that my choices are the right ones now. The Malt I am using is not exactly the "maltiest" malt in the world. A little munich for maltiness, a little wheat for that bready thing it does, will hopefully fill in the gaps. I like the melanoidin idea though... ireally like this style, so I am going to brew a few variations till I find one I am happy with.

Yeah, I work in the industry. Have read of a couple of my posts over the last few days and it will become obvious who for. But I wont actually use the words "I work for"... that way I can maybe avoid getting the sack if I accidentally let a trade secret out of the bag.

But I am only a little bit evil, I promise.

Thirsty

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

Yeah, I work in the industry. Have read of a couple of my posts over the last few days and it will become obvious who for. But I wont actually use the words "I work for"... that way I can maybe avoid getting the sack if I accidentally let a trade secret out of the bag.

But I am only a little bit evil, I promise.

Thirsty

Thirsty Boy told me that he works for....

Oh, hang on...

There's a couple of large, besuited gentlemen at my front door. I'll be back in a

 

[jimi]

Just thought I'd raise this thread again as I recently did an english IPA with about 10% of the base malt home toasted for 15mins at 170C and it has turned out very nice :beerbang:
It was my first shot a home toasting and won't be my last. It added a some biscut, buttery dryness (if you follow) to the ale.
The recipe was based on the BYO mag Sam Adams IPA clone which called for the toasting.

Anyone toasted their own malt in another style? how did it go?

 

[peas_and_corn]

I tried to toast my own malt but it fell through to the crumb tray underneath

 

[tourist]

I tried to toast my own malt but it fell through to the crumb tray underneath

:lol: :lol:

 

[jbirbeck]

turned some ale malt into some light and dark munich for a dunkel, worked well, but a little darker than expected. fermented out well, much better than the last all munich dunkel I did...

 

[buttersd70]

Have used home toasted JW Trad Ale in a Best Bitter, and in a Mild Ale. Very nice indeed. The only reason I don't do it more often is because of a crappy oven.
In the Mild, I actually used a fairly high proportion of it, 50% of the base. I read an article somewhere (cant find it now) that discussed roasting hot for a short time vs roasting for much longer at a much lower temperature, raising the temperature incrementatly over time, which, at least according to the article, preseves the enzyme better, and gives a more even roast without scorching. But I've not done a comparison, I started this way, and it worked beautifully, so have felt no compelling need to change it. It takes time, but if your watching the telly of an evening or something, big woop.

The way I did it was 1hr 90C, then 30min each at 100,110, and 120. I did it after reading this thread, actually, and did a small test of 10% solution as per DJR's post. Unfortunately, lost the notes and the photos in a PC crash, but it was roughly around the same colour as Munich II, which is what I was aiming for.

Nothing beats the great bready smell of freshly roasted malt straight from the oven.

 

[drsmurto]

Have used home toasted JW Trad Ale in a Best Bitter, and in a Mild Ale. Very nice indeed. The only reason I don't do it more often is because of a crappy oven.
In the Mild, I actually used a fairly high proportion of it, 50% of the base. I read an article somewhere (cant find it now) that discussed roasting hot for a short time vs roasting for much longer at a much lower temperature, raising the temperature incrementatly over time, which, at least according to the article, preseves the enzyme better, and gives a more even roast without scorching. But I've not done a comparison, I started this way, and it worked beautifully, so have felt no compelling need to change it. It takes time, but if your watching the telly of an evening or something, big woop.

The way I did it was 1hr 90C, then 30min each at 100,110, and 120. I did it after reading this thread, actually, and did a small test of 10% solution as per DJR's post. Unfortunately, lost the notes and the photos in a PC crash, but it was roughly around the same colour as Munich II, which is what I was aiming for.

Nothing beats the great bready smell of freshly roasted malt straight from the oven.

Should we expect to see some on display at the case swap? Would love to give this a crack myself. Not quite the english beer nutter you are mate, but not far behind!

 

[buttersd70]

Funny you should mention it....I was, in fact, going to go with my standard session Mild, which would have home roasted in it. Just trying to decide what ratio of roast...

 

[choppadoo]

I recently made an IPA with home-toasted malt. Base of marris otter, some crystal and about 20% toasted marris otter, late hopped with nelson sauvin. From memory i think i did something like 100C for an hour, then 120C for 45 mins. Came out something like a light munich i guess, it smelled amazing. Hydrometer samples are pretty tasty, hopefully the malt will stand up to the nelson sauvin onslaught.

Cheers,
chops

 

[jimi]

I think my next toasting will be for a mild at the end of the summer. I'm finding a nice long buttery malt taste from the toasting that might mix well with a stylish yeast and earthy hops

 

[buttersd70]

I think my next toasting will be for a mild at the end of the summer. I'm finding a nice long buttery malt taste from the toasting that might mix well with a stylish yeast and earthy hops

freshly toasted malt in a mild = :icon_drool2:

Actually toasting some JW for my case swap beer tonight.