Today we're going to review malt extracts and specialty grains. I'll tell you about the different types of malt extract available to you, as well as your choices in specialty grains. I'll describe what these specialty grains will contribute to your beer. I'll finish up by describing how to use both extract and specialty grains in the beer making process.
I want to begin by describing what malts and malted grains are. They are not raw grains. In order for us brewers to use them, grains must be first processed. This is called malting, and it fundamentally changes the grains. Malting gives us grains that have flavor, color, and can be made into the food for yeast. The malting process gives us a huge variety of grains to choose from.
Malt extracts are made from malted grains and specialty grains. Some common varieties of extracts are Pilsen, Gold, Amber, Munich, or Dark. These each have their own unique character from the grains used to make them. The process of making extracts involves removing as much water as possible, making two forms, dry and liquid. Dry extract is much more stable, and will last longer in storage. Liquid extracts should be used immediately to avoid any unwanted colors and flavors. Malt extract is the main source of food for your yeast. It's also where all of the sweetness and malt flavors in your beer come from.

Lets move on now to specialty grains. Specialty grains start off just like all other malted grains, but they go through additional malting processes to add color, flavor and very unique characters. Lets review some common specialty grains. Crystal or Caramel malts are first stewed, then kilned, which turns the center of the grains into crystallized sugar. These malts are graded by color. Higher numbers relate to darker malts. Included here are cara-pils and special-B malts. Unique sweetness, caramel flavors, and raisin and fruity flavors can come from these malts.

If you don't stew the malt, but just roast it, you get another type of specialty grain. These vary by the amount of roast applied to the grain. Moderate roasting can produce grains like special roast and brown malt. More roasting creates darker malts like chocolate malt and black patent. You can expect roasted, coffee, dark chocolate, and toasted flavors and aromas from these malts. This category includes the Carafa brand roasted malts.

Some other specialty grains include honey malt, aromatic malt, malted rye or wheat, smoked malt, or biscuit malt to name a few. These are all made by changing the malting and roasting process in little ways. There are a myriad of flavors and colors available to you here.
You can use raw, or unmalted, grains to make beer, just be sure to limit how much you use to a very small amount. There are lots of types of unmalted grains out there. They are generally oats, barley or wheat, but can include rice and corn as well. Roasted barley is raw barley that has been roasted to create a very dark unmalted grain. Raw grains can be processed to make rolled, flaked or torrified varieties. Add these to the rest of your specialty grains. You can expect a little bit of added sweetness from raw grains, but they really contribute a lot of body and foam retention to your finished beer.

So why should we use these specialty malt and grains? In general, we use specialty grains to add color, flavor and character to our beers. The color comes from roasting the specialty grains. More roasting = more color. Unfermentable sugars make beers taste sweeter. Complex chemical reactions with sugars form hundreds of flavors. Roasting creates even more flavors to choose from. We also look to specialty grains for body. Unfermentable sugars make beer feel fuller and thicker in your mouth. Using less specialty grains will make your beer feel thinner and dryer.

Lets move on now, and talk about how we use extracts and specialty grains. The best way to use malt extract is to dissolve it into hot water in your kettle. Pay careful attention at this point. Your kettle will boil over if you don't stir it. Boil this mixture for an hour, and cool it before adding your yeast. Be sure to really stir the mixture to dissolve all of the extract. Clumps of dry extract are hard to break up. Use a good, sturdy spoon. Because dry extract has more sugar than liquid extract by weight, we generally recommend using 20% more liquid than dry extract to get the same gravity reading.

The best way to get the most out of your specialty grains is to steep them like tea in your kettle while you heat up the water that you will later add the malt extract to. Use a muslin bag or some other straining bag. Keep them in the water while it heats up to about 190 degrees F, or just before boiling. While they steep, the grains will release their sugars, flavors and colors. You'll see the water darken and take on the characters of the malts. Be sure to remove the grains before you start to boil. If not, some nasty astringent chemicals called poyphenols can get pulled out of the grain, and can ruin your beer.

Lets look back at what we've gone over. Malt extract contains the main source of food for yeast. It can be considered as one of the most important ingredients in beer. Specialty grains are added for color, flavor, and unique character. You know how to use extracts and specialty grains to make beer. Experimenting with different malt extracts and specialty grains is a fun way to create truly unique and flavor-full beers. If you have any questions about malt extract or specialty grains, please feel free to call us at 1800-450-9535, or e-mail us at outpost@homebrewers.com