Porter brewed with Crystal Malt instead of Pale?

[misterjk]

Hi All,

I'm planning a big, sweet porter for the next brew. Is it possible to use Crystal Malt in place of Pale as the base grain, or will this make the beer too sweet? I could offset the sweetness with more hops and a lower mash temperature. I figured if I was going to brew anything using just this method it would have to be a porter or a stout.

I guess what I'm really asking is, has anyone done a brew with just Crystal Malt and no Pale, and if so, what was the outcome?

Jay

[TC2642]

Can't see it working, it'll end up a horrible sticky mess and waste your crystal to boot. I would wait until you have some pale malt.

[boingy]

Two words: Cloying sweetness.

[dave-o]

Why oh why oh why?

[Eadweard]

Horrible sticky mess and crystal has no enzymes which are needed to convert the darker malts.

[misterjk]

Cheers guys. I did think it'd be disastrous but was just wondering on the possibilities!

Maybe one day, whn I've money and time to burn!

[CrownCap]

I've done a mild with, I think, 28% crystal and that's about as far as I'd want to go. Took a couple of months for the flavors to round off, but when they did it was good (not a million miles from Rudgate Ruby Mild).

[trucker5774]

I regularly use "larger amounts " of crystal than you see commonly in recipes but have never used more than 10%. I do like the odd pint of sweeter summer beer, or rich and dark for the winter. Then again I love a crisp hoppy beer...............ah what the hell, I just like beer

[simple one]

Never used no pale malt. There would be enzyme issues.
But been up to 1.1kg... 15% with the crystal in a porter... it took a good four months to thin out. It was superb and tasted like bonfire toffee.

[colonial]

Horrible sticky mess and crystal has no enzymes which are needed to convert the darker malts.

I feel that this will be the main factor. Even if you want a beer that will be sweet enough to make your teeth hurt, you'd have to throw some pale male in there to get the enzymes.

[Blackjack]

Hi All,

I'm planning a big, sweet porter for the next brew. Is it possible to use Crystal Malt in place of Pale as the base grain, or will this make the beer too sweet? I could offset the sweetness with more hops and a lower mash temperature. I figured if I was going to brew anything using just this method it would have to be a porter or a stout.

I guess what I'm really asking is, has anyone done a brew with just Crystal Malt and no Pale, and if so, what was the outcome?

Jay

Good questions. The answers, probably not and wouldnt admit anyway, and probably disastrous but instructive.
Try starting at a big old fashioned beer, pale ale if you like. cut the pale malt back from say 5.5 Kg to 4.5Kg and substitute with 1Kg of Xtal or similar.
You are not going to send this serious malty stuff off on a long sea vayage so cut the hops back to 40gms max or less if you use modern high alpha hops.

The pale malt is the absolutely essential base of all proper ale.

Enjoy. I am becoming convinced that modern beer as I have drunk it in pubs for 40+ years is a con job. One reason is commercial expediency that has weakened it in all varieties, and the other is a migration of influence to the north ( BTW I speak as a northerner ). which has always been more receptive to sharper weaker beers.

Furthremore we all look to leading commercial beers and assume they embody best practice. B......cks, caramel, sugar etc. REALLY?! It is actually all about duty. Big old ale 15 pence cost per pint served, modern ale 7 pence per pint served. Beer duty 3.8% to 5.6%... big difference. 6% and no one will buy it.

Sorry a bit off topic but Mackeson says 3.0% alcohol on the tin

[Mattypower]

I've done a mild with, I think, 28% crystal and that's about as far as I'd want to go. Took a couple of months for the flavors to round off, but when they did it was good (not a million miles from Rudgate Ruby Mild).

if you take a rudgate battle axe liquor down slightly and add caramel to the cask you get the ruby mild!!