Hi,
I have brewed over 30 all-grain batches so far, all of which were either based on ready recipes that I copied or ready to mash brewsets of malts and hops.
Although I have gained hands on experience how to brew, I still lack a sense of how particular malts taste and smell so that to be able to tell what to brew and what proportions of particular malts I should use. But why is it a pound of Munich malt and not 2 pounds, or 3?
There are plenty of websites that describe characters that different types of malts add but the only way to consciously design beer is to understand and experience how it really works.
When you cook a soup you know how individual ingredients taste and smell: potatoes, parsley, carrot, salt, pepper, cream. You know it because you can taste and smell it raw, you can cook them individually.
For malts it's somewhat different: the final taste and smell of a ready product/beer is hugely impacted by fermentation process which is not done for individual types of malt. Of course, one can brew a single-malt pilsner, but then it's hopped, usually with different types of hops, so again, we taste the final product.
I wonder whether it would make sense (in terms of achieved results and conclusions drawn) to separately mash 3 ounces of Pilsner malt, 3 ounces of Pale Ale, Munich, Special B, Abbey, Crystal 30, 100, 300, etc and taste and smell them.
The same could probably be done for hops, although from my experience I see that the taste and aroma of unfermented wort is very intensive and obscures hop aroma and taste.
What is your approach to it?
Warm regards,
/e.
I have brewed over 30 all-grain batches so far, all of which were either based on ready recipes that I copied or ready to mash brewsets of malts and hops.
Although I have gained hands on experience how to brew, I still lack a sense of how particular malts taste and smell so that to be able to tell what to brew and what proportions of particular malts I should use. But why is it a pound of Munich malt and not 2 pounds, or 3?
There are plenty of websites that describe characters that different types of malts add but the only way to consciously design beer is to understand and experience how it really works.
When you cook a soup you know how individual ingredients taste and smell: potatoes, parsley, carrot, salt, pepper, cream. You know it because you can taste and smell it raw, you can cook them individually.
For malts it's somewhat different: the final taste and smell of a ready product/beer is hugely impacted by fermentation process which is not done for individual types of malt. Of course, one can brew a single-malt pilsner, but then it's hopped, usually with different types of hops, so again, we taste the final product.
I wonder whether it would make sense (in terms of achieved results and conclusions drawn) to separately mash 3 ounces of Pilsner malt, 3 ounces of Pale Ale, Munich, Special B, Abbey, Crystal 30, 100, 300, etc and taste and smell them.
The same could probably be done for hops, although from my experience I see that the taste and aroma of unfermented wort is very intensive and obscures hop aroma and taste.
What is your approach to it?
Warm regards,
/e.
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