Specialty Grains Question

[babelfish]

Hi again, and thanks to everyone for all the help along the way so far, but I need to lean on your expertise once again! I am looking at doing my first All Grain brew here in the future and I found a recipe that seems simple enough and will be good tasting,it should be a Belgian Saison.

-10lbs of Belgain Pilsner malt
-.75 lbs of Crystal 20
-0.60lbs of Northern Brewer hops (60 min)
-0.25 of Norther Brewer Hops (10 min)
-1 smack pack of Wyeast 3711 - French Saison Yeast

Ok...for the question....Im trying to order all the ingredients on Midwest Supplies, I found the Belgian Pilsner Malt and the Northern Hops, but when I look for the Crystal 20 all I get Carmel 20L...are these the same thing or am i looking in the wrong place?

 

[brewkinger]

They are same as far as I understand.

 

[brewkinger]

Stupid iPhone!

Yes, the names are interchangeable. Lots of times you will see it called Caramel / Crystal 20L (or some other Lovibond rating of color)

 

[oach]

I don't think you need the crystal/caramel malt in a saison. A saison should be dry. Also are you doing a starter for the yeast?

 

[JLem]

Caramel and crystal refer to the same thing - different maltsters just use different terms. Basically, the malt is stewed for a while before kilning - this allows for the conversion of starches into sugars, then the kilning process crystalizes these sugars (hence "crystal malt"...and "caramel malt" since caramel is made by heating sugar to a certain temp/color)

 

[brewkinger]

I don't think you need the crystal/caramel malt in a saison. A saison should be dry. Also are you doing a starter for the yeast?

At a mere 12oz of crystal 20, the color will be minimal but the benefit in my opinion would be for mouthfeel and head retention more than anything else.

 

[DrunkleJon]

seconded. Caramel or crystal malts are one and the same. They tend to be added for mouthfeel, sweetness and some add it for head retention purposes.

 

[uphillbrewer]

I use caravienne (around 25 srm), and a bit of German wheat, as well as a pound of clear candi syrup in my Saison. No crystal.

 

[MichaelBrock]

I'm sure you don't really mean .6lbs of hops for your 60 minute addition but I thought I would check to make sure. Odder recipe mishaps have happened!

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah. That should be .6oz,not pounds for a bittering addition!

 

[babelfish]

hahah yea that was a typo on the hops, sorry about that!
Thanks to you all again for some helpful info on the specialty malts. Once more question...what does the number stand for following the name of the malt ?
IE. Crystal 20 <--- what does he 20 mean?

 

[unionrdr]

The number is the Lovibond rating,like 20L for example. The higher the number,the progressively darker they get & the flavor changes a little as well.

 

[Yooper]

I use caravienne (around 25 srm), and a bit of German wheat, as well as a pound of clear candi syrup in my Saison. No crystal.

Caravienne IS a crystal/caramel malt. The "cara" at the beginning is the giveaway- any "cara"malt is a crystal malt. Caravienne is a crystal malt made by a Belgian maltster.

 

[uphillbrewer]

Caravienne IS a crystal/caramel malt. The "cara" at the beginning is the giveaway- any "cara"malt is a crystal malt. Caravienne is a crystal malt made by a Belgian maltster.

Oh. That should have seemed obvious, but I guess it wasn't. Thanks Yooper!