Hi
I’ve only brewed previously with 8L kits that come with everything carefully measured and and explicit instructions on what to do.
However, I’ve been given a voucher for the Malt Miller, whose kits seem to assume I have a bit more knowledge than I actually have (for a start, they’re much bigger, so I’ll have to weigh out ingredients to fit my 8L kit!).
My friends have voted for us to brew the following, which fortunately looks straightforward:
However, I need to say if I want the malt uncrushed, crushed or finely crushed. I don’t know! Can someone tell me?!
Also thinking of buying a small bag of dark malt to turn it into a dunkelweizen. Any advice on type/amount of dark malt?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
If you have a mill you should order uncrushed malt because it keeps better than crushed malt that should really be used asap.
Given you’re asking this question you probably have no mill, so you’d need to get crushed malt. Finely crushed may yield more sugars (higher efficiency) but at a higher risk of a stuck sparge (less husks will be whole) . A weizen will also include (huskless) wheat, so I’d go with a normal crush in this case.
If you’re using a brew in a bag set up I suppose you can normally go for a fine crush, but with over 50% wheat I’d still go for a normal crush anyway.
As for colour, I’m not sure what’s normal to use in a Dunkelweizen, but a pinch of any dark malt should do. Carafa special and roasted wheat may be good to use because they impart much less bitterness than black malt and roasted barley. How much you need depends on recipe, malt and target colour, but I suspect (without properly looking!) that 50 or so gram will do.
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Brilliant, much appreciated! I have no mill, but have slightly (but not much) more advanced stuff than a bag; I have a big jam-making pan, and a plastic bucket with bottling tap and a lid with a bubble thingy in the top. The normal crushed malt sounds the way to go.
Many thanks for your swift help.
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The idea that crushed malt doesn’t keep is, in my experience, entirely false. I don’t own a grain mill, and usually go buy ingredients the day before brew day. Except for that one time, when I bought ingredients the day before brew day, but had to change my plans…and then didn’t get around to brewing that beer for about 3-4 months. The whole time, the sack of crushed grain was in the back seat of my truck. When I finally did brew that beer, an English brown ale, it came out excellent - my best brown ale yet.
Thanks for the tips, fellas! Will definitely keep these in mind.
