General Description

Crystal malt is a type of malted barley that is commonly used as a specialty malt to enhance the colour and sweetness of a brew. Specialty malts usually make up around 25% or less of the total grainbill whilst the rest is made up of Base malt for fermentable sugar.

Characteristics

Crystal malt (Also called Caramel malt) imparts sweetness and colour into a brew. The sweetness and colour of the Crystal malt will be determined by its colour value, which is measured by its EBC / SRM / Lovibond rating.

Generally speaking lower EBC values mean that the malt will impart a much more subtle sweetness and colour in your brew (8 – 50 EBC) whilst a medium Crystal malt will have a slightly stronger sweetness and colour effect on your brew (100 – 200 EBC) and dark crystal malts will gradually impart more colour and robust flavour, rather than sweetness. (> 200 EBC).

Additional information (If applicable)

Crystal malt contains much more non-fermentable sugar than base malts and thus do not make for a good fermentation base, these are to be used as additions for flavour and colour.

Storage

Keep product in an airtight container away from pests. If product is milled, it is best to use it within two weeks. For long term storage, it is best to keep the product unmilled until use.

Shelf life

These are dried ingredients and should not spoil in any reasonable time frame provided storage conditions are met, however some flavour and viability may be lost over long periods (Several months) of storage.