Malt
Chocolate malt
A dark roasted malt giving cocoa and coffee character — the backbone of porter and sweet stout.
What it does
Roasted malt or grain. Taken to high temperature in a roasting drum for coffee, chocolate and burnt character. No enzyme activity; used in small proportions.
Roasted in a drum to a high temperature, stopping short of the burnt character of black malt. Contains no chocolate.
Specification
| Colour | 300–450°L |
|---|---|
| Grain | barley |
| Enzyme activity | none — needs a base malt to convert it. |
| Fermentability | low |
| Typical share of grist | 1–10% |
| Flavour | cocoa, dark chocolate, coffee, light roast |
Above roughly 10% the roast turns acrid rather than chocolatey.
Commercial examples
Thomas Fawcett Pale Chocolate, Simpsons Chocolate Malt, Weyermann Carafa Special II.
Listed as examples rather than equivalents. Colour, kilning regime and flavour differ measurably between maltsters, and two products sold under the same name can be several degrees apart.
Substitutes
- Carafa (dehusked roasted malt) — A dehusked German alternative with less acridity.
- Black malt — Darker and sharper; use less.
Used in
- Dark mild
A low-strength dark British ale, gently sweet and nutty, built for drinking in quantity after physical work.
- English brown ale
A malt-led brown ale with hazelnut and caramel character, moderate strength and a dry, clean finish.
- American brown ale
A brown ale with American hop character: chocolate and caramel malt met by citrus and pine.
- English porter
The original dark British beer: chocolate and light coffee over a nutty malt base, restrained rather than aggressive.
- American porter
A stronger, more assertive porter with deeper roast, firmer bitterness and often American hop character.
- Sweet stout
A stout sweetened with lactose, giving chocolate and cream character over a full body and gentle roast.
- Oatmeal stout
A stout brewed with oats for a silky, full mouthfeel, balancing roast against smoothness rather than sweetness.
- American stout
A bold, hop-forward stout combining strong espresso roast with American citrus and pine hop character.
- Imperial stout
The strongest stout: dense, viscous and intensely roasted, with dark fruit, chocolate and substantial alcohol warmth.
- Pastry stout
A heavily adjuncted sweet stout built to taste like dessert, using lactose, vanilla, cocoa and similar additions.
- London brown ale
A low-strength, notably sweet dark brown ale from London, now largely extinct as a commercial style.
- Kentucky Common
A quick-turnaround dark American beer brewed largely from maize, often lightly soured, extinct since Prohibition.