Malt
Crystal malt
Stewed and kilned malt that supplies caramel and toffee flavour plus unfermentable sugars for body and sweetness.
Crystal malt is sold across a wide colour range and the character changes substantially across it. Pale grades around 10–20 °L contribute honey and light sweetness; mid grades around 60 °L give the classic caramel and toffee; dark grades above 120 °L move toward raisin, plum and burnt sugar.
What it does
Crystal / caramel malt. Stewed while wet so starch converts to sugars inside the husk, then kilned. Produces caramel and dried-fruit flavour and unfermentable sugars that add body and sweetness.
The wet grain is stewed inside its own husk so that enzymes convert its starch to sugar, which then caramelises during kilning. The result is a glassy interior of unfermentable sugars that contribute sweetness, body and colour.
Specification
| Colour | 10–160°L |
|---|---|
| Grain | barley |
| Enzyme activity | none — needs a base malt to convert it. |
| Fermentability | largely unfermentable |
| Typical share of grist | 2–15% |
| Flavour | caramel, toffee, dried fruit, raisin at darker grades |
Above roughly 15% the unfermentable sugars make the beer cloying and syrupy. Heavy crystal use is one of the most common faults in amateur recipe design.
Commercial examples
Simpsons Crystal 45L, Weyermann CaraMunich, Briess Caramel 60L.
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
- Special B — A far more intense Belgian crystal for dark fruit character.
- Honey malt — A sweeter, less toffee-like alternative.
Used in
- Czech amber lager
A Bohemian amber lager balancing caramel malt against Saaz hop character, sitting between the pale and dark Czech beers.
- Czech dark lager
A dark Bohemian lager richer and sweeter than its German counterparts, with caramel and light roast over a soft body.
- Ordinary bitter
The everyday British cask ale: low in strength, gently bitter, and built to be drunk in pints over a whole evening.
- Best bitter
A step up from ordinary bitter in strength and depth, with more malt body while staying firmly sessionable.
- Strong bitter
The strongest of the bitters, with pronounced malt richness, firm bitterness and noticeable fruit from warm fermentation.
- American pale ale
The beer that defined American craft brewing: clean pale malt under bright citrus and pine hop character, balanced rather than extreme.
- English pale ale
The bottled British pale ale tradition: biscuity malt, earthy and floral English hops, and a firm, dry, mineral finish.
- American amber ale
Caramel malt depth meeting American citrus hops — the maltier counterpart to American pale ale.
- Irish red ale
An easy-drinking malt-led ale with caramel sweetness and a distinctive dry, faintly roasty finish.
- English IPA
The original IPA: a strong, firmly bitter English pale ale with earthy, floral hop character and a dry, mineral finish.
- American IPA
The defining modern craft beer: intense citrus, tropical and resinous hop aroma over a lean malt base, finishing firmly bitter.
- Black IPA
An IPA with dark malt for colour and a light roast edge, keeping full citrus and pine hop character.
Questions
How much crystal malt should a recipe use?
For most styles, 2–10% of the grist. Because its sugars are largely unfermentable, crystal malt sets residual sweetness and body directly, and overuse produces a cloying, sticky beer that finishes heavy. If a beer tastes syrupy and never quite finishes, excess crystal is the usual cause.
Evidence
What BeerHQ knows about this, and how. Every statement carries the state of the evidence behind it rather than being presented flatly as fact.
Crystal malt is produced by stewing wet germinated grain so that starch converts to sugar inside the husk, then kilning so that sugar caramelises in place — which is what distinguishes it from ordinary kilned malt.
Backed by a source
Sources: Malt: A Practical Guide from Field to Brewhouse — print; Brewing: Science and Practice — print
Crystal malt contributes sugars that brewing yeast largely cannot ferment, which is why it adds residual sweetness and body rather than alcohol.
Backed by a source
Sources: Malt: A Practical Guide from Field to Brewhouse — print; How to Brew (4th edition) — print