Malt
Vienna base malt
A base malt kilned a little harder than pale malt, giving toast and light caramel while still converting a whole mash.
The distinction that matters is that Vienna is a base malt rather than a speciality one. It carries enough enzyme activity to convert itself and other grain, so a beer can be built entirely on it.
That is what separates it from a caramel malt of similar colour: the flavour comes from kilning rather than from stewing, and it arrives without residual sweetness.
What it does
Base malt. Fully modified, gently kilned malt with enough enzyme activity to convert itself and some adjunct. Forms the bulk of a grist.
Kilned at a higher finishing temperature than pale malt, short of the point where enzymes are destroyed.
Specification
| Colour | 3–5 EBC |
|---|---|
| Grain | barley |
| Enzyme activity | high |
| Fermentability | high |
| Flavour | toasty, light caramel |