Grain Tea Tasting – Base Malts (The Subtle and Nuanced Edition)

This week we have a special guest, Chris, to help us out with Grain Tea tasting.

Why would you want to try hot steeped grains? Well that’s an easy question to ask. Grain is a huge part of the flavor in your beers, so it’s a good idea to get to know the differences.

Maris Otter – Produces an orange-tinged golden wort with a unique rich, slightly nutty flavor. Brewers looking for extra malt flavor should consider this traditional malt.

Briess Pale Malt – Rich malt flavor, hints of biscuit and nutlike flavors

Rahr Pilsner – Its light color, neutral flavor, and low protein content make Premium Pilsner an excellent choice for brewing clear, lean-tasting lagers.

While we’re sampling, we’re clensing our palate with Elle’s Brown from Avery Brewing.

This was our first attempt at this, and to be a bit honest, we weren’t overwhelmed by the differences between the malts. As Chris said, you’re not going to get any big revelations doing this, but it’s another tool in your toolkit when it comes to recipe formulation.

If you want to try it on your own, mix 6oz of milled malt with 1Q of 179 degree (F) water for 30 minutes, then strain it with a mesh strainer or whatever else you have handy.

We originally saw this method on a very short video from the AHA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuHvSQAliwg

After some searching, we also found this excellent video from Schoolhouse brewing: https://youtu.be/tIAGD9ScqUI

We’re planning on continuing the series with some crystal malts down the road, as well as others. We hope this video doesn’t bore the hell out of you, if it did, or if you liked it, please let us know.