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Specialty malts - caramel, roasted, Munich and Vienna

Why does one beer taste of caramel and toast, another of chocolate and coffee, and a third of dry bread, though all are made from the same barley? The answer lies in specialty malts. These are malts treated differently from ordinary pale base malt: dried harder, toasted, caramelised or even outright burnt. They are added in small amounts, sometimes a few percent of the grist, yet they can completely transform the colour, aroma and flavour of a beer. It is through them that the brewer paints the beer, as a painter adds colour. Here is a guide to the most important specialty malts: caramel, roasted, Munich and Vienna. We will explain how they differ, where they get their colour and flavour, and how to read their colour measured in degrees Lovibond.

Base malt versus specialty

Let us start with the division. Base malt, pale, makes up the backbone of the grist and supplies most of the sugars for fermentation, as well as the enzymes needed for mashing. It is pale, mild, slightly grainy. Specialty malts, in turn, are additions used in smaller amounts, whose job is not to give sugars but flavour, aroma and colour. Most of them have few enzymes or none, so they could not manage on their own, but in the company of base malt they add character. It is like spices in cooking: the base is pale barley malt, and specialty malts are the pinch that changes the dish. Understanding this division is the key to reading a beer recipe and predicting its flavour.

Where malt gets its colour and flavour

The whole secret of specialty malts lies in heat treatment. The harder and hotter the grain is dried or roasted, the darker it becomes and the deeper the notes it gives. Most of these transformations come down to the Maillard reaction, the same one that browns the crust of bread and a seared steak, and to the caramelisation of sugars. They create notes of toast, caramel, dried fruit, chocolate and coffee. Malt colour is measured in degrees Lovibond, L for short, where pale base malt has a few degrees and the darkest roasted malts several hundred. The higher the number, the darker the malt and the stronger, more roasted its character. This scale is a practical map by which the brewer reckons what to expect.

Vienna malt

Vienna malt is the mildest of the character malts described here, with a colour usually around three to four degrees Lovibond. It is made from barley dried a little harder than ordinary pale malt, but still gently. It gives the beer a slightly sweet, soft, grainy flavour and a golden colour. It still keeps plenty of enzymes, so it can make up even a substantial part of the grist. Its homeland is of course the Vienna lager, a style of warm, amber-gold colour and mild maltiness. Vienna malt is a good example of how even a small change in drying gives a clearly different character from base malt. It is the first step from pale malt toward a deeper, warmer maltiness.

Munich malt

Munich malt goes a step further than Vienna. Its colour is usually around five to twenty degrees Lovibond, depending on the variety and producer. It is dried harder, so it gives a deep, malty, slightly toasty and bready flavour. It is what stands behind the rich, substantial maltiness of darker lagers, like Munich Marzen beers or dunkel. Despite its more intense character, it still keeps enough enzymes that it can be a substantial part of the grist, not just an addition. Munich malt is the essence of the German, malty school of beer: fullness, warmth and bready depth with no roasted bitterness. Together with Vienna it forms a family of malts that build the character of beers with a clear but mild maltiness.

Caramel and crystal malts

Caramel malts, also called crystal malts, are a separate category, made by a different method. The moist grain is heated so that the starch inside it caramelises before drying, forming hard, glassy sugars. Hence the name crystal. This gives a sweet, caramel flavour and a colour from amber to deep red, depending on the degree of roast. Caramel malts have a very wide range of colour, from a dozen-odd to as much as one hundred and eighty degrees Lovibond. Lower degrees give a delicate caramel and honey, higher ones notes of dried fruit, raisin and toffee. It is through them that amber ales and red beers have a sweet depth. Caramel malts have no enzymes, so they are added only as a flavour supplement.

Roasted malts

At the other end of the scale stand the roasted malts: chocolate and roasted. They are what give dark beers, like porter and stout, their colour and character. Chocolate malt has a colour usually around three hundred and fifty to four hundred and fifty degrees Lovibond and gives an aroma resembling bitter, unsweetened chocolate, plus notes of coffee. The darkest roasted malt reaches five hundred to six hundred degrees Lovibond and brings a clear note of char, coffee and bitterness. These malts are added in truly small amounts, sometimes a fraction of the grist, because their character is very intense. They are what make a stout black as tar and smelling of espresso. Roasted malts are the most powerful tool in the brewer palette, used with care.

A table of specialty malts

Let us gather the most important malts in one place, with their approximate colour and character:

The table shows how the flavour changes as the colour rises: from soft maltiness, through caramel, to roasted, coffee notes. It is a practical map of the brewer palette.

How the brewer blends them

The art lies in the proportions and the combinations. The brewer builds a beer by choosing several malts so that their flavours complement each other. The base is always pale malt, giving the sugars, and to it specialty malts are added for colour and character. An amber ale will get a touch of caramel malt, a Munich dunkel will rest on Munich malt, and a stout will get a pinch of roasted and chocolate. A small change in the share of one malt can shift the whole beer. This is why two beers from the same ingredients can taste completely different. Understanding the role of specialty malts is the first step to reading a beer like a recipe, rather than just as a finished drink.

Beer colour and flavour

It is worth remembering that the colour of a beer and its flavour go together but are not the same thing. A dark beer need not be strong or bitter - its colour comes mainly from roasted malts, not from the strength of the alcohol or the bitterness of the hops. A stout can be lighter and milder than its black colour suggests. It is a common myth that dark means strong. Specialty malts paint the beer a particular colour and add particular notes, but the final character depends on the whole recipe. We cover how malting and drying give beer its colour more in malting and beer colour. Colour is a clue, not a verdict on strength or flavour.

The essentials in brief

Let us gather it up. Specialty malts are malts given a stronger heat treatment than pale base malt, added for flavour, aroma and colour, not for sugars. Vienna malt, about three to four degrees Lovibond, gives a soft maltiness; Munich, about five to twenty, adds bready, toasty depth. Caramel malts, with a wide range of colour, bring caramel, toffee and dried fruit. Roasted malts, chocolate and roasted, at several hundred degrees Lovibond, give the chocolate, coffee and roasted notes of dark beers. The higher the Lovibond number, the darker and stronger in character the malt. Now you know where a beer gets its caramel, chocolate and toast, and you can read a recipe through the lens of malts.

Note every beer in GustoNote - the style, the colour and the malty notes you sense. Over time you will start to link caramel, chocolate or toast to particular specialty malts, and understand more deeply how the brewer builds the flavour of a beer.