This week I describe base malts and their use in beer brewing.
The Base Malt Group
Base malts are the most widely used in beer brewing as they make up the vast majority of any malt bill. Many beer styles like IPA were traditionally made with only base malts, and you can brew a large number of styles using 100% base malt.
As I explained in my earlier article on malting and malt groups, base malts are made from raw barley which is germinated by adding water. The seedling is allowed to grow for a few days before it is rapidly dried and to produce malted barley. It may be later kilned to make kilned or roasted malts.
The base malts are the lighted colored malts produced and this group includes: Pilsner malt, Pale malt, Vienna malt and Mild malt. Munich malt is also often used as a base malt in Continental beers, though some consider it to be part of the kilned malt group.
Base malts are used as a “base” or foundation for virtually every barley beer. They typically make up 80% or more of the malt bill, and provide the vast majority of fermentables in a beer.
Base Malt Flavors and Usage
Since base malts make up a majority of the malt bill, selecting the right base malt is important for the overall flavor balance of the beer. Barley is grown throughout the world, and like grapes often takes on the “terrior” or character of the region it is grown in. So one consideration when selecting a base malt is its origin, as a Pilsner malt grown in the US is likely to be much different than one grown in Germany. The rule of thumb here is to try to get malt grown in the region for the style you are brewing.
Pilsner malt, being the lightest of the base malts (1.4-2.2 L) has a clean malty aroma with white bread or cracker qualities. The flavors can be fairly subtle which is why it is often used in Continental lagers such as Pilsners, German lagers and some Belgian beers.
Pale malt is the workhorse for many ales including as a base for most English styles. Pale malt is slightly darker than Pilsner (2-4 L), and has a clean malty aroma with slight hints of toast. A clean pale malt like Briess is frequently used as a base for most American ales including pale ales and IPAs. More flavorful variations like “Maris Otter” are used heavily in duplicating more complex English ale styles such as real ale, bitters, browns, porters and stouts. I like the additional character of Maris Otter so I use it extensively in making English styles.
Mild ale malt is a shade darker (3.5-5.5 L) than Pale malt and can be thought of as the British version of Light Munich malt. It has a more malty finish with a slight caramel hint, but does not have a lot of toasted character. It is not that much different from lighter colored Munich malt in practice, though Mild malt from the UK will take on some of the complex English character due to the region where it is grown.
Vienna malt is a lesser used base malt that is also just above pale malt in color (3-4 L). Unlike mild ale malt, it has a clean finish and also has some caramel character without the toastiness of some other pale malts. It is often used in combination with Pilsner malt to give a light caramel finish to certain Continental lagers.
Finally there is Munich malt which has a fairly wide color range (6-12.5 L) and also comes in a light Munich variation. The light Munich malt is close in color and flavor to mild ale malt. Munich malt has a caramel finish with a cookie bite to it. It is slightly sweet in flavor, but still has a clean finish. Munich malt is often used in combination with Pilsner for many of the most popular German lagers. For example the famous Marzen style from Munich uses 50% Pilsner and 50% Munich. However Munich can be used as a base for any style that leans on the malty side.
I hope this article has helped you to understand base malt flavors and their use in beer brewing. Thank you for joining me on the BeerSmith Home Brewing Blog. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter or my podcast (also on itunes…and youtube for more great tips on homebrewing.
