Caramel & Crystal Malts
Crystal malts are steep-able and generally used to add sweetness and color to both extract and all-grain brews. They're usually named based on color. As a general rule, the lighter-colored crystal malts are more "sweet," while darker crystal malts add roastiness or nuttiness in addition to sweetness.
Adjunct Grains
Adjuncts are unmalted, starchy things (normally understood to be a cereal grain, but homebrewers have been known to use things like pumpkin and potatoes, too).
- Flaked barley and flaked oats
- Maize (corn)
- Torrified wheat
- Pumpkin/squash
- Potatoes
- Rice
- ... and more - any starchy vegetable/grain can be an adjunct
Adjuncts don't have sugars available like crystal malts, so they can't be steeped for extract brewing. They also don't have enzymes like malted grains, so they need to be mashed with base malt to extract their sugars.
Kilned & Toasted Malts
Includes malts such as biscuit, amber, special roast, and aromatic malts. Usually used in low quantities to contribute unique flavor (half a pound or less for a 5 gallon batch).
- Biscuit malt contributes a light, "saltine cracker" flavor, while aromatic malt is deeper and maltier.
- Brown and amber malt are similarly toasted, but brown is darker and more toasty/bready and amber has less of a pretzel-like flavor.
- Victory malt is another light option that sits between biscuit and amber, with characteristics of both.
- Special roast is fairly unique and will impart a slightly darker, reddish color and has a fairly strong tangy, berry, deep flavor.
Roasted Malts
Roasted malts are any malts or grains that are roasted to a very high degree. Dark, deep, bready, delicious. Can be steeped for extract brewing or mashed for all-grain, and add a lot of complexity and color in very low quantities. The three most common varieties are:
- Black malt (sometimes called black patent malt), chocolate malt, and roasted barley.
- Weyermann® range of Carafa® malts
- Kiln-coffee malt
- Distaff cousins like de-bittered black malt and pale chocolate. Roasted malts can be steeped for extract brewing or mashed for all-grain, and add a lot of complexity and color in very low quantities.
Other Malts
Some malts do not come from barley: oats, rye, wheat, etc. These malts are essentially processed like, and can be treated as, their barley cousins. The difference is in how they're crushed.
