Crystal 40L Malt

Description

This is medium light crystal malt. Crystal malts are also called caramel malts. They come in a wide range of colors on the lovibond scale with different degrees of kilning. All crystal malts impart caramel flavors with some residual sweetness. They also increase mouthfeel and head retention. Forty Lovibond crystal malt is fairly light-colored. Consequently, it is on the sweeter side with a mild caramel character.

Crystal malts undergo a wet cooking process called stewing that converts some starch into dextrins and simpler sugars. Dextrins are unfermentable sugars of intermediate size that increase beer body. Dextrins taste slightly sweet and are thought to contribute to beers with higher final gravities. After stewing crystal malts are kilned to remove excess water. This caramelizes some of the sugars made during stewing. Crystal malts are frequently made from 6-row barley with high protein content which also increases perceptions of body and increases foam stability.

Beer Styles

Crystal 40L can work in most beer styles. It can feature prominently in pale ales where it lends some sweetness and body without being overwhelming. Lighter crystal malts are sometimes mixed with darker crystal malts to increase complexity in styles like robust porter and American brown ale.

Malt Analysis

Extract Potential	1.035
Color (°L)	40
DP (°Lin)	0
Protein (%)	13