Chocolate malt versus dehusked black malt

Same drum, different results

Both malts start as kilned malt and finish in a roasting drum at high temperature. The roast breaks down sugars and proteins into dark, bitter and coffee-like compounds. How long and how hot the roast runs sets the colour. Whether the husk is still on sets how harsh the result tastes.

Chocolate malt is a husked barley malt roasted to a dark brown. Depending on the maltster it typically sits somewhere around 800 to 1,200 EBC. A dehusked black malt has most of the husk removed before roasting. Weyermann's CARAFA SPECIAL comes in three types: 800 to 1,000 EBC, 1,050 to 1,250 EBC and 1,300 to 1,500 EBC. Our guide to roasted malts covers the whole family.

Why the husk matters

The husk carries much of the sharp, astringent, ashy character of roasted malt. Roast a husked kernel very dark and the husk chars, adding grip and bitterness. Take the husk off first and the same colour comes with a much softer flavour.

That is why dehusked black malts are the standard tool for beers that should be black but not roasty: Schwarzbier, black IPA and dark lagers that need to stay smooth. Chocolate malt keeps its husk and some of that edge, which suits porters and stouts that should taste of roast. Weyermann's chocolate wheat and chocolate rye malts work on the same principle, because wheat and rye have no husk at all.

What each tastes like

Chocolate malt gives cocoa, dark chocolate, coffee and a gentle dry roast. At low doses it reads as chocolate. At high doses the roast and dryness build up.

Dehusked black malt gives deep colour with mild roast and coffee notes. The lighter type adds more flavour. The darkest type adds mostly colour. At the doses used for colour correction you will barely taste it.

In a blind tasting, a porter made with chocolate malt and one made with the same colour from CARAFA SPECIAL taste clearly different: the first is roasty and dry, the second smoother and more malt-led.

How much to use

• Chocolate malt: 2 to 7% in porters, brown ales and stouts. Above that the roast can turn harsh.
• CARAFA SPECIAL: Weyermann recommends up to 5% for most beers. Its Type 1 and Type 2 sheets allow up to 15% in special recipes such as Irish stout or Russian imperial stout.
• Colour correction: the Type 2 sheet allows up to 0.5% to darken a pale beer that came out too light.

Both malts are roasted beyond any enzyme activity, so they rely on the base malt for conversion. They also have lower extract, around 65% minimum on Weyermann's dehusked sheets, so they add little gravity.

A worked porter grist for 1,000 litres

Here is a London-style porter at about 12 °P, assuming a brewhouse yield near 75%.

• Pale ale malt: 168 kg (80%)
• Munich malt: 21 kg (10%)
• CARAMUNICH: 10.5 kg (5%)
• Chocolate malt: 10.5 kg (5%)
• Total: 210 kg (100%)

For a smoother version, swap the chocolate malt for the same weight of CARAFA SPECIAL Type 1. The colour stays similar. The roast drops back and the malt comes forward. Brewing both side by side on a pilot system is the fastest way to learn which your drinkers prefer.

Handling roast in the mash

Dark malts are acidic and lower mash pH. In a pale grist that can be a problem. In a dark beer it can be useful, especially with alkaline borewell water common in many parts of India, which otherwise pushes mash pH too high. Measure the mash pH and aim for the usual 5.2 to 5.6. Our guide to mash pH explained covers the adjustment.

Some brewers add roasted malts late, at the end of the mash or during vorlauf, to extract colour with less harshness. Others cold steep them overnight and add the liquid to the kettle. Both reduce astringency. Both are worth a trial before you change a house recipe.

Pick by flavour target, not colour

Colour is easy to hit with either malt. Flavour is the real choice: roast and chocolate from a husked malt or smooth colour from a dehusked one. Getting that balance right with base and caramel malts is the skill of grist design.

Your first step: brew two small pilot batches of your dark beer, one with chocolate malt and one with CARAFA SPECIAL at the same colour, then run a blind tasting with your team.

Common questions

What is the difference between chocolate malt and CARAFA SPECIAL?

Chocolate malt keeps its husk and tastes roasty and dry. CARAFA SPECIAL has most of the husk removed, so it gives similar colour with much softer roast.

How much chocolate malt should I use in a porter?

Usually 2 to 7% of the grist. Higher doses can make the roast harsh.

Can dehusked black malt colour a pale beer?

Yes. Weyermann's CARAFA SPECIAL Type 2 sheet allows up to 0.5% for colour correction in pale beers.

Do roasted malts lower mash pH?

Yes. Dark malts are acidic, which helps balance alkaline water in dark beers.