Honey malt and brown malt

Honey malt: sweet, without the honey

Honey malt is a speciality malt developed in Canada. It contains no honey. It gets its name from a strong honey-like sweetness that comes from the way it is made. The maltster restricts airflow during germination, so the grain heats up and builds sugars and Maillard flavours before kilning.

It is light brown, roughly 25 Lovibond. It has very few enzymes, so it needs a base malt to convert. The flavour is intensely sweet and nutty, with a honey and graham cracker character. That makes it popular in blonde ales, brown ales and some wheat beers where a touch of honey sweetness suits the style.

How much honey malt to use

Honey malt is strong. Most recipes use 3 to 10% of the grist.

• 3 to 5%: a gentle honey note in a blonde ale or pale ale.
• 5 to 10%: clear honey sweetness in a brown ale or a malty amber.

Above about 10%, the sweetness can feel cloying, especially in a warm Indian climate where malty beers already feel heavier. Balance it with a moderate bitterness and a dry-finishing yeast.

Brown malt: the old base of porter

Brown malt has a long history. In 18th century London, porter was brewed largely from brown malt, which was kilned over wood fires and picked up a smoky character. As brewers learned to measure extract, they moved to paler, more efficient base malts and used dark malts just for colour.

Modern brown malt is made differently and has little or no enzyme activity, so it can no longer be the main base malt. It is roasted to a much darker colour than honey malt and tastes dry, toasty and biscuity, with notes of coffee and a slight smoky edge in some versions. It brings porter character without the sharpness of black malt.

How much brown malt to use

Use brown malt as a flavour malt, not a base:

• 5 to 10% in English porter or brown ale.
• Up to about 15 to 20% in historical porter recipes, with plenty of base malt to convert.

Brown malt makes a beer taste dry and slightly astringent at high doses. Pair it with a little crystal malt if the beer tastes thin. Our guide to the barley malting process explains how kilning and roasting build these different flavours.

A 20 litre brown ale using both

This English-style brown ale targets about 1.046 to 1.048 original gravity at around 70% homebrew efficiency.

• Pale ale malt: 3.6 kg (80%)
• Brown malt: 0.45 kg (10%)
• Honey malt: 0.27 kg (6%)
• Medium crystal malt: 0.18 kg (4%)
• Total: 4.5 kg (100%)

Mash at 66 to 67 °C for 60 minutes. Bitter to about 20 to 25 IBU with an English hop such as Fuggle. Ferment with an English ale yeast at 18 to 20 °C. The brown malt gives a dry, toasty backbone. The honey malt adds sweetness on top.

Substitutes when you cannot find them

Both malts can be hard to buy in India, where homebrew shops tend to stock the main European maltsters. Two practical swaps:

• For honey malt: Weyermann's Abbey Malt, at 40 to 50 EBC, brings honey and biscuit notes. Our guide to Weyermann Abbey Malt covers it. Melanoidin malt is another option.
• For brown malt: a mix of biscuit or amber malt with a little chocolate malt gets close on the toasty, dry roast character.

If you brew the recipe above with a substitute, start at the low end of the dose range. Abbey Malt is less intensely sweet than honey malt, so you may want a little more of it, but it is easier to add next time than to take away.

Neither swap is exact. Note the change on your brew sheet and taste the result before you call the recipe final.

Storing speciality malts at home

Speciality malts arrive dry and absorb moisture fast. In humid weather, an open bag can go slack within a week or two. Store them in airtight jars or sealed bags in the coolest, driest room you have. Crush them only on brew day. Our guide to wheat malt in brewing covers storing another malt that home brewers use often.

Learning these malts is one step towards designing your own recipes rather than copying them. That skill, choosing each malt for a reason and balancing them, is the core of grist design.

Your first step: buy a small pack of each malt you can find, steep a spoonful of each in hot water and taste them side by side.

Common questions

Does honey malt contain honey?

No. It is named for its honey-like sweetness, which comes from the way the grain is germinated and kilned.

How much honey malt should I use?

Usually 3 to 10% of the grist. Above about 10% it can taste cloying.

Can brown malt be used as a base malt?

Not modern brown malt. It has little or no enzyme activity, so use it as a flavour malt alongside a base malt.

What can I use instead of honey malt?

Weyermann's Abbey Malt or melanoidin malt give similar honeyed malt notes, though not an exact match.