Melanoidin malt and how much to use

What melanoidin malt is

Melanoidins are brown compounds formed when sugars and amino acids react under heat, the Maillard reaction. They give colour and rich, bready, honeyed flavours. Melanoidin malt is made to build lots of them: the maltster keeps the green malt warm and moist before kilning, then kilns it hotter than a base malt.

Weyermann's Melanoidin Malt is listed at 60 to 80 EBC (about 23 to 31 Lovibond), with extract of at least 75% and a maximum addition of 20%. Our guide to Weyermann Melanoidin Malt covers its full spec sheet.

Why brewers use it

The classic reason is to imitate a decoction mash. A decoction boils part of the mash, which builds melanoidins and adds malt depth. It also takes extra hours and energy. A single infusion with a few per cent of melanoidin malt gives much of the same flavour in a fraction of the time.

It is worth being honest about the limits. Decoction also changes the mash chemistry and protein profile in ways a speciality malt cannot copy. Most drinkers will not notice. A trained panel tasting the two side by side sometimes will.

Brewers also use it to add body and colour to amber and red beers without the sticky sweetness of crystal malt. In a light lager, a very small dose can add a little malt character that rice and maize adjuncts take away.

How much to use by style

The colour spread is wide, 20 EBC from top to bottom of the range, so dose matters more as you climb. A useful guide:

• 1 to 3%: a little extra malt flavour and colour in a light lager, including adjunct lagers.
• 3 to 10%: amber lager, Märzen, Vienna lager, dunkel and Irish red.
• 10 to 20%: bocks, barley wines and Flanders-style reds, where malt depth is the point.

Most beers taste best in the lower half of each band. Above about 10%, melanoidin malt can make a beer taste heavy and cloying, especially when served warm.

A worked amber ale grist

Here is an amber ale for a 1,000 litre brewpub batch at about 12.5 °P, assuming a brewhouse yield near 75%.

• Pale ale malt: 172 kg (80%)
• Munich malt: 21.5 kg (10%)
• Melanoidin malt: 10.75 kg (5%)
• CARAMUNICH: 10.75 kg (5%)
• Total: 215 kg (100%)

Mash at about 66 °C. Melanoidin malt has little enzyme activity of its own, so it relies on the base malt to convert. Bitter to around 25 to 30 IBU and ferment with a clean ale yeast. The result should be copper, bready and honeyed, finishing drier than a crystal-heavy amber.

Mash pH and colour checks

Like other kilned speciality malts, melanoidin malt is slightly acidic. At 5% it lowers mash pH a little. At 15 to 20% it can pull the mash noticeably lower, so measure the mash pH and aim for the usual 5.2 to 5.6. Our guide to mash pH explained covers adjustment.

Colour also needs checking. Because the malt's colour varies by up to 20 EBC between lots, a brewery that sells an amber beer as a brand should check each new lot's certificate and adjust the dose if the colour moves. Measure the finished beer colour with a simple colorimeter or a consistent visual standard.

Storing it in Indian conditions

Melanoidin malt leaves the maltings very dry, at a maximum of 4.5% moisture. That is good for shelf life but means it absorbs humid air quickly once a bag is open. In the monsoon months, an open bag left near the mill can soften within days.

Store it sealed, off the floor, in a cool dry spot. Use opened bags first. If it is out of stock, a small amount of dark Munich plus a little CARAMUNICH gets close on colour and partway on flavour. Our guide to peated malt in beer shows how differently another kilned speciality malt behaves.

Using it with intent

Melanoidin malt is easy to add and easy to overdo. The art is balancing it against base, caramel and roast malts so the beer hits a colour, body and flavour target on purpose. That is the skill of grist design.

Your first step: brew your amber beer twice, once with 3% melanoidin malt and once with 8%. Taste them side by side.

Common questions

How much melanoidin malt should I use?

Usually 1 to 3% in light lagers, 3 to 10% in amber and red beers and up to 20% in strong malty styles.

Can melanoidin malt replace a decoction mash?

It gives much of the malt depth of a decoction in a single infusion, though not every detail of the flavour.

Does melanoidin malt have enzymes?

Very few. It relies on the base malt in the grist to convert its starch.

What is the colour of melanoidin malt?

Weyermann lists its Melanoidin Malt at 60 to 80 EBC, about 23 to 31 Lovibond.