Caleb DeFrees, Gladfield Malt’s production manager, talks about how to build a recipe. Developing beer recipes is tricky. We try to negotiate 30-plus malts, endless hop varieties and multitudes of yeast strains to create any one of hundreds of beer styles. Recipes can be complex – such as using 10 malts to achieve a delicate flavour balance – or simple, with only one or two malts providing all the flavour depth. They can be made to stand aside and provide the backdrop for some juicy hop aromas and flavours, or play second fiddle to the yeast. Building the recipe is only the first step in the process; there are lots of ways malts and hops can interact with each other. My favourite starting point is a malt tea. Put together a couple ideas for your grist and make a quick tea with the milled malt – about 25 grams. Steep this in hot-boiling water and give it a stir, this will give a good indication of the flavours the malt will impart. Is the chocolate malt too overpowering, or sweet caramel a bit too light? Use this technique to guide the initial grain bill before the brewing begins. Next step … Continue reading It’s All in the Taste