Are malts the next big focus?

"maltster" is that a word?

 

One problem is that many seem to believe that an interest in hops equals a strict interest in IPAs and an interest in malts equals a strict interest in something like a doppelbock. If you are interested in beer, you should be somewhat interested in malt. You don't have to pick a side. Malt and hops are everywhere.

 

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/maltster

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maltster

 

No, modern beer geeks like to be kicked in the face with flavor.
Ashburne ESB? all but the most devoted ESB fans wouldn't notice a difference, myself likely included.

 

Are you trying to ruin this for everyone?

 

Maltsters think it is...

(although I've also seen it spelled "Malsters"....go figure).

 

Bourbon County Stout, Bourbon County Coffee Stout, Bourbon County Barleywine, Firestone Walker Stickee Monkee, Firestone Walker Parabola, Firestone Walker Sucaba, Founders Breakfast Stout, Deschutes The Abyss, Dark Horse Plead the 5th....these aren't exactly dry non-malty beers. They may not be the most stellar examples of malt craftsmanship, but they are pretty damn malty.

I don't think there's a lack of malty big beers in the U.S. What is lacking: malty beers that aren't imperial, barrel bombs or more broadly anything under 7.5% alcohol. Most anything under 7.5% in the current craft market is going to be a hoppy IPA, a hoppy APA, a "hoppy wheat," a "black IPA," or just a regular old wheat or witbier. Even many of the cream stouts these days are categorized as an "imperial cream stout" or something to that effect.

I would love to see more properly made English brown ales, cream stouts, oatmeal stouts, and German wheat beers.

 

Ive recently seen a few breweries out here do "single-malt" beers to highlight a specific malt. Super interesting. I just had a Golden Promise single malt pale.

Any concept that highlights specific ingredients to further education is a good one.

 

If you think about it, hops have a much more subtle flavor than malts. For me it's way easier to tell if chocolate malt is used in a beer than a specific type of hop.

 

Wicked Weed and Haw River Farmhouse Ales both cite specific malts and source. Riverbend Malt House out of Asheville is a great source for local and varied malts. I think the quality of these breweries speak to the inventiveness of the brewers, but also to their ingredient sourcing. I'll bet that barley grows better here than do hops!

 

http://blogs.denverpost.com/beer/20...ng-craft-beer-industry-quality-problem/13432/

Quality was one of the larger points of contention discussed at the craft brewer's conference this year.

That aside, many brewers use additional hops in traditionally malt-forward styles and/or will use different malts such as caramel or American two-row where pils or Munich may be more appropriate. Personally, I feel this is done because it makes the style appeal to a broader range of beer geeks and/or because the brewer isn't experienced enough yet to properly brew something like a pilsner.

Sours are not acquired tastes, they've very popular among the beer geek crowd. There's nothing subtle about them. If Cantillon hits the shelves at my local there's Bourbon County-like hysteria, and those bottles are gone in an hour at a hefty price tag. If fresh Augustiner Edelstoff was at my local one day, I'd flip my shit. And odds are there wouldn't be a line for it.

 

I'm not trying to argue and don't mean this in a negative way at all.. Just curious as to why you don't believe US brewers have the skill to make the malts shine?

I, for one, am tired of the IPA craze. But I'm also enjoying it while its here because there are new innovative unique IPA's all the time.

 

If you ever happen to visit Seattle, you should definitely visit Reuben's. They focus quite a bit on beers that are malt driven ... with something of an obsession for rye. Perhaps explained by the fact that the brewer grew up in the UK. He's done at least one collaboration with a UK brewer, Windsor & Eton (a phenomenal Brown Porter coming in at 4.8% ABV and a modest 28 IBU). Interestingly, in his blog he specifically mentions that the collaboration led to Windsor & Eton using malts that they don't normally use but that he loves (Pale Chocolate and Crystal Rye).

http://www.reubensbrews.com/blog/2014/10/15/ottrey-porter

Though their hoppy beers are excellent and very popular, these malt driven styles seem to do really well at the brewery too. So though I don't think it'll be a trend, I definitely see it as a place where brewers that have the inclination can distinguish themselves.

 

The pendulum will swing again. A while back people were saying "what's with all the Brown Ales and ESBs? How about some hoppy beers?!!"

Personally, I could do with a few more of each of those styles, but hopefully done better this time around!

 

I saw cases upon cases of Cismontane Single Malt series in a local store - at $2.99/bomber. Not in high demand, at least here in CA.

 

Malz ist die Seele des Bieres. No surprise that CA is producing and consuming soullessness.

 

I would enjoy this push and competition. In the US malt doesn't seem please the palates like hops.

 

No worries, you're not being negative. Personal experience with many many US brewers is where this opinion originates from. I'm always on the look out for German/Czech pilsners, Maerzens...etc. brewed in the US that are world class. The imports to my palate are simply the best, but are difficult to find fresh. So, if a US brewer can match the imports' excellence, I'm all in.

Unfortunately, the majority miss the mark. Some do well with them, like I said. Sierra Nevada's Summerfest, Troegs Sunshine pils, this year I tried Brooklyn's Octoberfest, I thought it was excellent.

Unlike hops, malts need to be handled properly during the mashing process. Much more can go wrong here than when you're adding flavoring hops late to the boil or dry hopping. I don't think it's a coincidence the more experienced brewers (Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn, Troegs, Victory...etc.) are some of the best at getting the most out of their malts.

I'm not saying it doesn't take skill to brew a Heady Topper. I simply feel there's a higher degree of difficulty with something like a pilsner, a Maerzen, or an English mild. And every average Joe who starts a new brewery with just a few years of homebrewing under their belt isn't likely to get this right. As far as popularity of some malts, and them being the next big thing? Well, I don't see melanoidin characteristics in beer ravaging the top 250 beer list anytime soon.

 

Sounds delicious!