I see I could order Simpson's Coffee Malt from MW or Franco Belges Coffee Malt from NB http://www.midwestsupplies.com/coffee-malt-simpson-s.html http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/franco-belges-kiln-coffee.html It will be part of a mild recipe that I will brew no time soon. Anyone ever tried both and have observations to share? Or have observations on just one to share?
Only the Franco Belges. It can be a little rough early on, but mellows nicely, and really does add a strong coffee flavor to the beer (I did a coffee-less coffee stout with it, that was really nice), and in some cases a bit of dark fruit (I noticed this when comparing the same beer, a milk stout, brewed with and without, coffee malt (~2.5% of grist). I've used most of Simpson's portfolio of grains and have been very happy, whereas I've only used Franco Belges coffee malt, so can't really add anything about the maltsters as a whole.
As a follow up question, are either similar to the brown malts on the market, which I have tried a couple times, or are they different animals entirely?
