I've been working on a few new recipes that I think will turn out pretty well, I've been planning on replacing Malto-dextrin with carafoam in lighter beers and I have two that call for biscuit malt. So I was wondering if anyone who has used carafoam or biscuit malt could provide some insight on potency and how much to use.
Carafoam is similar to Briess Carapils. They say "Use up to 5% for increased foam, improved head retention and enhanced mouthfeel in any beer style." You certainly don't need to use it, but if you want to evaluate what it does for you, experiment in this range. Briess Victory is a biscuit malt. Check out the link to see what they recommend. FWIW, I have never seen a recipe with 25% biscuit malt, although this link suggests it would be acceptable. Special Roast is a similar type of malt.
Briess carapils is similar to carafoam. Briess Victory and Special Roast are types of biscuit malts. You can %ages that Briess recommends http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_VictoryMalt.pdf http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_SpecialRoastMalt.pdf http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Assets/PDFs/Briess_PISB_CarapilsMalt.pdf A couple thoughts: 1. Many brewers skip carapils and accomplish the same thing through mash temperature controls. If you are brewing extract, be aware that some extracts may already be adjusted with carapils. Briess Golden Light, for example. http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Products/Extracts.htm#a6001 2. I have never seen a recipe for a Scottish or dark beer that used 25% biscuit malt, as is suggested as the high end on the Victory link. My guess is I would find it overwhelming. Something to try, I suppose.
Carafoam and Carapils 4-8oz. I often see recipes with 1# and think it makes the beer too thick. Biscuit depends on the maltster. Belgian Biscuit 4-12oz. Victory and Special Roast may be biscuit style malts, but they don't taste like Belgian Biscuit.
