Subterranean Competition

It matters. It's a frame of reference. Thank you for your input.

 

Extra special is a crystal malt along the lines of special B. Special Roast is a kilned malt, along the lines of biscuit or amber, maybe with a bit of brown malt. Although the names are similar, they are on different parts of the family tree; not all that closely related. I sometimes put Extra Special in dubbels (but take care not to go overboard; I have had better experiences getting those raisin hints from dark candi syrups)

 

Briess says ESM is a biscuit style malt. So is Special Roast. They are both darker versions of Victory.

http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Products/Roasted.htm

 

Here is their full text:

Biscuit-style Malt.
This hybrid drum roasted malt has a flavor very different than Caramel Malt 120.
A proprietary drum roasting process develops both caramel and dry roasted flavors.

Good in high gravity beers like Doppelbock, and mid to dark belgian style ales. Adds complexity to Abbey and darker styles like dry Irish Stouts and Porters. Or use in lighter colored, lighter gravity beers for rich, complex flavor.

I believe they are steering brewers towards using this in place of Special B (bold text). I believe this malt is a response to people saying that C120 is not a good sub for special B, from back in the day before there were dark candi syrups bringing dark fruit character to Belgian darks. The text for this malt used to say something dark fruit and burnt sugar. In the 3-4 times I've used it, I think it fit that special B /extra dark crystal role. Try it and let me know what you think.

 

It's a dessert topping.

 

No, it's floor wax

 

Where,s da beet in dat

 

I'm guilty of brewing one. 12 lb roasted sweet potatoes in the mash. Ended up having the body and taste of a sweet stout. Been meaning to rebrew it in the fall.

 

I'm not going to argue about whether or not it's a caramel malt. I understand it's a possible substitute for Special B.

How much ESM did you use?

 

Agreed. No point arguing the technical details; they say it is a proprietary technique and they call it a biscuit malt, so I'm in no position to win an argument on the technical details. Just brew with it and decide for yourself what it brings to the table. I did a quick search of my brew records, where I used it in quantities of 4, 8, and 12 oz for batch sizes of 6 gal

 

FWIW, the last time I brewed my house brown ale I used 3% ESM along with 3% Victory, 3% Carafa III Special, and 5% Crystal 75. The rest was Rahr 2 row. It's a fairly hoppy American Brown. It was definitely my best version of this beer so far (#11 in a continuing series).

 

I recall drinking a beet beer from Magic Hat, but it doesn't look like that brewery is alone in their brewing attempt. http://www.beeradvocate.com/search/?q=beet&qt=beer The beer was just okay. Root around the websites of these breweries and maybe you'll get some inspiration about what flavor to add with the beets.

Someone mentioned above pickled beets, and I think that's a good suggestion for consideration. You'll get some spice flavors and mild vinegar to go with the beet flavor.

Someone also suggested above that you make a radish beer, but I'll discourage that one. Coincidently, I tried one this past week, and all I could taste was liquid radish. I'm a radish lover, so it's not an offensive flavor to me, but this was not a good beer.

Go to the supermarket and get a can of cooked beets, a jar of pickled beets, and some fresh beets. Roast those fresh ones then have a taste comparison of the three.

 

Beets typically go really well with goat cheese (funky and tart) and balsamic (sweet and tart).....my opinion is go for a Flanders red with beets! Or maybe a brett saison with a little lacto pitched....

 

Interesting idea, but cheesy and vinegar are a fine line to walk. For most people, I think there is a narrow margin of error separating complex from off-putting, when it comes to these flavors.

 

Celeriac Saison

Jerusalem Artichoke Wheat Beer

Burdock Bitter

Ground & Roasted Dandelion Roots* in a Stout/Porter



* have a coffee-like flavour/aroma