[scrap iron]

I just picked up a couple pounds of Simpson's Coffee Malt from LHBS. They said it is like a light Chocolate Malt, but the Simpson's web site states it's a Brown Malt to use in Porters and Stouts. The L rating for color is 130-170 which is about half of the Carafa 1 at 335 L that I like in dark beers. So my question is, does anyone have any experience with this malt? I'm not a big fan of Stouts but I do like Porters. If it can be used as a light Chocolate Malt, any suggestions as to styles of beer it can be used in?

[denny]

I won some at a comp years back.  A very little bit (1/4-1/2 lb. in 5 gal.) added a little complexity.  An attempt at using a couple lb. in a batch resulted in a weird toasted marshmallow like flavor.

[blatz]

I won some at a comp years back.  A very little bit (1/4-1/2 lb. in 5 gal.) added a little complexity.  An attempt at using a couple lb. in a batch resulted in a weird toasted marshmallow like flavor.

agreed - i've not used it but one of my close friends in the homebrew club experimented with it in a series of stout brewings a couple of years ago, the ones with small amounts (2-4%) were pretty nice - the first one he used I think 7.5% and it was offensive.  And this is coming from a guy who drinks 2-4 cups of coffee a day.

[scrap iron]

Thanks for the replies. So not really a light Chocolate Malt? I guess I can still use it in some Porters but keep the amount under 4%.
Denny, that is weird about the toasted marshmallow flavor. Maybe throw in some darker Chocolate Malt and graham crackers for a smores beer. mmm smores.

[Jimmy K]

In the nanomashing article in Zymurgy a year ago, she mashed some coffee malt (3%, 97% base malt) and said it tasted a bit like coffee, but kind of like cheap coffee. She also mashed chocolate malt and chocolate/coffee together and the combo tasted the most like chocolate.