[klickitat jim]

I can't find it to confirm, but it seems like recently someone mentioned that melanoidin was like super munich and aromatic was like super vienna. Maybe I got it wrong.

Who agrees/disagrees? If you use them, in what? And what % is too much, generally speaking?

Ive never tried either and im curious.

[HoosierBrew]

I usually use up to 8 oz (not over 5%) in 5 gallons, usually of Aromatic - in beers where I want a nice malt aroma and character.  I like to use aromatic in a lot of Belgian styles, some other ones as well. I agree melanoidin is pretty 'super munich' . I've never heard 'super vienna' about aromatic but it sounds pretty accurate to me- it's a little sweet but toasty too, like vienna (~ 20L).  I know some brewers who use melanoidin in malty lagers to emulate double or triple decoctions, but I've done decoctions and don't find much (if any) difference personally. Nonetheless, melanoidan malt is nice as well. It's more like ~ 30L.

[wingnut]

When I formulate recepies...

Melenoiden is to me like a darker munich.   I use 7% to 10% in my vienna recepie (which made mini best of show in the final round of NHC...so I must be doing something right     

I kind of think of it as a 20L Munich.   Most of the recipes that I use Melenoiden in, also have Munich, and I have swapped out portions of Munich with Melenoiden over time to get a richer toasier flavor.  In other words, I think all the recepies I use Melenoiden in, started life without it, but with Munich... and I have used Melenoiden to tweak the flavor profile. 

I also use Aromatic in place of Melenoiden when I cannot find Melenoiden.  (That used to be the case quite often, but in the past couple years has not).  I use Aromatic and Melenoiden interchangeably.     The differences between the two at the quantities I use are not detetctable to me, but may be to some.

In my mind, Aromatic and Melenoien are products made by different maltsters to fill the same role in the malt market... a means to add flavors similar to decoction, without the extra three hours to the brew day. 

[HoosierBrew]

When I formulate recepies...

Melenoiden is to me like a darker munich.   I use 7% to 10% in my vienna recepie (which made mini best of show in the final round of NHC...so I must be doing something right     

I kind of think of it as a 20L Munich.   Most of the recipes that I use Melenoiden in, also have Munich, and I have swapped out portions of Munich with Melenoiden over time to get a richer toasier flavor.  In other words, I think all the recepies I use Melenoiden in, started life without it, but with Munich... and I have used Melenoiden to tweak the flavor profile. 

I also use Aromatic in place of Melenoiden when I cannot find Melenoiden.  (That used to be the case quite often, but in the past couple years has not).  I use Aromatic and Melenoiden interchangeably.     The differences between the two at the quantities I use are not detetctable to me, but may be to some.

In my mind, Aromatic and Melenoien are products made by different maltsters to fill the same role in the malt market... a means to add flavors similar to decoction, without the extra three hours to the brew day. 

I agree there's not much difference. I think melanoidin is a touch sweeter (maybe), but not a lot.

[Wort-H.O.G.]

i use melanoiden in many ales and lagers. depending on the color of the beer profile, it depends on how much I use. e.g. i will use 2-3 oz in 5srm or lower and i wont notice any of the red color it can produce at higher quantities. for my pale ale, i will use 8-12oz, dunkelweizen 4-6oz.

try it in a something you've made before and sample the difference. Its a staple in my grain inventory.

[erockrph]

I've only used Melanoiden a couple of times, but I use Aromatic (usually Castle) in all but the palest lagers and many ales as well. It's one of my main go-to malts. To my palate, Aromatic is like an intensified light Munich malt. It has that same toasted/bread crust note, but only a lot richer. I haven't used Melanoiden enough to draw a good comparison. Maybe the Vienna thing is referring to another maltster's version (Briess?).

As far as color goes, a little bit of Aromatic goes a long way so I've never used enough to get a massive color impact. But it definitely adds a nice orange hue - kind of pushing towards the color of a Maerzen a bit.