I’m really happy with how this one turned out mostly because I wasn’t following anybody else’s procedure (couldn’t fine any) and yet it looks and tastes like store bought. Special B is the darkest of the crystal malts and is used a lot in darker Belgian ales. The flavour is sweet and raisiny or pruney, the perfect addition to any christmas beer. Here’s how I made mine:
Used the Conlon barley – 45% moisture content. Germinated at 15C
Brought inside when acrospire =3/4
Last 24 hrs of germination at room temperature. Acrospire =full length of grain
Placed in a pot with a tight lid in the oven for 12 hrs. @ 50C
Temp. then increased to 65-70C for 4 hours
Taken out of pot and put on to drying screen in the oven @ 200F for 5 1/2 hours
I did not spray any additional water on it at any point. It seemed wet enough. Also I did plan to increase the temperature even more but when I tried the grains started to snap, so I kept the temperature at 200F and pretty soon the insides of the grain were very dark. It’s not black but a very very dark red and very glassy. You can sort of see the white highlight reflecting off the glassiness of the interior in the picture.
Brewing Beer The Hard Way 