Asheville, North Carolina-based Riverbend Malt House debuted Double Kilned Munich as part of a new seasonal malt program to serve the varying needs of craft brewers and distillers in the Southeast region. This small-batch malt is available only while supplies last.
As its name suggests, Double Kilned Munich makes two trips through the kiln, a process that helps develop the complex flavors and increases color to approximately 50 SRM. “This was a fun and challenging project for our production team,” says Brent Manning, Riverbend’s co-founder who leads product development. “We experimented with a variety of different base malts, hydration regimes, and kilning recipes to arrive at this really special malt.”
Double Kilned Munich is malted from 2-row barley grown on family owned farms in the Southeast. This malt will contribute a beautiful, ruby red hue and notes of dark fruit and toffee with a touch of fresh roasted coffee to beers styles such as Czech Dark Lager, Baltic Porter, and winter seasonals.
“Double Kilned Munich performed well, tasted great, and served as a direct substitute for crystal or caramel malt,” says Chris Cates, founder and owner at Little Animals Brewery in Johnson City, Tennessee. “Its flavor impact leaned more towards rich malt flavor than it did towards sweetness. This is where it really shined, and what I would say made it stand out: minimal contribution to sweetness. Normally we have to source ‘specialty grain’ elsewhere, and then the beer can’t be advertised as ‘all local malt.’ Overall I really enjoyed the malt and will use it again.”
Contact your Riverbend Malt House representative or sales@riverbendmalt.com to place an order for Double Kilned Munich, and look for more seasonal malt varieties from Riverbend in 2023.