Malt Spotlight: Steamed C3.5
April 2, 2025
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Malteurop Steamed C3.5 specialty malt provides a light honey-like sweetness and light golden hues. This steam-crystalized kilned malt is subtle in flavor and color.
“I really enjoy the light touch of honey-like sweetness. Steamed C3.5 works as a great depth builder and is a good substitute for Dextrin malt, when you want to build a little more on the flavor profile.”
– Paul Mahoney, Launch Pad Brewery
Steamed C3.5 General Description
Steamed C3.5 is a specialty malt used to influence flavor and color, albeit on the subtle side of the category. It is produced with a special steam-crystalized kilning process, unlike the stewing and roasting process of a traditional crystal malt.
The resulting malt adds a subtle flavor and color that is lighter than even the lightest of most traditional crystal malts. Steamed C3.5’s unique sweetness and light color is achieved from using our special steam-injection and kiln-finishing process.
Flavor and Aroma Contributions
The flavor Steamed C3.5 presents as a subtle, almost honey-like sweetness that is softer than most drum-roasted light crystal malts.
This light honey-like sweetness makes Steamed C3.5 a wonderful addition to even the lightest of beer styles, such as a Pilsner or American Lager, to accentuate the other characteristics of the beer.
Color and Appearance Considerations
Steamed C3.5 malt measures between 2.9 to 4.1 Lovibond. The resulting color added to the beer is between 3.2 and 4.8, resulting in a light golden hue.
Because Steamed C3.5 is a non-diastatic specialty malt, used at a low percentage of the grist, it doesn’t have glaring effects on color and flavor. In a Pilsner, for instance, it may only be used as a single-digit percentage of the grist, imparting no significant change to the final color of the beer.
Even when used at 10 percent of the grain bill or higher in styles ranging from Pale Ales and IPAs, the immediate effect on color would be negligible, depending upon the color of the base malt used. In darker beers, ranging from ambers up to stouts, there is not enough color imparted by Steamed C3.5 to have influence over the final color or the beer.
“Products like Malteurop Steamed C3.5 allow us to dial in the colors and exact maltiness that we want in our beer.”
– Roger Huff, Gallant Fox Brewing
Primary Usage for Steamed C3.5
As a specialty malt, Steamed C3.5 is primarily used to add a lightly sweet accent to enhance the other flavors of the beer without having much influence on the color.
In a beer such as a Pilsner, Pale Ale, or IPA, a small amount of Steamed C3.5 can add a subtle sweetness to the flavor that accents the other malts and amplifies the character that hops impart. Again, this is achieved without much change to the overall color of the beer.
In darker beers, from ambers to porters and stouts, Steamed C3.5 can add more depth of character to those beers’ malty complexity without affecting the color.
What brewers are saying about MMC Steamed C3.5
Steamed C3.5 was created to add another tool to a brewer’s toolbox in order to add character and depth to a beer. It also enhances head retention and body, making Steamed C3.5 a good alternative to MMC Dextrin malt when a touch of color and flavor is desired.
Brewers have embraced the unique characteristics of Steamed C3.5, using it to enhance an array of styles.
“We use Steamed C3.5 in our flagship West Coast IPA, Vandyland, as well as our flagship American Red Ale, Redshift,” said Paul Mahoney, partner and head brewer at Launch Pad Brewery in Aurora, Colorado. “We do use quite a bit of it in a good amount of our seasonal and one-off offerings, as well.
“I really enjoy the light touch of honey-like sweetness and nice bready character it imparts. It works as a great depth builder and is a good substitute for Dextrin malt, when you want to build a little more on the flavor profile.”
Roger Huff is the Founder and President of Gallant Fox Brewing with locations in Louisville and Mt. Washington, Kentucky. Gallant Fox is another longtime Malteurop customer that has been using Steamed C3.5 to great effect for several years.
“Steamed C3.5 allows us to get that maltier caramel flavor without increasing the color of the beer much,” said Roger.
“And at the base, every brewer brews beer for themselves, and I like malt forward beers. Products like Malteurop Steamed C3.5 allow us to dial in the colors and exact maltiness that we want in our beer.”
It’s malts like Steamed C3.5 and the relationship that Gallant Fox has with Craft Sales Manager Rick Barney and the Malteurop Customer Service Team that leaves Roger declaring “Gallant Fox is a Malteurop Malting Company brewery.”
Steamed C3.5 Typical Analysis
Premium grains from field to flavor.
About Malteurop Malting Company (MMC)
Malteurop Malting Company (MMC) is based in North America—specializing in growing and producing quality malts for the beer, whiskey, and food processing industries. With local farms and Malthouses spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Malteurop’s commitment to excellence is fully ingrained into every batch it produces, ensuring businesses of any size can create the finest beverages and food products on the planet.
Visit www.malteuropmaltingco.com to learn how we can support your malting needs.
Contact us at customersuccess@malteurop.com or (844) 546-MALT (6258) for questions or to place your order.
Malting is our passion. Quality is our promise.