The charge of green malt is fed into a rotating metal roasting cylinder which is heated so that the temperature of the green malt is about 55-65°C. At this temperature each individual grain is “mashed”, i.e. amylolysis and proteolysis takes place within each individual grain, yielding a complex mixture of simple and polymeric sugars and amino acids and peptides. Water is then removed from the grain and the product temperature raised to 120°-160°C. At this temperature the classic reactions of the non-enzymic browning process take place to form firstly glycosylamines and then ketosamines and eventually furan and pyran type heterocyclic oxygen compounds. By varying the time and temperature of the various stages a different colour range is produced.
Caramalts are used to give colour and flavour to pale Lager beers but should be used with care to avoid making the beer too dark or giving it too cloying a flavour. They also change the oxidation – reduction state of a beer, and can therefore improve the stability of a beer by preventing the formation of oxidised (cardboard) flavours.
| Parameter | IOB | EBC | ASBC |
| Light Colour Range | 10 – 30 | 15- 35 | 13 – 17 |
