Roll Out the Red Carpet with Gambrinus Mars Malt
Greetings Brewers! Today is a red-letter day, as we have the distinct honour to introduce Gambrinus Mars Malt, a North American red malt developed for crafting rich, flavourful beers with red colour.
Crafted in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, Mars is ready to complement complex grain bills in a range of red recipes. Mars is also a suitable base malt and can be used at up to 100% of your grist. Heck, it may even help you develop a passable Canadian accent.
Whether you’re brewing an Irish Red, a toasty Märzen, a big Barley Wine, or a brilliant Amber, Mars delivers mild malt sweetness and extraterrestrial versatility. To put it simply, it’s your best bet for brewing red beers.
Here to tell us more about the development of Mars Malt are Joel Menk, RahrBSG Product Category Manager for Malt, and Ken Smith, Gambrinus Malting Director of Operations. Take it away, fellas!
RahrBSG: How did Gambrinus Mars come about?
Joel Menk: Gambrinus is well versed in making flavourful base and specialty malts. We felt a Red Ale Malt would be right at home amongst their other product offerings, and deliver a solution for breweries making red-hued beers. We worked with a cross-functional team of maltsters, lab technicians, and tasting panels throughout the development process.
RahrBSG: What was it like working with the team in Spallumcheen, BC?
Joel Menk: Aside from [conducting] the usual robust sensory and lab analytics, we paid special attention specifically to the hue this malt produces. This is a significant step beyond the usual light-to-dark scale we talk about with malt via Lovibond, SRM, or EBC. We utilized a tristimulus method to measure the “redness” and ensure that we hit our goals.
Big shout-outs to Theresa Kukar, Alicia Hudson, and the entire Rahr Malting Co. lab team that helped run extensive analytics and tastings in the development of Mars Malt.
I’d also like to call out Darrel Spellman for filling and sealing each bag of Gambrinus malt with care, and the entire logistics team for bringing this exciting new malt to your local RahrBSG warehouse.
RahrBSG: Sounds like you’ve got a whole team of all-stars, Ken.
Ken Smith: This was made possible, really, using the wealth of Rahr resources and their deep industry knowledge. We all worked together to create a new North American malt for red beers so we could provide a strong, more economical, option to breweries in the US and Canada. R&D for the win!
RahrBSG: Is there anything else you’d like brewers to know about Gambrinus Mars Malt?
Joel Menk: We couldn’t be happier with the final product, which has amazing flavor and a brilliant red hue. Gambrinus is a super innovative malthouse with an incredibly friendly and passionate team. Give Mars a try and feel the love!
RahrBSG: Thanks for joining us, Joel and Ken!
Brewers, you know what to do. Pick up the red malt phone and call your rep for Gambrinus Mars.
