Crystal 80
Riverbend Crystal 80 is the darkest malt in their portfolio, a 2-row crystal malt crystallized to 70 to 90 SRM. They added it as a deliberate step past Crystal 50, for beers that need dried-fruit depth rather than more caramel.
The flavor runs dark cherry and baker's chocolate over coffee cake, with a distinct oak note on the finish. It brings deep ruby-to-brown color at low inclusion, which is why the recommended ceiling is tighter than the rest of the crystal range.
Using Crystal 80
- Riverbend publishes 5 to 10% of the grist, their tightest crystal recommendation. Worth respecting, because this malt is assertive.
- At 3 to 5% it adds dark fruit complexity and deep color to an English mild or brown ale.
- At 8 to 10% the dried-fruit character becomes a defining feature, which is what you want in barleywine and old ale.
- No enzymes, so it needs a base malt.
Styles: English mild, barleywine, old ale, brown ale, dark amber and red ales
Specifications
| Grain | 2-row barley, crystallized |
|---|---|
| Color | 70 to 90 SRM |
| Max usage rate | 5 to 10% of grist |
| Extract (FG, dry basis) | Over 76% |
| Protein | 10.6% |
| Diastatic power | None, requires a base malt |
| Bag size | 50 lb |
About Riverbend Malt House
Brent Manning and Brian Simpson founded Riverbend in Asheville in 2010, the first craft malt house east of the Mississippi. It is now the first Certified Regenified malt house in the world. Grain comes from family-owned farms inside roughly a 500-mile radius of Asheville, across North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and Florida. They still hand-rake grain on a traditional malting floor alongside modern germination-kiln vessels, and in 2025 they supplied more than 300 breweries and distilleries.