Just finished reading Brewing Classic Styles, and the authors emphasize the use of Belgian or German Pilsener malts in their recipes. Apparently, they aren’t big fans of domestic Pilsener malt. Any opinions? Is domestic Pilsener that bad, and is the European stuff worth the extra money? Thanks.
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I’ve had great results with Rahr and Cargill domestic pilsner malts, however I do tend to Americanize my recipes a hair.
Now, I’m not a taste snob, or some what of that character, I did use Best pilsn malt from Germany for my Duvel… And I used American Pilsner malt too… I wasn’t be able to tell a difference… And I didn’t have them over lap for comparison… I’ll believe some peeps palates my be more sensitive… I wrecked mine quaffing many IPA’s… Sneezles61
I use avangard best pilz malts in all my european lagers. Is it better than american malt? No clue. Haven’t compared. I just like using european ingredients in my european beers. If you offer me a pils made with american 6 row I’ll drink it.
One of my brewing mentors was a stickler for style so I started using Avangard with my first lager. The Avangard pils had that grainy pils taste I like in my light lagers so I’ve continued using it.Same with the darker kilned malts like vienna and munich. I get great malty bready flavors from them so I’ve never felt the need to experiment.
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Me do use european malts at the brewery. But at home. Usa type of malts. Can not tell a big difference.
One thing to keep in mind is that Brewing Classic Styles was published in 2007. Grains and hops will always have some seasonal variation. Malting processes may have improved over the last decade.
Brew it twice (once with American grains and once with European grains)? 
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There is a lot of difference in taste of where your pilsner malt comes from. There is many factors that play a part in this. Malting process soil it’s was grown. Take for instance these three malts
Weyermann Pilsner - 2 Row Spring Barley from Germany
Extract 80.5%, Colour 1.5-2.2 L, Protein 9.5-11.5%,
Produced from quality two-row spring barley. Perfect foundation grist for all lagers. Excellent modification and favorable protein and glucan levels. Excellent lautering properties. Provides finished beer with substantial body and mouthfeel, as well as good foam development and head retention. Very flexible grain with high extract efficiency for reliable lager-making in any brew house, including pub ale systems. Yields optimum results for any process from single-step to multistep infusion, to decoction. Flavor: malty-sweet and gentle notes of honey
Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner - Two Row Spring Barley from Czech Republic
Extract 80%, Colour = 1.7-2.4 L, Protein 9.5-11.5%,
Produced from quality czech-grown spring barley (authentic Bohemian barley varieties Bojos and Tolar). Processed specifically for “Bohemian” characteristics to impart a full body, golden-blond color, and complex maltiness to the finished brew. Flavor: intense malt aromas, malty-sweet
Weyermann Floor Malted Bohemian Pilsner - Two Row Spring Barley from Czech Republic
Extract 79%, Colour 1.6-2.3 L, Protein 10-11.5%
Produced from quality czech-grown two-row spring barley (authentic Bohemian barley varieties Bojos and Tolar). Made in an orginal floor malting facility. Produces authentic traditional Bohemian style malt flavors and aromas. Traditional, authentic floor malt produced in Czech. Republic according to highest Weyermann® quality standards. Flavor: intense malt earthy aroma, strong biscuit
Now American malts
1.2° L Briess Malting - Briess Pilsen is their lightest colored base malt available. It will produce a very light colored, clean and crisp sweet wort with a delicate malty sweer flavor. Excellent choice as a 2-row base malt for all beer styles, particularly lagers. Great for malt focused beers, as it’s clean character allows for the full flavor of specialty malts to shine through.
Rahr pilsner malt
Color °L1.5 - 2.0Protein Total11.0 ± 0.5Moisture % Max4.0Extract FG Min80.0Usage RateUp to 100%
Rahr Premium Pilsner is an American, lager-style base malt made from 2-row Harrington barley. Its light color, neutral flavor, sweet aroma neutral malt flavor and low protein content make Premium Pilsner an excellent choice for brewing clear, clean-tasting lagers.
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So these are descriptions… Hard to base which one to use… Especially as you would brew using one brand, then, drink it… taking notes. Then brew another taking notes… I’m not dissing, just a point… there is going to be some embellishment from the makers/maltsters as to why theirs is best… Wouldn’t it be good if you could have the same final product made from all the different malts to do a side by side comparison? Then you could truly decide which you would choose. Sneezles61
Yes but i have used all these malts and the description by the maltsers are very accurate. You can taste a difference in American pilsner malt compared to European pilsner malt. American pilsner malt tends to be sweet not as malty as European malts. European pilsner malt tends to be biscuit grainy bread flavors malty and earthy. There is many reason for the difference like the malting process soil its grown in
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Differences in pils malts is going to be subjective and the applicability of any quality malt could vary for the beer being brewed. Tasting a pils malt at the brew shop and assessing if it would be better than the other pils is something that benefits the visitor to the LHBS. But there are several factors that influence that perception and staling is an important factor.
I attended a Weyermann seminar at last week’s Homebrew Con and received 10lb of their Barke Pils. I’ll be brewing a Dortmunder this weekend to help assess if that premium malt is worth it. I’ll also compare the chewing taste test between that malt and the Best Pils malt that I have in bulk.
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I would be curious then as to what you find… I just can’t buy into a description… All kinds of suppliers toot their horns too much… I would rather be able to taste side by side… Sneezles61
Thank you for the descriptions. I like full bodied malty beers, so I decided I’m going to start with the Bohemian Pilsner and compare subsequent malts to that. I might as well at least start with a description of something I like than start randomly even if some of the replies indicate the descriptions may be embellished. Thanks again.
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Curious if you went through with comparisons of the Pilsen malts? I’ve pretty much used avangard since my first lager. Thinking of springing for a sack of weyermann floor malted bohemian pils malt and wondering if you tried it?
