So I’m thinking of buying in some bulk for a recipe I like. The recipe calls for Rahr 2 row. My LHBS does not carry the Rahr but can get a slew of different Briess. My problem is he has 20L,40L, 80L, etc. What am I looking for to be comparable to the Rahr?
If you’re looking for a base malt, you should probably look for something in the neighborhood of 2-3l. If I remember, the Briess 2 row brewer’s malt is 1.8 lovibond. I would think your LHBS would have it in bulk sacks if they have the other malts you listed.
Thanks.
IMO, Briess is one of the worst malts you can get, flavor wise. I far prefer Rahr or Great Western.
If Briess is the only option, the descriptions for their products are on their website.
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Products/Default.htmI was thinking the same thing as I was typing my last post, but… well…
Thanks for saying what I couldn’t bring myself to, Denny. :cheers:
Those numbers sound more like specialty or caramel/crystal malts to me. Usually my LHBS will have a couple different brands of 2 row but only one Lovibond (L) in each. Breiss would not be my first choice and I would go with an English malt first depending on the beer style.
An 80L would be pretty dark for a base malt. You don’t normally want much color from your base malt. Color can be adjusted with the “specialty” grain.
[quote=“HD4Mark”]Those numbers sound more like specialty or caramel/crystal malts to me. Usually my LHBS will have a couple different brands of 2 row but only one Lovibond (L) in each. Breiss would not be my first choice and I would go with an English malt first depending on the beer style.
An 80L would be pretty dark for a base malt. You don’t normally want much color from your base malt. Color can be adjusted with the “specialty” grain.[/quote]
Yeah, you might want to double check if those are crystal malts.
Never used Rahr, but it’s highly recommended. GW is what I use because my LHBS carries it and it makes great beer.
Even if you have to travel a bit I would to get the Rahr 2 row’ it is the best all around base malt I have used.
2-row brewers malt is the corresponding briess malt to rahr 2-row.
Denny, can you go a bit deeper with this discussion. What makes Briess 2 row a bad malt in general? Is Briess a low quality malt house? Should Briess be avoided for other malts as well? I never gave much thought to the brand of malt that I get. I always thought grain is grain. What is it about Briess that makes it sub par?
Poor flavor. I don’t know if it’s the barley or the process, but I have never found Briess malt to have much flavor to it. They’ve stopped using 6 row AFAIK, so that’s a plus. But in comparisons, I find Great western and Rahr to have much more malt flavor. In addition, Rahr is slightly more acid than other malts, so you can get the correct mash pH with less hassle. I guarantee you that malt is NOT malt! I do use Briess organic C60 and quite like it. But I just don’t care for their pale or Munich malts that I’ve tried.
You have no idea how many times I’ve written a reply, only to delete it at the last moment. :twisted:
Briess 2-row kind of tastes gr… gr…
Ahem. It tastes really gr… Great!
Whew! :mrgreen:
Just went to my LHBS for supplies Tuesday. They had Rahr for the first time! So my choices were Rahr, Crisp or Breiss for a Scotch ale. So I told the kid that works there “how about I try Rahr?”. So he grabs a sack and puts it by the door. On the way out he asks if I want him to carry it out. I tell him no thanks I’ll come back in (Jeep is parked about 4’ from the door) out right behind me he comes with the sack anyway and plops it in the back. Cool thanks.
Get home, open back door and pull out a sack of Crisp. A least it wasn’t Breiss but I might have noticed the paper sack. I’m sure the Crisp will work fine so I’m keeping it.
[quote=“HD4Mark”]Just went to my LHBS for supplies Tuesday. They had Rahr for the first time! So my choices were Rahr, Crisp or Breiss for a Scotch ale. So I told the kid that works there “how about I try Rahr?”. So he grabs a sack and puts it by the door. On the way out he asks if I want him to carry it out. I tell him no thanks I’ll come back in (Jeep is parked about 4’ from the door) out right behind me he comes with the sack anyway and plops it in the back. Cool thanks.
Get home, open back door and pull out a sack of Crisp. A least it wasn’t Breiss but I might have noticed the paper sack. I’m sure the Crisp will work fine so I’m keeping it.[/quote]
I love Crisp malts, I’m sure that will be great in a Scotch ale.
And back on thread, I am also not a fan of Briess. Their caramel malts don’t seem to have any flavor so I’ve never used their 2-row as a base malt.
[quote=“HD4Mark”]Just went to my LHBS for supplies Tuesday. They had Rahr for the first time! So my choices were Rahr, Crisp or Breiss for a Scotch ale. So I told the kid that works there “how about I try Rahr?”. So he grabs a sack and puts it by the door. On the way out he asks if I want him to carry it out. I tell him no thanks I’ll come back in (Jeep is parked about 4’ from the door) out right behind me he comes with the sack anyway and plops it in the back. Cool thanks.
Get home, open back door and pull out a sack of Crisp. A least it wasn’t Breiss but I might have noticed the paper sack. I’m sure the Crisp will work fine so I’m keeping it.[/quote]
Probably a $30-$40 difference too.
I’ve not tried briess, have made a lot with rahr, now i’ve been getting cargill. Last 4 sacks. my mash Ph has risen to 5.8… I also use best malt pilsner… i can’t recall what my Ph was and seem to think it was close to target so I didn’t need to mess with it… To me, base malt is like the blank canvas an artist uses…. Sneezles61
I don’t care what anyone says, the Rahr vs Briess debate stems from football. To me, the fact a recipe spec’d Rahr as a base malt is comical…
To each their own opinion. Taste is a very individual thing. Same with smell. My wife can’t stand goat cheese and says it tastes like an old billy goat smells; I just don’t taste that. Some think their pee doesn’t smell funny after eating asparagus; it’s genetic: you just don’t smell it. So does it smell on not? That depends on who is smelling it. Licorice is a flavor some love, some hate. I’ve read long arguments about hops that some think smell like cat pee and others simply love. I could go on. We are all right, and the only one who is wrong is the one who says “it’s like I say, period”. You have to try it and form your own opinion. Briess is a fine malt house and makes a fine product. But that product may be different things to different people. Let’s not trash Briess or anyone else please. Variety is so nice, and we are swimming with choices relative to when I started brewing in1972.
It is good that people can get small quantities from their LHBS and it is probably nice and fresh and they can then experiment and form their own opinions.
I love the smell of the various malts, and have recently been using both Briess and Rahr. I smell a slight difference in the dry malt, not so sure I taste a big difference, and I personally find both delightful variations. I spent some years working in labs and I think it is good that people say what they actually used; but while many would agree that it doesn’t make a difference, there will be some who truly do sense a difference. If the creator of the recipe who specified one brand actually felt that the other brands were foul tasting, what is the chance that another random individual who sets out to make that brew will have the same perception? I’d bet on it being pretty slim. Experiment, go with what you like or trust, and relax!
Cheers!
