[quote=“roffenburger”]
I usually only buy bulk grain there. I live in wichita and was in the area for a wedding. I didn’t know prices went up. Shipping a bag from NB runs about $51. I might just do that in the future or get it from local breweries[/quote]
Hmmm. I just checked the price. I must have gotten in on a shipping special special last time. Now it comes up to $53 to KC. Funny that it’s less expensive to ship further away to Wichita.
[quote=“Cheshire_Cat”]Looks like a lot of votes for Rahr 2-row. I primarily use GW 2-row for American beers and MO for English Styles.
I am coming to the end of my last sack of GW 2-row… Comparatively, how is Rahr different in terms of tastes, etc?[/quote]
I use GW 2-row, haven’t tried Rahr. I remember Denny saying he prefers it slightly over GW.
I like Rahr 2-row for most beers. Lagers, I’ve been using Rahr Pilsner malt, but I want to move to Best Malz or Weyermann, even though it’s pricier. I have some Rahr white wheat malt, also. I don’t typically like Briess malts. I have some Bonlander Munich from Briess right now, haven’t used it as a base malt, but usually use 5-10% in beers. Brewed an Alt last week with 80 or 90% of it, so we’ll see how that turns out…
I’ll be interested in hearing a review of the Bonlander. My LHBS guy sells Briess.
I’ll let you know what I think. It’s 10L, not sure how it’d fare with a single infusion, guess I can try and see how it goes. I did a hochkurz decoction on this last one, which I’m not sure is worth the effort. No matter how hard I try, how much decoction I pull, I ALWAYS miss my next rest temp. It pisses me off!
Thats dark stuff then, like my Weyermann dark Munich.
I have a hard time making myself do decoctions, and I always miss temps too. Maybe its my small batches, it always seems like handling causes a temp drop.
[quote=“tom sawyer”]Thats dark stuff then, like my Weyermann dark Munich.
I have a hard time making myself do decoctions, and I always miss temps too. Maybe its my small batches, it always seems like handling causes a temp drop.[/quote]
Yes it does…5 degree drop at least, then the decoction pulled isn’t enough to raise it up to the next rest temp. Ugh. I’m through with it! Mine are 4 gallon batches with no more than 7 or 8 pounds for the grain bill. I have done one step mash (hochkurz) and that was easier, so I may just stick with that in the future.
I’m drinking an IPA that I made with CM 2-row. Very tasty. I think this 2-row is just as good as Rahr and GW.
I had one bag from Colorado malting company (colorado two row)a while back and it was great!
My LHBS only carries Briess 2 row and 6 row, so I’m pretty much stuck with that. I’ve been thinking about ordering some Rahr or Weyerman though. I try to get some of the good stuff whenever I make it down to Ft. Collins.
Enjoy using Weyerman for most of my base malts. Their pale ale malt is good stuff. Really like the bohemian pils malt for all my lagers.
One malt I never tried. What German beer style would this be used in?
I neglected to mention Vienna - not a primary, but I regularly add a pound plus to the grain bill. With alts, I like to do about 1/3 Vienna (2/3 Munich), and in others I like to add 1-3 pounds, as I also like the color/flavor tweak it adds.
I suppose if I brewed pilsners, I would gravitate to 2-rows, but I’m not a fan of either pilsenrs, or lagers, for some reason. Just my taste.
If I’m looking to slightly change the character from the base malt(s) in a recipe, I like adding a little bit (maybe 5%) of Vienna malt to the grist, especially in lagers.
Chris Colby
Editor
weyermann munich ii
I had some floor malted Weyermann that was great BoPils malt, but my favorite was Best Malz - just can’t seem to source it near me. So my LHBS has Dingemans pilsner and I use that as my house pilsner malt. I use Vittles Vaults for storage, so I always have a sack of 2-row, a sack of MO, and a sack of pilsner to choose from. MO for English styles, for sure. My 4th VV is for storing bags of specialty grains and Munich and Vienna (I buy 5 lbs or so at a crack for those).
I’d like to get a few of those. They’re a bit spendy though, but would be a good investment. You have the stackable ones? I’d like to get a couple of the 60lbs stackable ones…
I’m about to buy a sack of Best Malz Pilsner…brewing more and more lagers all the time these days.
Been using Rahr for years mainly for PA’s. UK Warminster MO. Use Dingemans Pils and heard Best was better but had a hard time sortin’ out the flavor difference myself, probably old taste buds, Oh well.
Lonny, the Briess Bonlander is decent stuff. The description of it on Northern Brewer is pretty accurate - bready, malty. I’d say it’s quite bready, even toasty or slightly biscuity. I have it in a dunkel now, it’s pretty good.
Thanks, now to see if the guy can get some of this.
