So my local brew store carries only Bries grain and I want to order a bag of something different for a base malt. I brew all different types of beers, so anything goes. What would people suggest?
what do you typically use? two row?
I do like using pale ale malt for a bit more of a bready/biscuity malt character. Same (but more intense) with Marris Otter.
I have currently Bries 2 row, pilsner, and MO. I was thinking of getting a german or belgian base malt. I just wanted to get something that has a better flavor profile than Bries.
Rahr has a really tasty 2-row. Its domestic malt. Otherwise I’d look for Weyermann, they have an excellent light Munich that gives that nice bready flavor. Then you can get a British Maris Otter or Scottish Golden Promise, both have a great distinctive cracker/biscuit/grahamcracker flavor.
I’m not a big fan of Briess 2-row, I like Rahr 2-row a lot better http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/rahr-2-row.html and have used a lot of Canada Malting Pale Malt http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/cana … -malt.html that I liked in the beers I’ve used it in.
Also a big fan of the floor malted pilsner and maris otter, been very happy with the beers I’ve done with those. Porter, bitter, mild and pale ales with the MO; pilsners and helles with the pils malt. The malts certainly cost a bit more but in my opinion it is worth it.
I see a lot of people don’t prefer the Briess 2-Row. It’s all my LHBS carries. I can’t see it being cost effective to order crushed grain through the mail for each new beer I brew. I eventually want to invest in a crusher and buy bulk but that’s not in the budget right now. Is Briess 2-row really that inferior that I should consider mail ordering crushed grains (Rahr or others) at an added cost or am I fine sticking with Briess 2-row till I invest in a crusher and start buying bulk?
NB has a great price on the rahr 2 row 50lb bag if you’re getting a mill. I prefer it over briess too.
I also like MO and for my ESB I love Simpson’s Golden Promise. It’s a Scottish grown version of MO. I find it has more bisuit flavor and fuller smoother mouth feel. It’s sometimes hard to get because it’s also the chosen malt of some single malt scotch distillers like Macallen.
So I guess another question is…Would I be able to tell a big difference between a Belgium base malt or a German if they were essentially the same roast?
Just read this yesterday and thought it would be a little appropriate here.
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/entries/Eng ... rison.htmlI tend to like Pale Ale malt over basic 2-row. I recently used Maris Otter for a string of beers and although I do like it, I plan to use it strictly with English beers or beers where I really want the malt to come through (stouts, english ales, maybe some Belgians). For American APAs, IPAs, etc I like to use Pale Ale. A little more flavor than 2-row, but not as much as MO. My recent IPAs and APAs with MO have been a little maltier than I like.
Dobe I agree with you about MO having a little too much character for an APA or American IPA. I like Rahr 2-row for these, I tried their pale ale malt and didn’t like it very much. It kind of had a candy caramel flavor to it.
Belgian vs German, maybe a little difference. I think there are subtle differences between any malt and maltster combination. And they’ are mostly all good.
As for the question of whether its worth it to pay a lot more just to avoid Briess, I’d just say its a personal decision. I pay more for imported malts even though I could brew with domestic. I do think they have good flavor, and the difference between $45 and $65 doesn’t break the bank. I don’t think Briess is bad in the sense that it has a bad flavor, I just find it has less character than a lot of other malts. You can make up for this with Victory, Biscuit or whatnot.
Thanks. That article was a good read.
A year or so ago, my brew club made tea from numerous different base malts to taste. I’d suggest you/anyone who is interested to do the same if possible. You don’t need to brew a beer, just steep some base malt in 150F water for a bid. Let it cool. Then taste. Having nothing but that specific malt to taste really shows off the differences between different base malts.
For something a little different and VERY tasty… I love to use Vienna malt. You can use it in just about any non-yellow style, or in smaller proportions in a light pilsner color beer. Vienna malt tastes like bread and toast. Yum.
I keep a bag of Rahr 2- row as base malt. Good clean flavor for light color beers. If I want English style just add .5 to .6 lbs of Victory or Biscuit malt and it tastes similar to MO. Golden Promise is good too, just a little more malty or sweet than Rahr 2- row, to me anyway. Vienna is another good suggestion it’s like a mild Munich but a little drier tasting.
What kind of beer matters most to me. If you’re gonna “Blow Up A Bank” with hops, G.W., Briess or Rahr is maybe a better choice, Rahr being my fav, but my Lagers need a great Pils or as Dave suggested Vienna. My malt forward beers, Brits,etc; call for a good M.O. or Golden Promise like Danny said. I’ll have 3 sacks layin’ around most of the time.
I like Golden Promise in british styles and mixed 50/50 with 2-row in my american ales.
There’s a malt available on our host site that’s relatively new, as far as I know. It’s a German kolsch malt from Schill maltsters. I used it once about 3 months ago to make a pale ale, and it turned out to be the best pale ale I’ve ever made. I haven’t heard anyone else around here talk about that malt yet, but I can tell you from personal experience that it can definitely make a great base malt for beers other than those in the kolsch style. Other than that, I can also recommend pilsner malt, especially Belgian pilsner malt, and another one from Briess ( you sounded like you weren’t too interested in their stuff, but this one is pretty good) called Goldpils malt. It’s a Vienna malt that’s also pretty versatile and gives good flavor. And there’s also Golden Promise Scottish pale malt, but that one’s pretty pricey. There are plenty of good base malts on the market to experiment with. Don’t forget about wheat malt, too. If you want brand recommendations, I can recommend anything from Weyermann or Crisp. They’re always reliable. In general, you get what you pay for with malt. Don’t be afraid to spend a couple of bucks a pound for good base malt. It’s usually worth it. Very often, it’s the caramel malts and other types of specialty malts that can be a little questionable as far as bang for the buck, in my opinion.
This sounds very much like what I am looking for . How much would you add to a Pale Ale recipe for a toasty,bread type aftertone, also is there a yeast type you would recommend for this flavor/style of beer?
This sounds very much like what I am looking for . How much would you add to a Pale Ale recipe for a toasty,bread type aftertone, also is there a yeast type you would recommend for this flavor/style of beer?[/quote]
10-20% Vienna malt in a pale ale will add something special.
US-05 is a great yeast for pale ale, but I might also suggest trying Wyeast 2565 Kolsch yeast. It requires 5-6 weeks to finish fermentation and to settle out and you will likely need to add gelatin at the end to get it more clear, but it makes just wonderful tasting pale ales.
Add copious amounts of weyermann munich II to basic 2-row.
