Rahr 2-row vs rahr pale ale malt

muddywater_grant · November 28, 2011, 6:14pm

I having been milling my own grains here for about a month, and now I am about to be out of 2-row. I brew mostly american styles. Ambers, APA, IPA, Brown Ales, Red Ales. And have used the 2-row exclusively.

Should I just stick with it, or will I get a better base flavor from the higher kilned rahr pale malt?

What are the pros/cons of the two?

tom_sawyer · November 28, 2011, 7:41pm

I asked this question awhile back and ended up buying both the 2-row and the pale ale malt. Someone told me the pale ale malt lent a slightly candy sweet flavor that they didn’t enjoy, and sure enough I made a British Bitter and it had a sweetness to it. Whats more it really lacked any character reminiscent of Maris Otter. I actually forgot to write the recipe down on this one so I can’t say for sure if the sweetness only came from the pale malt, it might have had too much crystal in it. But its lack of a distinctive cracker/biscuit character makes it not a good sub for a British malt. The Rahr 2-row has a very nice aroma and flavor. Based on this limited experience, I think it would be safer to stick to the 2-row. On the other hand if you want a little more sweetness in your preferred styles, and in the ones you mentioned that sweetness would be mostly complementary, then you could get the pale ale malt. Obviously I didn’t listen to the advice, and I’m not sorry for having tried the products but I won’t be using the pale malt for my British Bitters any more.

muddywater_grant · November 28, 2011, 7:46pm

Thank you sir. Think I will stick to the 2-row. And if I want a morris otter flavor, I will just get some morris otter.

Thanks again.

ken_lenard · November 28, 2011, 10:07pm

Rahr has been my “2-row of choice” lately and I just used it today in an Amber Ale. This was a fresh, 15-lb bag of precrushed stuff I got from Rebel Brewer in TN and when I opened it, it really smelled nice. I have also thought of trying the Rahr Pale Ale malt but to be honest, if I want to make a bitter, EPA or ESB, I’d prefer to use an authentic British malt so I typically look for that. But I also make a lot of American styles like you (Ambers, APAs, Blondes, Reds, etc) and the Rahr 2-row is great for these styles. Cheers.