1 Bulk Malt for Pilsner/APA/IPA

[moreb33rplz]

I brew 2.5 gal batches and am going to get a mill and a 50-55 lb sack of grain. Can't settle on if I should get a bag of american 2-row or pils.

Does pils make a better IPA/APA or does 2-row make a better pils?

Would be either Briess 2-row, Briess Pilsen, or Castle Pilsen (all local to me for about $40).

 

[Dustin_J]

Pils makes a better APA/IPA than 2-row makes Pils in my opinion. Of those options, I'd probably go with Castle Pils.

 

[kh54s10]

If that is all you are going to make, either should be good. If you are going to make a true Pilsner you will want the Pilsen. If you are going to make other ales I would go with the 2-row.

 

[tennesseean_87]

Pilsner malt.

Usually American ales are focused on the specialty malts, so the base malt is not as important. American 2row is sort of bland, but makes a good base for stacking caramel malts, roasted malts, character malts, and/or darker base malts (Munich, Vienna) on top.

A pilsner is usually all pilsner malt, so you need it to be high quality to really make a beer with the best flavor. All the flavor nuances of the base malt really shine because there aren't other malts covering them up.

If you start brewing more, you can buy both (or split with a local friend). 2Row is cheaper, so using expensive German pilsner malt (which you need for the best pilsner beer) is sort of wasted on an American Ale if you've got specialty malts covering it up. But if you're only buying one, you're probably still saving money by buying in bulk.

 

[ba-brewer]

If I were only doing 2.5gal batches I would still get a mill but I think I might not buy grain by the sack unless I was brewing once a week or so. That way you don't need to compromise on a recipe and have to deal with storage.

Some place offer price breaks at 10lbs maybe buy 10lbs of a 2row pale ale and 10lb of pils, that way you have grain on hand for a couple batches. 20lb of grains fits nicely in a 7gal brew bucket with a gama lid.

As a compromise I think golden promise might make a good a pilsner.

One good thing about the European pilsners malts is they seem to give me a few extra points of effeciency.

 

[moreb33rplz]

Pilsner malt.

Usually American ales are focused on the specialty malts, so the base malt is not as important. American 2row is sort of bland, but makes a good base for stacking caramel malts, roasted malts, character malts, and/or darker base malts (Munich, Vienna) on top.

A pilsner is usually all pilsner malt, so you need it to be high quality to really make a beer with the best flavor. All the flavor nuances of the base malt really shine because there aren't other malts covering them up.

If you start brewing more, you can buy both (or split with a local friend). 2Row is cheaper, so using expensive German pilsner malt (which you need for the best pilsner beer) is sort of wasted on an American Ale if you've got specialty malts covering it up. But if you're only buying one, you're probably still saving money by buying in bulk.

ANy opinions on belgian vs german malt? I've always used Weyermann for my pilsners to date (which has been great), but I can get a sack of Castle Pils for $40, while Weyermann is about $60 local.

 

[moreb33rplz]

If I were only doing 2.5gal batches I would still get a mill but I think I might not buy grain by the sack unless I was brewing once a week or so. That way you don't need to compromise on a recipe and have to deal with storage.

Some place offer price breaks at 10lbs maybe buy 10lbs of a 2row pale ale and 10lb of pils, that way you have grain on hand for a couple batches. 20lb of grains fits nicely in a 7gal brew bucket with a gama lid.

As a compromise I think golden promise might make a good a pilsner.

One good thing about the European pilsners malts is they seem to give me a few extra points of effeciency.

Hey there fellow sf bay brewer!

I think a 55 lb sack will last me 10 brews or so, or about 4-6 months which seems reasonable. Mostly I'm just sick of going to the LHBS whenever I want to brew, and I'm planning on brewing forever so I think a mill is a worthwhile investment.

 

[tennesseean_87]

ANy opinions on belgian vs german malt? I've always used Weyermann for my pilsners to date (which has been great), but I can get a sack of Castle Pils for $40, while Weyermann is about $60 local.

I haven't used Castle, which is Belgian. A German malt will be most authentic for a pils, but at that price difference I might be doing a forum search for opinions on the Castle stuff, especially if I were thinking of brewing any Belgian ales, too. Maybe it's worth it to you to fudge on the authenticity of the pils (just one brew) if it'll work in your IPAs and Belgians.

 

[ba-brewer]

Hey there fellow sf bay brewer!

I think a 55 lb sack will last me 10 brews or so, or about 4-6 months which seems reasonable. Mostly I'm just sick of going to the LHBS whenever I want to brew, and I'm planning on brewing forever so I think a mill is a worthwhile investment.

I must admit I used the cost saving from buying bags of grains to justify buying a mill. I think the mill is free and clear now. I go through a bag of grain a bit faster than you would, but combine that with buying hops online I don't get to the LHBS much. I live close enough to several LHBSs but with traffic around here I need to pick my trips carefully.

I bought the $40 dollar of bag of castle pilsner malt once, it is better than briess or great western which are very clean tasting but it is not as good as weyerman or dingeman pilsner malt. I think it might also be one of those malts I get a raw graininess instead of bready/cracker flavor.

 

[sicktght311]

For what its worth, i've been buying Viking 2 row for a couple months now and i've been very happy with it. I use it as my grain base for all my IPAs and Pales and i get a nice clean pleasant flavor. I dont see any major color issues, but i have seen a 3-4% efficiency hit from it. Whether i can overcome that with a longer mash or finer crush.....i'm still experimenting with that. But keeping all of my methods exactly the same, i see a consistent 3-4% reduction in efficiency which to me is worth the much cheaper price

 

[Stand]

I vote for Pilsner base malt for everything.

 

[Carolina_Matt]

Do people still recommend a 90 minute boil with Pilsner, or is that an old-school belief like transferring to a secondary? If it's still recommended, then I would only use Pilsner as needed so that I don't add 30 minutes to each brew day.

 

[Robert65]

There's no reason for a 90 minute boil with Pilsner malt. Long and vigorous boils just damage wort, leading to dull malt flavors, reduced body and foam, and accelerated staling. If you can still find a Pilsner malt that contains significant SMM, a 30 minute gentle simmer, covered, will convert it to DMS, which can be expelled by a brief, partially uncovered simmer. You just need good circulation, not an excessively rolling boil. Plan boil length by hop schedule, not malt type.

 

[Stand]

Do people still recommend a 90 minute boil with Pilsner, or is that an old-school belief like transferring to a secondary? If it's still recommended, then I would only use Pilsner as needed so that I don't add 30 minutes to each brew day.

I have not done a 90 minute boil in years. Never noticed a significant impact. 60 min is max boil I ever do.