Recommendation for Base Malt

[Calder]

I usually have some Pale and Pilsner malts as my main stays for most beers. I also have Munich. Vienna, and Ashbourne for more malty brews.

My Pale Malt is running low (probably go 3 more brews), and needing to get more.

I'll probably get the cheapest bag of Pale out there (Briess or Rahr probably) as a base for most beers. I'm also thinking of getting a second sack of malt which would lend a distinct flavor to beers that don't have much additional flavoring grains. But I don't know what to get.

What are your favorite base malts for malt forward beers, or just as a background in a beer. A malt to be prominent in the overall flavor of the beer.

The obvious example is an English beer with a touch of light crystal. I'll usually add some biscuit or victory to enhance the pale malt, but is that necessary?

 

[rodwha]

One of these days, hopefully sooner rather than later, I intend on doing a base malt small batch test as I’d like to see exactly what they are lending.

With the grains you’ve mentioned I wonder if you’ve tried 6-row and if so how you feel it fits in.

 

[Kent88]

I suppose the base malts that I use most frequently are munich (dunkles, bocks), pils (saison, beligian strongs), and MCI Stout malt (milk & oatmeal stouts).

I rather like my Munich & Hallertau SMaSH lagers. I'd really like to try a SMaSH with MCI Stout malt, just to see what it is like. Maybe some nugget hops in there. I suppose I'd basically just make my usual oatmeal cream stout without all the oats and specialty malts. That might end up being a worthwhile experiment.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

The obvious example is an English beer with a touch of light crystal. I'll usually add some biscuit or victory to enhance the pale malt, but is that necessary?

Most British brewers would never use biscuit or victory, they use British pale malts which are more kilned than US malts so have more flavour, and some will use premium varieties like Maris Otter, Golden Promise etc which have more flavour still. So if you're brewing British styles, it makes sense to use British malts - the biscuit/victory addition is a US hack to try and make US 2-row taste as good as British malts.

 

[Steveruch]

Most British brewers would never use biscuit or victory, they use British pale malts which are more kilned than US malts so have more flavour, and some will use premium varieties like Maris Otter, Golden Promise etc which have more flavour still. So if you're brewing British styles, it makes sense to use British malts - the biscuit/victory addition is a US hack to try and make US 2-row taste as good as British malts.

I use Maris Otter in my bitter and was never quite satisfied with the beer until I added a portion of victory malt.

 

[bracconiere]

the biscuit/victory addition is a US hack to try and make US 2-row taste as good as British malts.

better watch your mouth!

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/buying-...-uks-second-biggest-beer-brand/568461.article

 

[Home_alone1]

Ive been using great western pure Idaho Pilsner malt lately . I like it !

 

[Northern_Brewer]

I use Maris Otter in my bitter and was never quite satisfied with the beer until I added a portion of victory malt.

As I say, it's not typically used by British brewers, so that's maybe saying something about the quality of the Otter you're using, the quality of the beers you're benchmarking against, or just your personal taste.

better watch your mouth!

https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/buying-...-uks-second-biggest-beer-brand/568461.article

Most of that Bud is made with British barley :

"The equivalent of more than 2,000 football pitches of malting barley grown by British farmers expected to be enjoyed by Britons in 150m pints of Budweiser during the FIFA World Cup....75% of the raw ingredient being grown in the UK, from a standing start four years ago....goal of producing a 100% UK barley beer by 2020".

But industrial lager production is not what British barley is prized for, I'd pay less attention to Bud and more attention to people like Pete Brown who has written whole books about brewing ingredients :

Many would argue the best malting barley terroir in the world is found in East Anglia, where the soil is just right and the cooling sea mists allow the grains to ripen for longer through the summer, becoming plumper and more flavourful...If you visit a craft brewery in California, Australia, Japan or South Africa, you’ll probably see bags of speciality malt from Weyermann and sacks of Maris Otter pale malt from Norfolk.

 

[Steveruch]

As I say, it's not typically used by British brewers, so that's maybe saying something about the quality of the Otter you're using, the quality of the beers you're benchmarking against, or just your personal taste.



Most of that Bud is made with British barley :

"The equivalent of more than 2,000 football pitches of malting barley grown by British farmers expected to be enjoyed by Britons in 150m pints of Budweiser during the FIFA World Cup....75% of the raw ingredient being grown in the UK, from a standing start four years ago....goal of producing a 100% UK barley beer by 2020".

But industrial lager production is not what British barley is prized for, I'd pay less attention to Bud and more attention to people like Pete Brown who has written whole books about brewing ingredients :

It's most likely my personal tastes, since I've used M O from several different companies.

 

[catdaddy66]

I use Maris Otter in my bitter and was never quite satisfied with the beer until I added a portion of victory malt.

One of my best pale ales made last year had a pound of victory. Loved that beer, and I will try to remember to brew it for Father's day.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I like Golden Promise, Weyermann for Pils, and Rahr and Great Western for domestic. Buying a couple sacks of Swaen tomorrow.
Only base I really avoid is Briess.

 

[rodwha]

I like Golden Promise, Weyermann for Pils, and Rahr and Great Western for domestic. Buying a couple sacks of Swaen tomorrow.
Only base I really avoid is Briess.

Why do you avoid Briess?

 

[mongoose33]

My favorite is Maris Otter. I have a few recipes where there is some 2-row, but if I want good malt flavor it's MO for me.

 

[Dog House Brew]

Why do you avoid Briess?

I’ve had issues w extraction. I had sacks where I couldn’t get the beers to clear. Haven’t used it for years. Could be different now, but have no desire to try it again.

 

[rodwha]

I’ve had issues w extraction. I had sacks where I couldn’t get the beers to clear. Haven’t used it for years. Could be different now, but have no desire to try it again.

Extraction? Couldn’t hit OG numbers? Been using Briess predominantly and haven’t had that issue, and this has been maybe 5-6 years now. If I make low ABV beers I often reach higher numbers setting it to 80% efficiency from 75%.

I haven’t been concerned with clarity but I can’t say my beers were cloudy unless I used a lot of wheat. I don’t generally make really light beers (SRM wise) so I can’t say whether or not they’re that clear like a commercial big beer type.