I have a recipe for Pumpkin Ale that calls for 6.5lbs. of Brewers Malt. I had 4lbs. of Brewers Malt in stock, so I was short 2.5lbs. I went to my brewers supply yesterday and they didn’t carry Brewers Malt. They only had “2-Row”. I went ahead and purchased the 2-Row to save another trip. And, I didn’t bother asking the shop clerk cuz I don’t trust his knowledge.
So, first, is there a difference between the two and will it make a difference in this brew?
No difference that I know of…I guess any malt is brewers malt, but my default assumption is that it means 2-row.
I did a search online for “brewers malt,” and the term seemed to be most associated with Briess’s 2-row malt.
So, you should be perfect on your choice!
My answers to the 2 questions are maybe and probably not.
But I would like to know what specific brand of malts you are using. Whose “Brewer’s Malt” and what specific “2-Row”? Because I’m sure you can simply look up the specifics of each malt on the maltster’s web site.
Briess calls their 2 row Brewer’s Malt, and other producers just call it 2 row.
Briess also has a Distillers Malt, so it’s really just a marketing thing. There’s similar instances with Munich Malt - Weyermann says they have Munich I and II but other brands call it Light and Dark.
This….pretty much all malt is 2 row. It’s what the maltster does that makes the difference
So it sounds like you’ve verified there’s no difference between brewer’s malt and distiller’s malt?
The Brewers malt is a Briess. The 2-row I bought from the supply store was unidentified.
I have to agree. I have seen recipes calling for Munich Light and recipes calling for Munich Dark only to find out they are one and the same as Munich I and Munich II and the difference, as I see it, is about 6-8 SRM.
Sounds like they are almost certainly close enough to be interchangeable for your purposes. They may even be the same malt!
(I know, I know, there are differences between maltsters and such, but I would wager is just fine here…esp. because Briess’s brewer’s malt is their light 2-row)
Does the shop have a website? If you can order ahead on that site, you might be able to tell what brand 2-row they sell.
Yes, good call! According to their website, their “2-Row” is a Briess malt. However, they don’t use the word “Brewers”. But I can gather from the responses to my question, they are one and the same.
Thanks!
Cheers!
There is a difference between Brewers and Distillers malt.
It’s kilned in a different way where the Distillers preserves more enzymes. Which is useful when mashing in with high adjuncts, like corn – where the goal is maximum starch conversion.
Their website lists Distillers Malt at 250 °Lintner … which is coocoo bananas high diastatic power. Typical base malts top out around 150 … Rahr rates their 6-row pale malt at 160.