Why is it some maltsters, Thomas Fawcett for example, sell malt by barley variety (maris otter, optic, golden promise, etc.) but some sell malt labeled only pilsner, pale, ESB, etc. without specifying the variety used?
If no variety is specified, does that indicate it is likely a blend?
Also, no one seems to denote the variety used for any of their specialty malts. Is there a particular reason for that?
I know that blends of grains are common so that there is less year-to-year variability in the base malts.
It’s also just not very exciting unless it’s an all star variety.
A lot of the mainstream malting varieties still have names like XC-392 and such.
on MO, optic, etc. the variety is sold as part of the flavor profile so with character malts, where the flavor profile is pretty much all process and no grain like roast or crystal malts or even, to a lesser extent high kilned malts like vienna or munich it doesn’t matter as much.
I think there are a few maltsters that sell Pilsner malts and specify the variety specific to Bohemian/Czech cultivars (Moldavian?)
Depending on the year, MO is a blend so that it is not too hazy. Some warm dry summers in Britain caused high protein levels, so they blended with a variety that had lower protein levels.