The obvious is 15 cents per pound. But beyond that what difference is there? I’m brewing a Pilsner on Wednesday, and making my supply run, saw that the LHBS had both. I went for the German, but now I am curious.
I almost always use domestic pils out of desire to eat close to home but a couiple months ago I entered my marzen in a contest and the difference was noticed by one grand master IV judge. It was the first time I ever saw a comment specifically stating that I would have scored better if I had used continental malt. so take that for what it’s worth.
EVERYTHING! German Pils is hands down better than domestic Pils. Of course this is my opinion, but german malt just has more flavor like a sweeter, grainy characteristic. What German brand did you buy?
I can tell a small but important difference, but only in light colored low hop beers.
+1. Castle Pils is very nice too.
I’ll have to try that.
It’s Belgian, pretty high quality. And BTW I used the new Avangard in my German Pils that just kicked - it’s pretty darn good too.
Well I am very glad I chose what I did then! I don’t know the brand. The bins just have the type of malt and the lovibond on the lid. I suppose I could ask, but it is the only one they had so if I wanted another brand I’d have to order a 50# sack.
I’m on my second bag of Avangard and I like it a lot. I got a German Pils fermenting with it now. You can’t go wrong with the price also.
For sure. My LHBS dropped Weyermann in favor of Avangard - I didn’t know it until I went to buy the stuff for the German Pils. Rather than wait to order Weyermann online I gave it a shot, since I’d heard good things about Avangard. Gotta say, I really like it ! Gonna keep using it (except for Castle for Belgians).
If you want to make a German style beer, use German ingredients.
I find that the particular maltster makes more difference than the country of origin. That said, though, I also find continental pils malts to taste better than domestic. I’ve never done a blind test to verify that’s the case, but I always buy continental pils.
My experience with Avangard concurs with what has already been posted. I love this malt. It has a sweet grainy flavor that reminds me of Durst Pils. I was dismayed to see that my LHBS stopped carrying Durst Pils while I was away from the hobby. I do not care for the flavor of MFB or Weyermann Pils.
I don’t find MFB too bad, but I just don’t care for Weyermann after trying Durst and Best. I’ve got a sack of Avangard I hope to get into soon. Glad to hear the good report!
+1 to Avangard being pretty similar to Durst. I like Avangard easily better than Weyermann. Glad my LHBS made the switch.
It would definitely be a fun experiment to brew side by side batches and do a blind tasting.
I agree that using authentic ingredients is key. I prefer Best but my local brewshop carries Avangard and I intend to try that out one of these days.
To my palate, malt flavor profiles differ significantly according to whether the malt is from continental Europe, the British Isles, or North America. It’s the reason many commercial American examples of European styles don’t taste quite right—the brewers have contracts with domestic maltsters and use their products for darn near everything. I’m generalizing, of course; I know many brewers pull out all the stops for their European beers, and it’s definitely noticed and appreciated.
Other judges and I also notice the difference when judging European categories in homebrew competitions. I’m always careful wording my observations on the scoresheet just in case I’m wrong, but the origin of the malt is usually quite clear.