Does the grainy flavor in a pilsner come from sparging or is it just in the malt’s flavor?
Could you make a no sparge pilsner?
Thanks,
Flask
it comes from the malt. you should could make a no sparge pilsner.
I always figured pilsner malt has a slightly honey-like flavor that you get from no other malt. I love it. Yeah, it’s from the malt itself, not from the sparge or process.
I always get grape. but you are right, it’s unique as far as my experience goes. it’s the only reason I don’t just use pale malt for everything.
With Weyermann, I get grass/hay.
hmm. maybe I’ll have to give that a try at some point seems like it would go well in a farmhouse with some herbal noble hops or pacific gem. I love blackberries because one of the really subtle notes I get is warm summer hay fields and the PG throws a fair amount of blackberry to my taste.
Me too. Grainy/grass/hay. In a good way.
I get feed store but in a great way
Is the grassy/hay of a wet variety or dry?
I obviously have no palate for this craft, given these levels of perception. I thought Weyermanns always produced a nice malty lager or pilsner, as long as I didn’t use a grassy hop!
Gentlemen,
Thank you for the insight.
Flask
Flask - a lot of us were having some fun. That’s what happens on this forum when guys get into the hobby to the level that some of us are at…your question was a good one and deserves an honest answer, so forgive me and anyone else who went sideways with a humorous or not so humorous response.
I think everyone would say that pilsner malt lends a bit of “graininess” to a wort as compared to some other 2 row malts, but graininess is subjective, so as Denny says - he perceives it as hay/ grassiness for Weyermann’s pilsner malt, but probably prefers Best Malz for a pilsner malt. I have used a lot of different malt and currently may favor Avengard pilsner over some others, but some may like Weyermanns for its flavor, despite the hay. All said and done, you are probably right that pilsner malt of a manufacturer is a little more grainy than another malt of the same maltster.
Ya its hard to translate some flavor/aromas to words that work. I understand grass if its a dried out mature grass and you’re only tastung the kernels. I guess that would be grain though. I think pils, especially continental, is like pale malt minus the kilned processed aspect.
Some of the flavors you are talking about might come from tannins and in that case, perhaps, (forgive me Denny) you might get a more traditional grainy flavor from fly sparging. Maybe. I’m not saying that is the case for sure but I have wondered in the past. Same with decoction mashing. You may get more tannin character out of decoction mashing which may translate to more grainy flavor.
There are certain flavors I get in German Pilsners I brew. Durst malt would give an no salt saltine cracker flavor. The Avangard Pils I just have on tap is very “white bread” in the white, not the crust. Weyermann is more neutral to me, but I have enough noble hops that it would be hard to tell if it is the hops or malt that would give grassy flavor or aroma.
When I had Pivo Pils at Firestone Walker - that had a grainy flavor in the finish. My guess is that they use a NA 2 row pils malt for that.
Firestone has said, at least in the past, that Pivo is 100% German malt.
There goes my theory on that one. It is noticeably grainy in the finish. That did not keep me from drinking multiple half liters a day over three days.
I get grainy flavors from Weyermann Vienna. I agree on the Weyermann Pilsner giving grass/hay flavors with some sweetness as well.
To me, I pick up raw pasta dough as the main flavor descriptor for Pils malt brews. But I get a bit of that white grape note as well.