how are you using maris otter?

General Homebrew Discussion
1

I’ve been working on a pale ale recipe with half american two row and half maris otter.

i like this combination so far.  the hops shine through but not without a very nice malty taste.  everything seems to balance out.  though i’m still working on the recipe.  using amarillo and centennial and dry hopping with those two and simcoe.

how do you like maris otter and how are you using it?  anyone using it entirely for an american pale?

cheers.

ryan

2

I really like the 50/50 maris otter/2-row combo.

3

+1

I use this combo quite often with my IPA recipe.

4

Me too…

5

+3 - except I use pilsner because it is what I have on hand. I do enjoy all MO in my English style beers though.

6

I use MO in my house bitter.  I’ve tried it 100% in a couple of APAs but it seemed out of place.  Honestly I don’t think an APA needs that character, standard domestic 2-row plus crystal plus a little Victory gives me all the background malt character I’m looking for.

You’ve got a nice hop combo there.  I’m just about out of Simcoe, hopefully the crop will be good and we can grab some more this fall.

7

I use it at a rate of 10-20% in most beers I use domestic 2 row as the base malt. I use it at a rate of 100% of the base malt for my english style beers. Its great stuff. Recently discovered I like Crisp better than Muntons both in terms of flavor and lautering. The Muntons never seems to lauter as efficiently as the Crisp.

8

I like Thomas Fawcett but there was a problem with the crop last year so last time I ordered I got Bairds as a sub.  It seems pretty tasty too.

I could see 10% in an APA.  I just find it personally pleasing to use country-specific ingredients for beer styles.

9

I use MO all over the place, but I’ll n’th the 50/50 mix of Pale/MO as my bog standard for PA/IPA/DIPA. Been doing that for about a decade and it turns out from listening to Mitch Steele’s talk at NHC on Historical IPA, that’s a technique used by British brewers to replicate the famed Burton White Malt that’s hard to come by these days. (Although the Brits tend to use 50/50 MO and Pils)

10

I can see it in a British IPA, but I don’t find the graham cracker character to complement the citrus and pine of a West Coast IPA.

11

I just made a 100% MO American Amber with a touch of Carapils, C-40 and Victory.  Mashed around 152 and used lots of late hops (centennial, cascade, columbus & willamette).  Based on BeerTools I targeted about 25 IBUs for bittering (magnum).  The beer had a higher attenuation (78%) and I don’t get any graham cracker coming through.

This beer is awesome! I will definately me blending MO in as a base malt more often.

12

I use MO in all my IPAs and ambers.  Varying the mash temp gives me the fermentabilty and flavors I desire for the differnet styles.

13

Fred Bonjour’s Late Hopped Amarillo (APA) is all MO based.

14

I say try 100% in a pale ale and, if the malt character is out of balance for your liking, scale it back to 75/25, then 50/50.

I love using 100% in my hoppy beers, but in IPAs I really like the grainy flavor from American 2-row. Its also cheaper, if you’re buying in bulk!

15

This site has a lot of historical British recipes.
http://www.unholymess.com/blog/lets-brew
Many of them mix the MO, with other base malts.
A lot of them use American 6 row.