Next on my schedule is a maibock. In an effort to save money I was thinking of getting Briess 2-row and Briess munich instead German pilsner and German munich.
I already have German tettnang and German yeast.
Okay? Not okay?
you can make beer with anything…its all about personal preference.
some like breiss. I really like avangard or weyermann.
it won’t do as well in competition if you don’t use continental ingredients. That said, it’ll be fine.
I am a strong believer in using the most local ingredients possible however, I must grudgingly admit that when it comes to german lagers, german malts make a huge difference.
My marzen recipe is pils and 10L munich. it’s very tasty when I use great western or gambrinus malts but it’s a whole different animal when I use weyermann. it’s really astonishing the difference it makes.
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How much are you really going to save with these cheaper ingredients?
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Is that difference really worth all the work to make what could be a sub par product?
- a bazillion
You stated what I was thinking.
Steve- I know it’s coming across harsh about some obvious personal preferences we have. Truth be told, you can make good beer as planned. Personal experience- it can be better with some of the mentioned malts.
Obviously you can brew whatever you like, but maibock is a style that’s dominated by the malt character. I don’t think you could make a decent example of the style without authentic base malts.
We’re talking about saving what, maybe $10 for a 5 gal batch? That wouldn’t even buy a sixer of a good German example if this doesn’t come out like what you want.
Sean, I think that’s a great way of seeing it!
I’ve noticed that those who homebrew because they love good beer keep at it and those who homebrew to save money realize quickly that they went down the wrong path.
+1- not sure what you are really trying to save. A couple bucks? You’ll still make a fine beer, but hard to beat the German malts fir a German style lager.
My go to malt for these styles is Best. I do not like best Munich. And the imported malts make all the difference nice.
Did you mean Briess Munich, not Best?
Yes! Thanks. Not a huge fan of the Briess Munich. Not a bad malt, just doesn’t taste like Munich.
I am a penny pincher when it comes to brewing which can cause its issues. I mainly avoid certain styles that I may be too cheap to do properly like American IPA. Maybe I have gone down the wrong path…
It seems that my LHBS overcharges considerably for a lot of british, continental, and other specialty malts. If you are trying to brew very traditional styles then I say go with the others advise. For the most part, my beers are a take on traditional styels and I have had great luck primarily using Canada Malting Pilsner and Great Western Munich base malts for most of my beers.
Probably because they start thinking “I’m going to build my own Honda” and in the end they’ve bought the parts for a Mercedes.
Long story made short, Steve:
Sure you can do it! But your own priorities are going to have to tell you if it’s worth it.
I think the difference is most evident in munich malt. weyermann munich II is dark bread crust, toast, biscuit, and a hint of dark fruit. GW munich 10L (or gambrinus for that matter) is dark dried plums, cherries, and candied fruit with a hint of bread crust/toast.
OP might be on a tight budget with his brewing where ~$0.20/lb. over the year matters.
I would look at the avangard malts, which are often selling competitively with domestic products. If you can’t find them in your area then I’d probably opt for a domestic pils as a base and try to spend a little extra to get a German munich.
IMO, a very, very bad decision. For one thing, my opinion is that Briess malts just don’t taste good. My own tries at maibock have used several different continental pils malts and even there, there was a large difference in the flavor. I’d really advise to you break down and spring for the continental malts. Pils and carahell are all you need to make a killer maibock.
+1. An extra $10-12 up front for a great beer you’ll love every glass of vs a little savings and a beer that’s ‘pretty good’ is a no brainer for me. You’ll work equally hard for either and appreciate former a whole lot more. My $0.02.