Worth the higher cost?
It is to me.
I’ve heard Denny talking about this malt for a long time and I would love to try it. I just have to get past the funny names and try to remember which one is what. :P I don’t think I have checked to see what a sack of it (say, pilsner malt) might cost to be shipped to me but I’m sure it’s spendy.
Northern Brewer has it. They ship free. …but it’s still pretty expensive for the grain itself. You have to read the descriptions pretty closely so you don’t order the wrong malt.
I tried it. It’s good stuff …but not so good that I can justify the cost to continually use it.
I remember Denny telling me that the names translate easily but for the life of me I can’t remember what was what. I just remember a bunch of non-English gibberish like Melotonious or Phama-lama-dama or something. :D Denny said, “it’s easy! Venamoboopus = VIENNA!”.
BrewBama: Thanks for the info. It couldn’t hurt to get 10 pounds of pils, 10 pounds of Vienna or Munich and play with it.
Northern Brewer stopped free shipping for the moment. I have tried Mecca Grade a couple of times, and I think their Munich is great. I use it only in relatively small quantities, so I have been able to justify it.
Once I get my stimulus check (not holding my breath) I’ll be able to get some supplies and was thinking of trying some of this out.
On a completely different note, there is a small, tiny chance that I might, possibly, maybe, be moving to Madras later in the year.
Metolius = Munich. Vanora = Vienna. Pelton = pils. Wikiup = wheat (white, IIRC. They also make a red wheat). Rimrock = Rye. Lamonta = pale (actually closer to pale ale). The names are a little off putting, but they reflect the local heritage that MG is going for. They’re very flavorful malts, but admittedly expensive. MG is hand made and not interested in the commodity market. By next year, they should have malt made with their new proprietary White Buffalo breed of barley. Its a cross between the Full Pint they use now and Violetta, a very popular barley breed. I had a chance to participate in a blind tasting and the White Buffalo was the clear winner for all of us.
Well, that would be handy! MG has been running at full production and still having a hard time keeping up with orders. They were about to have a second malting machine built and installed when the world went crazy.
Mmm, all of that is very encouraging and enticing.
I think they are worth the price. I really like the full flavor of their Metolius (Munich) and the Pelton (Pils) malt. I think that they are the best domestic examples that I have come across that are equal if not better than continental brands. I’m willing to pay an extra $10 more per 5 gallon batch for better flavor.
Take a look at FH Steinbart. https://fhsteinbart.com
They carry Mecca Grade and advertise free shipping for orders over $99. I have ordered from them a number of times and have been happy with the service and speed of delivery (from Oregon to Florida).
As for the original question----- Yes, I feel MG malts are worth the extra cost.
After hearing about Mecca Grade for a while I finally took the plunge and ordered some from Northern Brewer for a Vienna Lager and a Baltic Porter I brewed up this week. I’m hoping that I can taste the difference from previous versions of these recipes.
Vienna:
Mecca Grade Venora 37%
Mecca Grade Pelton 22%
Mecca Grade Metolius 22%
CaraMunich 11%
Mecca Grade Opal 44 8%
Porter:
Maris Otter 57%
Mecca Grade Metolius 20%
Flaked Oats 10%
Mecca Grade Opal 22 6%
Pale Chocolate malt 5%
Roasted Barley 2%
Ooh, you guys are pushing my buttons. I might have to place an order for some of this stuff soon. :D Thanks for all the information.
I haven’t brewed with it but I have had beers made with it and I think they make for quality beers.
There are several very good small malthouses continuing to pop up that are producing great malt products that are unique and more flavorful than what many of the larger houses produce. Here in Colorado we have a few and I have had nothing but good results with Root Shoot. Slightly more expensive than the larger houses but I am happy with the results and it is still cheaper to pay a little more for grain than buy commercially all the beer I drink.
Yeah, Root Shoot makes great malts. Just ran across some I forgot I had and plan on using it soon.
We had a group buy a few months back for Root Shoots. I bought a bag of Odyssey Pilsner and a bag of Genie Pale. Because it was a group buy I got the bags for just over $1/pound.
Odyssey Pilsner makes clean crisp beers. It’s hard to say there is a dominant malt flavor. It more gets out of the way.
Genie Pale has been good in a variety of beers. It’s a bit darker than typical pale malt at about 2.5L. It’s a nice cross between pale and pale ale malt. I have made some great beers with this one but they have all been hoppy ambers and bitters. Good flavors but I am not sure I can judge the base malt from those beers.
I’ve got Genie pale and Vienna and Metcalfe pale. It’s 5L so it should be interesting.
Just posted on FB…
Join me for an Instagram #livestream #tour of Mecca Grade tomorrow night at 5:30 PM/PST (Thursday, April 2nd)! I’ll be your handsome, bearded #maltsherpa and hopefully be able to answer all your questions (even the wild ones). See you then! - Seth
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Never mind.