Just kegged the first brew made with Texas grown malt. Llano Premium Pilsner Malt.
The beer is a Festbier, made with a recipe that won a Gold Medal at the GABF.
First samples of the non-carbonated beer are promising, very promising. Clean, malty, but very subdued. Smooth.
In fact, this might (might) be the best tasting beer we have brewed. Can’t wait to get it carbonated for a better, more thorough taste test and evaluation.
Of course, I will summon Dave and employ his hyper-sensitive palate.
I’ve found that when using local craft malt that you not only get the benefits of their expertise, but the fact that it’s fresher seems to make a difference also.
I made a smoked beer from a local craft maltster (100% smoked sainhuss malt!) and it was honestly the best smoked beer I’ve ever had. One of the best beers I’ve ever made. It’s not at easy to get malt from them, but the next chance I get I’m going to do a side by side of base malt to compare fresh craft to big malt
Glad that you had a good experience. That mirrors our example too, with this craft malt being as good, or maybe better than any malt we have previously used.
Can’t wait to brew up a classic German Pils with this Tex Malt.
Our Llano Pilsner malt is carefully modified at cool temperatures for an extended period of time and then kilned low to maintain the delicate Terroir associated with it’s origin, The Llano Estacado. Slightly sweet, with subtle notes of straw, honeysuckle and earthiness.
Moisture %: 4.8-5.0
Fine Extract Percentage: 79-81
Color: 1.6-1.8
DP: 120-140
Total Protein: 10-11
Soluble Protein: 4.2-4.6
There is a town in the Hill Country named Llano, but i had to look up , The Llano Estacado. This refers to the plains that go from east of Amarillo to Tucumcari NM. Llano translates to flat, and I can say that it is flat, very flat.
Malting is capital-intensive business.
Scale is needed to be able to afford long-term contracts, and quality brewing malt.
Malt analysis isn’t cheap either.
Consistency is important to me, so I only purchase proven malts.
Also, for readers info, US two row malts have been bred over the last 40 years to work with adjuncts (high soluble protein and enzymes).
Yes, there are a few varieties that are outside this norm, but/and a lot of masters competing for them.
It’s important the audience understands the trade offs and is happy with the trade offs.
Fair point, and worth keeping in mind, especially if repeatability is a priority. For me, consistency is less important, and my experience with US craft maltsters has been both delicious and eye opening. I rarely brew the exact same recipe twice, and what I enjoy most about this hobby is the opportunity for flavor experimentation. The varied offerings that many of these smaller malthouses are producing puts them squarely in my wheelhouse.
I / we brew the exact same beer time after time…or that is our goal, after getting a recipe that works.
Here is the website. I think their malt is very good, and will use it again soon. Did not experience any negative traits with the Pilsner malt. Have not found anything so far that would be considered a trade off, quite the opposite.
Fair point, and worth keeping in mind, especially if repeatability is a priority. For me, consistency is less important, and my experience with US craft maltsters has been both delicious and eye opening. I rarely brew the exact same recipe twice, and what I enjoy most about this hobby is the opportunity for flavor experimentation. The varied offerings that many of these smaller malthouses are producing puts them squarely in my wheelhouse.
“Fair point, and worth keeping in mind, especially if repeatability is a priority. For me, consistency is less important, and my experience with US craft maltsters has been both delicious and eye opening. I rarely brew the exact same recipe twice, and what I enjoy most about this hobby is the opportunity for flavor experimentation. The varied offerings that many of these smaller malthouses are producing puts them squarely in my wheelhouse.”
This is my first time using a domestic craft malting company. We always have used one of two brands previously, Ireks and Weyermann. These are both very good, and very predictable.
My one brew with TexMalt is only a single data point. But it is valid data, and we will go forward and brew more with this and check for the grain being consistent.
Having purchased a 50 lb bag, at least the next few beers brewed will be as good as the one we just put into the serving kegs. Providing the head brewer does not have a bad day!
The 55 lb bag should be consistent through its uses, but the question is will there be consistency from bag to bag from different batches? I think the big guys have systems that are quite good at consistency. Even so, I have found the craft maltsters to be sufficienrly consistent from batch to batch for my brewing. I have enjoyed some of the rich flavors from their craft malts made in smaller batches.