I’ve never tried any other base malt except Briess. It is stocked at my LHBS and seems to be for sale at most places. Do the other grain companies vary that much from Briess ? I’d like to see what people use instead of Briess base malts.
Don’t know where you are at it here goes.
My LHBS also has Malteurope, sometimes Rahr. Those work well, and the price is better.
Is there any difference in flavor or taste from one brand to the other or they all pretty much the same?
I have alway kind of been a fan of Rahr.
I use Weyermann malts exclusively. Nothing compares in my opinion. Their Pale Ale malt is excellent.
Yes there are differences, though subtle.
If you can find small samples, you can do this and taste differences between base malts.
http://blog.brewingwithbriess.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Briess_WortSensory_ASBCHotSteepMethod.pdf
Ive tried Briess, GWM, Two track and Rahr. Subtle difference but their are differences. MY LHBS lets me taste but she only carries two brands. I personally prefer GWM and two track.
Yeah, they do taste different. My preference is Rahr, with Great Western a close second. I didn’t care for Briess, but becasue of that I haven’t used it for years so I don’t know if it’s better now And of course, that doesn’t account for custom maltsters. I have found Mecca Grade Estate MAlt from Madras OR to be absolutely the best I’ve ever tasted.
I prefer Rahr for my American styles and Weyermann for Euro continental styles.
This looks like my next area to explore. Thanks!
Where can I get some Mecca Grade?
Steinbart’s
I rarely brew American style ales. I use UK Maris Otter or Golden Promise for British styles and Weyermann or Belgian malts for European style brews.
I prefer Rahr for domestic. When using Pils my favorite is Weyermann. I wish I could find a nice domestic Pils. I just bought a sack of Great Western. I had trouble with Briess years ago and have never used it since. I brewed my new Kolsch with Avangard. Weyermann blows it away IMO. There are differences for sure.
Many of the craft maltsters do make a domestic pilsner. I’m fermenting a saison brewed with pilot malts pils- we’ll see…
Mecca Grade pils malt may be the best pils malt I’ve ever used.
FWIW, I use a lot of Canada Malt, both their Pils and Pale Ale malt, and am satisfied, for my purposes.
I doubt my taste buds would detect what you guys are describing as subtle differences. I can get a bag of Canada Malt at my LHBS, which is a 2 hour drive. Its from North America and has a good price point.
I tried Avangard once, it was OK, but not as good as Best or Weyermann.
Haven’t seen a craft maltster in SC yet. Will definitely try one when available.
+1. I definitely prefer Weyermann.
Yup. The Barke even more so.
I rarely use domestic 2-row. I reach for Maris Otter or golden promise for British styles and weyermann or castle pils for Belgian style. I’ve been using Swaen Pilsner a lot lately too and it’s really nice for the price!