Briess, Muntons, or Crisp?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Beerthoven

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 4, 2007
Messages
2,173
Reaction score
40
Location
Cary, NC
I'm restocking my supply of Maris Otter. Does anyone have a brand preference, or is MO just MO no matter where it comes from?
 
Does Briess even make MO? I don't think they do, as they're a domestic (US) maltster.

I've only ever used Crisp and Gleneagles. Gleneagles is my favorite, but is rarer and has a slightly higher lovi rating and a little more flavor. Crisp is good stuff, but I've noticed that all the european malts are getting more and more expensive. For my last sack of Crisp MO I paid $84 after shipping, and I get it through a friend who is local and gets good prices. I paid $48 for a sack of Briess 2-row and $50 for a sack of Briess Pilsner last week, and the LHBS guy says that his euro malts are going up in price while his domestics are going down. Well, I say, I'm moving to Briess for my base malts unless it's a specifically british ale and needs MO. Sorry, but that price diff is way too much. But back to your question...

Anyway, I'd recommend crisp, but be prepared to spend some $$. If you can find Gleneagles (they're a subsidiary of crisp I think), try that out, because it is probably the best pale base malt I've tried.
 
Evan! said:
Does Briess even make MO? I don't think they do, as they're a domestic (US) maltster.

You are right about Briess not making MO. I re-checked their website and I didn't see one listed...my mistake.

Briess does make a 2-row Pale Ale Malt that is kilned to a higher degree than the basic 2-row Brewers Malt. This might be a domestic substitute for MO.
 
I'm curious about some of these other British base malts, like Optic, Halcyon, and Golden Promise.

Golden Promise sounds really interesting. Maybe I'll get a some of that to try along with more MO.
 
Maris Otter is a winter malting barley, which is almost exclusively grown in the UK. I know OSU (Hyslop Farm) is trying to breed a version that would grow well in Oregon, but the stems are too fragile for our late spring weather. They have a barley that is only 6" tall and very strong, but too short for harvesters.
 
david_42 said:
Maris Otter is a winter malting barley, which is almost exclusively grown in the UK. I know OSU (Hyslop Farm) is trying to breed a version that would grow well in Oregon, but the stems are too fragile for our late spring weather. They have a barley that is only 6" tall and very strong, but too short for harvesters.

I read that the yield/acre is so low for Maris Otter (compared to "modern" barley types) that farmers wouldn't grow it were it not for contracts with maltsters.
 
Beerthoven said:
I read that the yield/acre is so low for Maris Otter (compared to "modern" barley types) that farmers wouldn't grow it were it not for contracts with maltsters.

What would they grow if it weren't for contracts with maltsters? Probably some other crop, I would think. There's only so much pearled barley the world needs for soup, if you know what I mean.
 
I'm curious about some of these other British base malts, like Optic, Halcyon, and Golden Promise.

Golden Promise sounds really interesting. Maybe I'll get a some of that to try along with more MO.

Golden Promise is commonly seen as the Scottish version of Maris, Optic and Halcyon are both barley varieties - Halcyon was bred from Maris, but produces what is usually called a "sharper" wort. Optic is very aromatic and caramelly, and also a very nice UK pale ale malt.
 
Back
Top