Suitable Substitutions

Greetings fellow homebrewers!!

My next AG brew will be a clone of Fuller's ESB YUM!!

I order my supplies from Midwest Supplies (MWS) usually, just because they normally have everything I need or a suitable substitution. I'm having a little bit of a hard time with this one though.

The recipe calls for 9lbs "British 2-row pale malt". They don't have exactly this in their inventory. They have "Pale Ale (Castle)", "Pale Malt (Crisp)", "Pesticide Free 2-Row (Briess)", "Pale Ale Malt (Briess)", and some others.

I did a compare on the MWS webpage but it really doesn't help, as I don't know what the real difference is between these. Perhaps someone could make a recommendation from their experience with MWS as to which of their grains in stock would be the closest match to the "British 2-row pale malt" required by my recipe. It would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!

Brandon

If you haven't yet, have a listen to the CYBI episode on Fuller's ESB:
http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/membersarchive/cybi05-10-10.mp3
IIRC, they use products from a number of maltsters, but it reads like Crisp (a British maltster) Pale Malt most closely matches the "British 2-row pale malt" called for by the recipe you have there.

I read somewhere that Maris Otter would be a good sub for the "British 2-row pale malt", but I don't see anything that indicates that Maris Otter is a pale ale malt. It also says "Since this malt is fully modified, a protein rest is not necessary." What's that mean? It sounds like this Maris Otter is a really high quality grain. Would you recommend it for the "British 2-row pale malt" sub or no?

Maris Otter isn't a substitute for a British 2-row pale malt. It is a British 2-row pale malt, and is probably the best malt for English Bitters.
A malt that is fully modified is one that is suitable for a single infusion mash. This is true for almost all malts currently available, but you do want to use an English malt (such as MO), as they are kilned at a higher temperature, and add a unique flavor.
For an ESB, using malts from any source, I would definitely recommend Maris Otter.

-a.

+1 Maris Otter

Maris Otter it is then! Thanks guys!