Marris Otter Vs. British Pale Malt- kind of need a quick answer

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Lodovico

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Hello,

I'm going to purchase a sack of grain in a few minutes because I want to make a bunch of english ales this winter. I'm brewing some stouts, bitters, and other english recipes from Jamil's book.

They all call for British Pale Malt and I can get that for around $65 at my LHBS but he has Marris Otter for $71.

Would you just stick with the regular British Pale or make these recipes with Marris Otter and pay a few bucks more??

Would this make a big difference in how the beers turned out and would they not come out as intended if I used the Marris Otter??

Thanks in advance!!
 
Go for the MO (Rushed answer)

Slightly less rushed edit: If you want to repeat brews later on, MO is more specific. British pale ale malt could mean anything really. So yeah, go for the MO because it is a reliable standard strain, and will make repetition easier in the future.
 
Thank you. That makes a lot of sense. Will I need to adjust the recipes or grain bill at all because I'm using Marris Otter??
 
MO is just a type of British Pale Malt, amongst lots of others like Golden Promise, Halcyon, and others. They all are pretty similar to each other. There are differences, but they are quite minor compared to the differences between British pale & American 2 row or German Pilsener malt. You'll get good results with any of them, though MO certainly enjoys more popularity than any of the others.
 
No there shouldn't be adjustments needed. Marris Otter is a British pale malt (and a good one at that). It's a good choice since it is good quality, and you can find the same strain nearly everywhere for repeatability.
 
MO is a specific cultivar of English barley, kilned to English Pale Malt standards. Differences between those cultivars is subtle, and you'll really see the difference between domestic 2-row and an English Pale Malt if you taste the grain side by side. The most exceptional English Pale Malts are floor-malted, a process that brings out a delicious toasty, biscuity character that is completely absent in domestic 2-row kilned to US standards.

There's no need to adjust the recipes in any way.
 
Just recently started partial mashing and have used MO, can already notice a more toasty, biscuity character in my english ales! love it. Can't wait to maybe go all grain this season (hope hope).
 
MO is just a type of British Pale Malt, amongst lots of others like Golden Promise, Halcyon, and others. They all are pretty similar to each other. There are differences, but they are quite minor compared to the differences between British pale & American 2 row or German Pilsener malt. You'll get good results with any of them, though MO certainly enjoys more popularity than any of the others.

I'm less rushed now! :) But yeah. That was kinda my point. If you are buying something called British Pale Malt, it could be any of the above. It is best to know what you are actually getting if only for future reference. :)
 
Thanks for all of the help guys. I went with the 55lbs. of Marris Otter.
 
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