using Pilsener malt for english ales ?

O.K. I'm an english man living in Brazil, out here pilsener malt from argentina is pretty popular to make lagers, which most people here love . but me i like my english ales, bitters IPA's and the like . I've been making several ales which iv'd liked
using Pilsener as the base malt, and adding speciality malts from Germany to make up the recipes . I know that I should be using Pale Ale malt or a two row although, as they are very expensive here I opted for Pilsener, my question is what would the difference in taste and appearance be if I were to use pale ale malt . My next trip back home I'm thinking of bringing a sack or two over .
O.k. thanks

The difference is pretty big; the pale ale malts will bring a biscuity, slightly toasty sort of flavor that you won't get from Pilsener, which I think of as clean and slightly sweet. If you like the beer you make with Pilsener, go with it, but if you want to make an English Ale and can get some of the malt to your place for a reasonable cost, it'd be worth it, especially for those bitters.
Appearance-wise, the pale ale malts are a few shades darker than the pilsener.

iasquith said:

O.K. I'm an english man living in Brazil, out here pilsener malt from argentina is pretty popular to make lagers, which most people here love . but me i like my english ales, bitters IPA's and the like . I've been making several ales which iv'd liked
using Pilsener as the base malt, and adding speciality malts from Germany to make up the recipes . I know that I should be using Pale Ale malt or a two row although, as they are very expensive here I opted for Pilsener, my question is what would the difference in taste and appearance be if I were to use pale ale malt . My next trip back home I'm thinking of bringing a sack or two over .
O.k. thanks

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There is no doubt that using the right malt will get you a more authentic beer but given your situation you have to make do. Besides being produced from different strains of barley, compared to the New World pilsner UK pale malt will have a richer, broader and more mellow flavor. It is also kilned a bit higher so the pale malt does have slightly more color. If you have access to German specialty malts the Cara malts of similar color to British crystal can be subbed with good effect. You may also want to experiment with toasting some of the pils malt to enhance the color and flavor. Take about 25% of your recipe amount, maybe a Kg or so, and spread it on a baking sheet. Put it in a low/medium oven (160C) for 15/20 minutes giving it a gentle turn every five minutes. This might add a touch of color and aroma.

yes thats kind of what I was thinking the finished beer would be mellower and more biscuity and a little darker, and, as I remember my English pints to be, not so 'bright' although there seems to be much emphasis nowadays on making crystaline beer in the world of homebrew, I usually use ' Whirlflock' in the boil along with crash cooling after going to the secondary but I cant help thinking that the beer is too clear and that maybe the Pale malt would lend the desirable hue.
The oven toasting of the pilsen sounds interesting and not too difficult I will give that a try on my next 'Orfy's' boddington clone .
Thanks for your helpfull replies sucessfull creations to you all!

I'm going to resurrect this. I live in neighboring Bolivia, and face the same issue, except that ALL I can get is Pilsner malt. Specialty malts I have to toast and roast myself, which is fine--it's worked well. But the stout and porter I opened recently just tasted a bit too off. There was no breadiness to it.

So, ts there a way to coax bready, toasty, malty flavors out of those Pilsner malts? Can I just toast them for a bit (e.g. 20 mins @ 300F)? How will that affect modifications during the mash?

Help please!

Wow, you guys can get malted grains where you live!

No such luck here in Guatemala, I ship in most of my ingredients. For bulky items (like grains) surface transport (ship) is pretty reasonable, but takes a few weeks. Have you checked into shipping options?

I don't make enough to ship malt into the country. I contacted the national association of breweries (you know, the massive ones that make various forms of pilseners) and they put me in touch with a maltster in Sucre (no website or anything). I live in Santa Cruz and get everything shipped on the overnight bus. You might try the same thing and ask Gallo where they get their malt?

One of the son's of the family which owns Gallo home brews and I have discussed it briefly with his father (met him on a Gallo brewery tour). He indicated that his son ships most of his ingredients in, but we did not specifically talk about things like base malts. I will ask, they are actually pretty accommodating.

We can get un-malted grain here, but I have not experimented with malting and roasting my own -- something else to learn!