American 2row Vs. Pilsner Malt

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buckeyebrewer

buckeyebrewer

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I purchased a 50 lb bag of American 2 row and pilsner malts. I have used almost all of my 2 row. Can the pilsner malt be subsituted in recipes that call for 2 row? What flavor profiles do th epilsner malt have that the 2 row wouldn't. Thanks
 
I can't answer your question :( , but I have been thinking of using some pilsner malt in a couple of recipes. Mainly to achieve a lighter color. I am going to brew a triple and I think that pilsner is the way to go, besides being more traditional.

Like you I would like to hear from others that have been using this malt. Lets hear it y'all.:mug:
 
Yes. Pils is a fine substitute. It will be a bit cleaner tasting with less "grain" taste. It also has less protein so will clear a bit better.

I don't hesitate to use Pils for any of my recipes and prefer them for my lighter ales like blondes, koslchs's, etc...
 
Pilsner malt has more of the stuff that can form DMS, so it is usually recommended that you give it a 90 minute boil instead of 60.
 
Also beware, if you're using it with a lot of adjuncts in the mash, because I think Pils malt has fewer surplus diastatic enzymes than 2-row.
 
Thats good to know....I have plenty pilsner left. Today I'm brewing Edworts Bavarian Hefe. Always a good way to get rid of some pisner malt. Another question.....how long do people hold their hefes before drinking. Edworts recipe says 10 days, crash cool and keg. Can you drink it that young? The last hefe I made I tried to drink it 2 weeks old and it tasted very green. Thanks
 
Kai said:
Also beware, if you're using it with a lot of adjuncts in the mash, because I think Pils malt has fewer surplus diastatic enzymes than 2-row.
Click to expand...

Interesting ... I brewed a Weisenbock yesterday with 8 lbs of wheat malt and 4 lbs of pilsener -- the recipe called for either pils or 2-row pale. My efficiency was crap. I usually get pretty much dead on 75%, and yesterday I got a whopping 52%. OG wound up at 1.051 instead of target 1.066. I wonder if the lower diastatic potential of the pils was the culprit.
 
Wheat malt generally has enough diastatic power to convert itself, though, so I don't know if that was the actual issue.
 
buckeyebrewer said:
Thats good to know....I have plenty pilsner left. Today I'm brewing Edworts Bavarian Hefe. Always a good way to get rid of some pisner malt. Another question.....how long do people hold their hefes before drinking. Edworts recipe says 10 days, crash cool and keg. Can you drink it that young? The last hefe I made I tried to drink it 2 weeks old and it tasted very green. Thanks
Click to expand...

Hefe's are young beers...like most wheats.

As soon as it tastes good....drink away. You won't be gaining any magical moment by "aging" a hefe for a long time.
 
Kai said:
Also beware, if you're using it with a lot of adjuncts in the mash, because I think Pils malt has fewer surplus diastatic enzymes than 2-row.
Click to expand...
Pilsener malt is usually made from European 2-row barley and has as much DP as American 2-row, but neither have more DP than 6-row. I think American barley is very clean, neutral and European barley has a sweet, grainy, malty flavor.
 
BierMuncher said:
Hefe's are young beers...like most wheats.

As soon as it tastes good....drink away. You won't be gaining any magical moment by "aging" a hefe for a long time.
Click to expand...

Even the best homebrew hefes start to go south after a couple months. I had a really good hefe on tap that just got pretty bland after that amount of time.
 
I have an older hefe that seems to be getting more and more banana-ey. I'm guessing that some of the clove phenols are dropping out, perhaps, so that it seems less balanced?
 

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