Substitution: Pale Malt for Pilsner

I'm going to be making a 10 gallon batch of Munich Helles that calls for 15 pounds of Pilsner. I'm trying to be thrifty and Pale malt at my LHBS is 1/2 the cost.

How much of an impact with this really have? I know it won't be true to style (but it wasn't going to be anyway...I'm fermenting with Kolsch).

A Kolsch and a Munich Helles are very similar except for the yeast, which essentially defines the styles. So if you are using a Kolsch yeast you should call it a Kolsch.

Tonedef131 said:

A Kolsch and a Munich Helles are very similar except for the yeast, which essentially defines the styles. So if you are using a Kolsch yeast you should call it a Kolsch.

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Ok. How about the malt?

You will still make beer. It will be darker in color than target and have some additional bready flavors. I find Pilsner to be a little more "husky" flavored than say Brewers Malt or Pale malt.

The key, I suppose is to evaluate the color of the malt available and choose the lighter of the mix.

With all your inquiries into malts, I suggest while you are at LHBS you snack on several kernels of each. If your LHBS has issue with this, find a new LHBS. Pop a few in your mouth, crunch lightly, and just suck on them for a bit. You'll get the husk flavor but, you'll also get an idea of what each grain has to offer. Those subtle nuances do come through in the final beer.

Doc Robinson said:

Ok. How about the malt?

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Short answer: No

Long answer: Depends on what brand of pale malt, but none of them will taste the same a pilsner. German pale malt may not be modified to the level of English or American so it might work better but it still goes through a very different malting process than Pilsner malt. Pilsner malt is a description of the malting process which is unique to it, vienna and munich which all spend different times at different temps in the final kilning step. If you want it to taste like an authentic Kolsch you really need to use German Pilsner malt and a German mash.

It will be beer, and it will probably be good beer. I would call it an American Helles or a California Helles because it isn't going to taste quite like a Munich Helles.