Maris otter vs domestic pale

What difference will I find in using maris otter vs domestic pale malt in a pale ale?

Alan

Bigger malt flavor and a tad darker.

I'm wondering the same thing. So, in the interest of science, I have some of Yooper's House Pale Ale (with Maris Otter) sitting where I won't drink it yet, and the exact same recipe (with domestic two row) in primary right now.

In about a month, I'll be able to compare them side-by-side.

I did a SMaSH a while back with MO. I think it has some biscuit like qualities to it. Possibly even a little toasted but not much. I've found that some hops blend with it better than others. I will be trying some simpson's golden promise this week. probably tomorrow.

Its as different from most North American 2-row as that is from Pilsen.
Just chew on some grains and you will get a sense of the contrast.

I can say that I used to use MO inplace of american 2 row in all my recipes until I discovered Golden Promise. I have a house SMaSH that I keep on that is Golden Promise and Cascade all I can say is that it is like enjoying a good single malt Scotch with carbonation.. Absolutely fantastic..

I have to ask - what does SMaSH stand for?

chs9 said:

I have to ask - what does SMaSH stand for?

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Single Malt and Single Hop.

I dig Maris otter, used it for and english barley wine last July.(just now coming into its own)

We did a partigyle, capping the mash with dark roasted grains (chocolate malt maybe?) to make a brown ale from the second runnings. This was one of my favorite beers yet to drink. The character of the base malt really showed through, even in second runnings.

Sweet, carmelish, roasty. The Defiinition of malty.

Would I use it exclusively? Only if I wanted only to brew British styles.

Every malt has its place.

Apart from the flavor characteristics already discussed, I've found that I get about 5% better efficiency with MO. It makes sense, since the potential yield for MO is higher than American 2-row. Also, MO is more prone to dough balls when adding your strike water, but they go away fairly easily.

Having been in the same situation, I have a SMaSH IPA that I keep on draft 90% of the time. It's one of my"stock" beers that I've made many times. Having consumed many pints of said IPA, I know it very well. I know how it tastes and how it should taste.

To experiment with MO, I brewed my SMaSH IPA and swapped 50% of the 2-Row Domestic with MO. I then made the same beer about 1 week later with 100% MO. This process took several weeks and I simply tapped off a few bottles from each keg with my beer gun. You then have three variations on the same recipe with the only recipe variable being the malt.

It was a lot of fun and you learn a lot about how quantities of malt in a given recipe can affect the final product.

Best of luck

Used MO for the first time on Monday with an irish red. I don't know if it was the MO or proper salt additions (Cl:SO4 of ~1.2) but even the smell coming from the mash had a richer maltiness and the OG sample I pulled post-boil even seems maltier. I'll post the results of how it turned out in 3-4 weeks ^_^

Also, pksmitty, I'll be looking forward to your results.

I had to stash a sixer of the MO based batch sothat I wouldn't drink it all! (I do love me a good APA!) I'm looking to bottle the 2-row batch this weekend, so in a couple weeks, I should have some tasting results.

I've used MO quite a bit in the past, but am now starting to explore GP as a base. Brewing a 60/- next with GP and a little crystal with fuggles in a couple of weekends. Looking forward to this one.

I just used MO for a porter this week. I'm very excited to see how it turns out.

I used a few pounds of MO in a scotch ale that I did last weekend. I've got a feeling that it will end up being my best beer yet. I really want to try a golden promise smash with all of the good things I've been hearing.

yellow70cooper said:

I can say that I used to use MO inplace of american 2 row in all my recipes until I discovered Golden Promise. I have a house SMaSH that I keep on that is Golden Promise and Cascade all I can say is that it is like enjoying a good single malt Scotch with carbonation.. Absolutely fantastic..

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Isn't Golden Promise a brand name for Simpson's Maris Otter malt?
Answering my own question...apparently yes and no:
Golden Promise, an early-maturing spring barley, is the Scottish equivalent of Maris Otter. Though brewers north of the English border claim that its sweet, clean flavor is superior to Maris Otter. Golden Promise malt has a depth of flavor that makes it the ideal base malt for both UK and USA-style IPAs.

So is MO the same as British Pale Ale malt??

Phunhog said:

So is MO the same as British Pale Ale malt??

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It's one kind of British Pale Ale malt, but there are others as well, such as Pearl, Optic, etc. My understanding (which could be wrong) is that MO is a specific variety of barley, and Brit Pale Ale malt can be kilned from a number of different varieties, including MO.

artguy said:

It's one kind of British Pale Ale malt, but there are others as well, such as Pearl, Optic, etc. My understanding (which could be wrong) is that MO is a specific variety of barley, and Brit Pale Ale malt can be kilned from a number of different varieties, including MO.

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Artguy you are correct. I have also felt Maris Otter has more of an earthy flavor to it than American 2 row. I have been told this is due tot he English soil.

So is all MO "British Pale Ale" malt?? I have some recipes that call for British Pale Ale...I have been using American Pale, should I be using MO?

Phunhog said:

So is all MO "British Pale Ale" malt?? I have some recipes that call for British Pale Ale...I have been using American Pale, should I be using MO?

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If it's calling for British pale, I'd use MO.

Marris Otter is a cultivar. I believe Simpsons (and other English manufacturers) crystal malts are made from Marris Otter so, no, not all Marris Otter is made into pale ale malt.

When people casually say "Marris otter" they mean pale malt made from Marris Otter.

Marris Otter, Pearl, Optic, Golden Promise and other UK cultivars produce pale malts with different flavor characteristics. What is more important when discussing British base malts is that they are overmodified (eg acrospire is longer than kernel) and are designed for single infusing mashing.

remilard said:

Marris Otter is a cultivar. I believe Simpsons (and other English manufacturers) crystal malts are made from Marris Otter so, no, not all Marris Otter is made into pale ale malt.

When people casually say "Marris otter" they mean pale malt made from Marris Otter.

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That's true. To clarify for the guy who was wondering what he got if he buys "Marris Otter", though: if you buy grain labeled just "Marris Otter" it's pale malt; the crystal malts will be labeled as "Medium Crystal" or "Crystal 60" or whatever, possibly with a note saying they were kilned from MO.

Basically, if you buy grain called "Marris Otter" you're getting pale malt.

It's like buying "2-Row"; technically, many malts are made from 2-row, but in practice, grain that's just sold as "2-Row" (or Belgian 2-Row, American 2-Row, etc) is pale malt--if it's something else, it'll be labeled as such (possibly "Belgian 2-row pilsner", but not just plain 2-row).