Make up for missing Maris Otter with Pilsner?

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tomsan

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I'm brewing an ale and I want avoid having to make a trip to my LHBS for more malt. I've got some pilsner malt left over though. Can I add that to a bitter recipe?

I was planning this:
71% Maris Otter Pale
22% Crystal 140L
7% Chocolate Malt

But what if I do this instead:
38% Maris Otter Pale
30% Pilsner malt
24% Crystal 140L
8% Chocolate Malt

Will it taste less malty? Thinner?
 
It'll be less malty with the pilsner malt addition. MO is bready/malty sort of flavor, so you'd get less of that.
 
I think the difference will be fairly minor. It will still make a great beer.
 
I get more biscuit and bready from Maris Otter. Pilner is a sweeter, light honey flavor with less maltyness.

With that much (too much in my opinion) 140 crystal and chocolate malt, you'll never notice the difference.
 
I get more biscuit and bready from Maris Otter. Pilner is a sweeter, light honey flavor with less maltyness.

With that much (too much in my opinion) 140 crystal and chocolate malt, you'll never notice the difference.

That's what I was thinking. I'm not worried about what the pilsner will do so much as the 24% C-140.
 
That's...that's a lot of crystal malt, especially 140.

Agree, pilsner has a slight light honey sweet flavor with pretty much not maltiness at all. MO is a medium malty/bready. A little bit of a halfway between regular 2-row pale and viena in my opinion (Well, on the malty scale. I taste a little bready which neither viena or 2-row have. Almost like subbing out 2% viena for 2% biscuit in the malt bill).
 
Another vote for taking out most of that crystal. I never go over 10%, over 20% is really pushing it.
 
Thanks all. In the end it turned out I didn't even have any crystal (don't know why I thought I did).

Ended up with something along the lines of:
43% maris otter
50% pilsner
7% black malt

I've never seen pilsner and black in a recipe together and there's probably a reason for that! Anyway, time will tell.
 
A simple schwarzbier recipe would be 50/50 pilsner and munich with some black malt - though likely some or all of it debittered. What yeast did you use and how did you hop it? Either way I'd prefer this over a beer with 24% dark crystal.
:mug:
 
Yeah, schwarzbier is generally Carfa I-III or Black Prinz (all debittered to some degree). Straight black/black patent is going to leave a lot of bitterness that a Schwarzbier isn't supposed to have.

Which doesn't mean it can't be a good beer, but it wouldn't really bee a schwarzbier. Also, ale yeast, not lager yeast.

If anything I'd call it an American or British porter depending on hops, exact yeast and how much you carb it.
 
Glad I'm not going too far from a standard style, although I used Darnstar Nottingham ale yeast, which won't be consistent with a schwarzbier.

For hops I had 22 IBU of Challenger (3 additions at 60, 20, and 5mins).

edit - so probably closer to a porter
 
Ferment really cold, like 60F and you'll get a pretty good hybrid with Nottingham. Just make sure you warm it up around day 3-4.
 

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