Belgian, Bohemian and German Pilsner Malt Interchangeability

[Nemanach]

I’ve been brewing a bunch of Czech, German and Belgian styles of beer recently that all call for their respective types of pilsner. Which of these would you say are most interchangeable? I don’t want to keep a bag of each on hand if possible.

I have a bag of Belgian and a bag of Bohemian Pilsner malt. I’ve been brewing the German and Czech beers with Bohemian Pilsner malt and Belgians with the Belgian malt. I haven’t been able to drink the German beers yet as they are still fermenting or lagering. The German beers I made were a Berliner Weiss, Oktoberfest and Dusseldorf Altbier. The Czech beer was a pilsner and the Belgian was a La Chouffe clone. I hope to do a Czech Dark Lager, a dubbel and a trippel soon.

I was at the LHBS today and started eating grain to see if I could tell the difference. The Belgian and Bohemian malts were both similar and slightly sweeter then the German Malts. From that I would think it would make sense to use Belgian and Bohemian interchangeably and then get some German for German beers.

Does anyone have an thoughts on which 2 of the 3 pilsner malts I should standardize on? Or if I should just do 1? I have domestic 2 row and Maris otter as well so I don’t want to have 5 types of base grain laying around if I don’t have to.

 

[MrPowers]

I think you see just as much variation between maltster and product line as you do between country of origin. Weyermann Pilsner, Floor Malted Bohemian Pilsner, and Barke Pilsner are all very different. And Weyermann differs dramatically from Avangard or Best Malz.

I think it matters more that you find a pilsner malt that you really like, than it does to use one that is country correct. Personally, I like Weyermann Floor Malted/Barke or Best Malz and I would have no reservations using them in any continental style.

 

[Jayjay1976]

I found the Dingemanns to be a bit bland. Avangard is my usual base for everything, it gives high efficiency and a good flavor, but Bestmalz Heidelberg when I can afford it, is outstanding. I've not yet tried Weyermann floor malted boho, but I plan to someday. When possible I like to brew with ingredients from the region where the style originates, since recipes will have evolved to make best use of what is locally available.

 

[snowtiger1987]

Weyermann

 

[day_trippr]

I did a Kolsch with the first bag of Weyermann I've bought and we're enjoying it now.
There's pretty much nowhere to hide in a Kolsch - there's not a lot going on - and it came out so tasty I'll likely stick with it...

Cheers!