Pale Ale Malt vs Maris Otter in Milk Stout?

[Keqwow]

I just bought Beersmith and I am going to try to make my first milk stout. I am looking at the Milk O'Stout recipe and the recipe lists calls for "Pale Malt, Maris Otter."
I picked up a 10 lb bag of Avangard Malz Premium Pale Ale Malt. Is this going to be comparable, or what? Should I just try to find a bag of Maris Otter?
Sorry, I am not super familiar with the different malts. This is only my third brew.

 

[dkeller12]

My experience with pale ale malt, not the brand you bought but pale ale malt in general, versus Maris Otter will be the absence a biscuity note that Maris Otter adds, that I love. Other than that I would think it will not make a huge difference, someone may correct me though.

 

[Hanso]

Probably not much of a difference... do you have specifications? I've used Briess Pale Ale malt instead of MO before and have no regrets.

 

[BamaPhil]

Maris otter is a brand of pale ale malt, you should be good to go.

 

[max384]

I've done some SMaSH brews (one grain, one hop), and the difference between Maris Otter and domestic 2-row is small, but perceptible. I've substituted Maris Otter for domestic 2-row, and the brew turned out fine... but I imagine I'd be able to taste the difference if I tasted one made with MA and 2-row side by side.

 

[btbnl]

While there is a difference, it'll be a small factor with all the other flavors going on in a milk stout.

 

[Hanso]

While there is a difference, it'll be a small factor with all the other flavors going on in a milk stout.

good point, we've all zeroed in on whether it must be MO or some other pale ale malt, overlooking the fact that the question was specifically about using it in a milk stout.

You're good to go, no difference.

 

[ong]

I always just use the nice cheap 2-row in stouts and porters because I can't tell the difference amidst all that roast.

 

[snow16]

I think you'll be fine with what you have.

On a different note, and not to be a jerk, I think it's worth pointing out that Maris Otter is not a 'brand' of pale ale malt at all - as suggested above. It's an English two-row varietal often used by a number of maltsters.

 

[agcorry00]

The wiki has a lot of good info on different malts. Good luck with the stout!


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[RM-MN]

I've seen people suggest that if you don't have Maris Otter and want the flavor it brings you can use pale malt and a bit of biscuit or victory malt to get a similar "biscuity" flavor.

 

[Nagorg]

Definitely a difference that's quite noticeable in lighter styles and probably even a milk stout if you did a side-by-side test. The base malt isn't really the showcase in this style though and the nuances would hopefully be overshadowed by the chocolate/coffee like flavors from the roasted malts.

I do think that Marris Otter could add a nice character but you'll be fine with standard Pale Malt. Like RM-MN said, you could add some Biscuit or Victory to compensate but I don't think I'd mess with it until I had a chance to taste the two different variations. (Pale Malt -vs Marris Otter)

 

[MollyHatchet]

I made a northern brown ale using Maris Otter, and it was a great beer. I then did the same recipe, but used regular two row, and the remainder of the grain bill was left over from the first batch, and the difference was noticeable. The second batch was good, but you would have believed it was a different recipe. I used the same yeast cake to make the second batch. So it's Maris Otter all the way for me on my English beers.

 

[BamaPhil]

... I think it's worth pointing out that Maris Otter is not a 'brand' of pale ale malt at all - as suggested above. It's an English two-row varietal often used by a number of maltsters.

I stand corrected.:smack:

 

[fimpster]

As has already been pointed out, Maris Otter is an English variety of pale malt. The Avengard Malz listed in the OP is German (not domestic). It'll probably still make a fine Milk Stout though.

 

[Sheldon]

Did a chocolate cafe milk stout and used American Pils as base malt and took home a gold medal in a BJCP competition last week.