Which base malt would be best to get?

[Geirfuglinn]

Asking you guys with so much more expertise Living in France my choices for base malt are either Pilsner (belgian blonde), pale ale from european barley or Munich 15 all close in price for 55 pound bags. I could also get some Maris Otis from the Uk, slightly more expensive but not by much. The beers I am interested in brewing to start with would be american amber, pale ale and IPA. Any advice?

 

[mr_rogers]

If you're brewing all grain you would probably want a pale 2-row malt. Breiss is my personal favorite but Maris otter is similar, Just more malty.

 

[te-wa]

2 row malt... maris company is 2 row, may be toasted more? and calls it "otter". i like it in porters, ambers/reds. UK or German 2 row is better for ipas, IMO.

 

[Geirfuglinn]

I think both the pilsner and the pale I can get are both 2 row as well. Briess is less easy to get here.

 

[FuzzeWuzze]

Maris otter all the way, it's good for pretty much all styles you would use normal 2 row for but gives a much more complex flavor profile.

 

[pmonti80]

In europe almost all malt is 2-row. For those recipes you mentions european pale malt is your best bet. But Munich Light or Maris Otter may be more flavourful.

 

[Geirfuglinn]

would you think munich 15 is closer to maris otter?

 

[Paps]

do some SMASH brews using each malt then decide for yourself which you like best.

 

[Wayne1]

Malteries Franco-Belges offers some fantastic malts. Their pale ale malt should suffice for most of the styles you wish to make. Their Vienna will do very nicely in an American Amber.

 

[Geirfuglinn]

Thanks Wayne And Paps, what are SMASH brews?

 

[GHBWNY]

Single Malt And Single Hop. Great way to test-drive a particular malt or hop for flavor profile.

 

[Geirfuglinn]

Thanks Pete, makes sense now

 

[Wayne1]

Single Malt And Single Hop brews are a way to determine the flavor characteristic of ingredients.

You make a simple recipe multiple times just changing one ingredient.

To determine what flavor each type of base malt will bring, make the same beer with Marris Otter barley from one maltster, then the same recipe with German Pils and then again with MFB pale ale malt. Taste all three and compare the similarities and differences.

 

[Geirfuglinn]

Sounds boring though but maybe the best way to start....

 

[DocScott]

I'd vote for the pale malt for the styles you indicated. I love Maris Otter, but find it a bit too malty for american hoppy styles.

You'd be surprised at how interesting and delicious SMaSH brews can turn out!

 

[ArcaneXor]

I'd go for Pale Ale malt over generic 2-Row pale anytime.

 

[Geirfuglinn]

Thanks for the votes Since I soon have quite a few fermenters, I just. might do some SMASH. Now for picking the hops for that.

 

[Geirfuglinn]

By the way... has anyone made a list of all these abbreviations for us noobs? Havent seen any yet, but I could have overlooked it.

 

[chickypad]

Glossary

 

[andy6026]

I have 55 lb bags of both Marris Otter and 2-row. My Marris Otter gets used A LOT faster.

 

[Paps]

S.ingle
M.alt
A.nd
S.ingle
H.op

Sinse there is only 1 malt and 1 hop used, you can pinpoint flavors more accurately. In your case you could choose say amarillo for the hops and then do several SMASH brews using the different malts while keeping the hop the same. This will show you exactly how different each malt will be. This can also be done keeping the malt the same but swapping out hops to learn the differences in those as well.

 

[misterkidd]

SMASH is "single malt and single hop". Simple recipes that are good for learning the flavour of individual ingredients. For example, if you make an APA with just maris otter and cascade hops, then another with just pilsner malt and cascade hops, you could taste for yourself the difference between the two malts. Like a delicious scientific experiment.

 

[Geirfuglinn]

Thank you all It really does make good sense the single malt and hop thing, I think I might try it. Would you recommend it in a normal 5 gallon batch? It is probably also a good way to get to know the ingredients and processes.
But I think I will make this Holly Christmas ale first though... sounds so nice for Christmas

 

[rodwha]

To cut down on cost and give the potential for all to be ready around the same time I think most people make much smaller batches (1-2.5 gal).

If they are all done around the same time they can be sampled in the same day/week to get a more accurate idea.

Invite a few friends over and pour several small glasses with water in-between to rinse the palate a bit.

 

[rodwha]

Do you have a LHBS (Local Home Brew Store) nearby that you can buy just what you need (exact amounts) or even a place you can order from? This makes it so much easier to do.

I order the bulk of my stuff online, but they do not sell in exact amounts (i.e. 6 oz of crystal 20 and 8 oz of carapils, etc.) but only by the pound. So I have to drive 45 mins to my LHBS to buy the remainder of my needs.

 

[Geirfuglinn]

Hi Rodwa,
No that is exactly the problem, there is no local LBHS ( hope I got that right). Many hours drive if even then, I dont know of any less than 7 hours away from me. So I will have to think a few brews ahead Fortunately I can order online and every few months or so I can get stuff from the UK.