Avangard Pilsner Malt

[theck]

I picked up this and a wheat, 55# sacks, reused some Hefe yeast, grabbed a bag of hops and brewed a $12.06 five gallon batch... Can't wait to see how it turns out.

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[mister704]

LOVE this malt. YOU will get a higher OG/SG. I have now used this 3 times and my OG/SG has been at a min .15-.20 higher. For instance...my last brew was suppose to be 1.079, came out to 1.100. I actually had to add boiled distilled water to bring it down.

After adding the water and such, I was about 1.088 and now I am currently down to 1.016 using WLP570 belgian yeast. Hoping it finished at under the 1.010 mark.

I order mine from Label Peelers. I actually will be using it again soon to make the Allagash Curieux clone here.

Just tasted my belgian golden strong ale. Will probably rack it to secondary on Sunday. It has been at the 1.016 mark the past 2 days. Will check it again and if it is the same. Will rack to secondary, add my honey and orange zest and be done.

 

[WissaBrewGuy]

Did you get it from Philly Homebrew? I've brewed 2 batches with it so far, a Saison and a Quad. The Saison is a recipe I am very familiar with, Ive brewed it close to 10 times. My OG was sky high, its usually a 1.050 beer but ended up 1.060 going into the fermenter. Definitely some huge ppg on this malt, so far so good.

Yeah I did. I just brewed a Berliner wiesse and my efficiency was over 80%!

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[theck]

I have yet to see those efficiencies... what kinda mills are you guys running this in?

 

[finsfan]

I will probably order the 55lb bag from label peelers here soon. Looks like this is a good pilsner choice.

 

[Coff]

I have brewed 3 beers with this, 2 recipes I have brewed countless times, both are usually 1.050 Saisons using either Canada Malting Pils or Weyerman Pils. Well all 3 Saisons have come in at exactly 1.060 using Avangard, I just ran with it as opposed to watering down but in the future I will adjust my recipes for this malt.

I plan to buy this again if given the chance.

 

[thegreatmaibockaddict]

I have yet to see those efficiencies... what kinda mills are you guys running this in?

The kernels are small, so I had to close my rollers to the max. The crush IS important. My first time using this malt, the crush was poor and my yield was nothing special.

If you cannot adjust your rollers, have the local shop do the crush, but check it to make certain that the crush is fine. The kernels seem to pop and the husk breaks away intact rather well for this malt.

 

[theck]

The kernels are small, so I had to close my rollers to the max. The crush IS important. My first time using this malt, the crush was poor and my yield was nothing special.

If you cannot adjust your rollers, have the local shop do the crush, but check it to make certain that the crush is fine. The kernels seem to pop and the husk breaks away intact rather well for this malt.

Ya I noticed that myself but if you go too small then that's bad. I'm at .037 right now. I tried .035 as well but 37 seems to be much better?

 

[stpug]

Ya I noticed that myself but if you go too small then that's bad. I'm at .037 right now. I tried .035 as well but 37 seems to be much better?

My MM2 is set at .037 and I definitely get higher sugar extraction from this malt than say us 2row or golden promise. I also noticed that the husk attachment to the grain is not very strong, and that the grain tends to break up rather well. I didn't notice the grain size compared to other malts though. I'll need to look at that.

Are you seeing typical efficiencies or less?

 

[thegreatmaibockaddict]

You guys must have new fangled crushers! My 20 year old Malt Mill has a screw that you adjust, but you have to adjust by feel and results.

 

[stpug]

You guys must have new fangled crushers! My 20 year old Malt Mill has a screw that you adjust, but you have to adjust by feel and results.

I think my MM2 is like your maltmill in terms of adjustment. I need to use a feeler gauge to set it to the correct gap, at which point I tighten the thumb set screws to keep the gap where I want it.

 

[theck]

My MM2 is set at .037 and I definitely get higher sugar extraction from this malt than say us 2row or golden promise. I also noticed that the husk attachment to the grain is not very strong, and that the grain tends to break up rather well. I didn't notice the grain size compared to other malts though. I'll need to look at that.

Are you seeing typical efficiencies or less?

Typical but since I've been using it I switched my process a little... Going back to the original as soon as the weather can agree on what to do (brew outside). Still even at typical it's a good amount cheaper and I haven't noticed a difference in taste. I have a Hefe I did with M.O. and just did it with this grain, the yeast I think might be screwed so waiting to see if it calms down, that will determine if there's much taste difference which I doubt I'll find. I not too particular anyhow ha

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[theck]

You guys must have new fangled crushers! My 20 year old Malt Mill has a screw that you adjust, but you have to adjust by feel and results.

You can get a gap checker, one made for checking spark plugs and use that as your starting.

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[thegreatmaibockaddict]

You can get a gap checker, one made for checking spark plugs and use that as your starting.

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Ooo. good idea, as I already got one!

 

[QuercusMax]

I just saw that Label Peelers is carrying Avangard Pale Ale malt - anybody tried this one? I'm thinking of picking up a sack for use in American/British ales.

 

[finsfan]

I am about to order a 55lb bag of pilsner, and label peelers is offering their entire stock at 22% off right now! just use code catch22 at checkout. This makes the 55lb bag only $39!

 

[mister704]

I am about to order a 55lb bag of pilsner, and label peelers is offering their entire stock at 22% off right now! just use code catch22 at checkout. This makes the 55lb bag only $39!

Was just about to post this.

 

[stpug]

What kind of shipping cost do you guys see? I'm seeing more cost for shipping than the actual grain

 

[QuercusMax]

I live 20 minutes away, so I just pick it up... I just ordered a sack of their Pale Ale malt, since I'm still working on a sack of Pils and Munich.

 

[finsfan]

I just placed an order with the 55lb pilsner, multiple ounces of hops, multiple yeasts, specialty grains, and a bunch of candi sugar. The total was $117 with shipping. I saved $25 with the discount and shipping was only $38. Not bad!

 

[finsfan]

I just brewed a brett saison with this yesterday. I noticed some people saying to adjust your mill because this grain was smaller, but I didnt see any size difference at all when comparing it with other grains. As expected, my gravity was 4 points higher then I was shooting for, but I am total fine with that. Now I just have to dial back the recipes, and use less grain. I wont be able to taste it for awhile, but I am already really happy with this grain.

 

[QuercusMax]

I just made an American Wheat with 6.5lb Avangard Pale ale, 3lb Avangard Wheat, and .5 lb Honey Malt. The Pale Ale malt seems to be highly flavorful and aromatic, with a really strong biscuity/sourdoughy flavor, almost like I had added Victory or Special roast. This might be my new go-to base malt.

 

[thegreatmaibockaddict]

I did a new Doppelbock with the Avangard Munich. With the previous Weyerman batch I hit a 22 plato doing 2 mashes of 11 lbs and 10 lbs (and boiling the first runnings of the first while mashing the 2nd).

The new batch was done using 16lbs of the Avangard (included 1lb toasted @ 350F for 40 mins) and we hit 21.5 plato.

BTW, the Dunkles (9 lbs total malt) with 1lb of Toasted Avangard Munich came out nice and nutty, very Dunkles-like.

TGMBA

 

[QuercusMax]

I just tapped a keg of west-coast bitter (Session IPA?) using primarily Avangard Pale Ale, and it's delicious. It's a more flavorful base malt than standard 2-row, but not as "rich" and biscuity as Maris Otter. I'd recommend without hesitation as a base malt for any american ale.

Here's my recipe, for the curious - it's something like a hopped-up SNPA, something like 21A's Bitter American. This keg is going to go QUICK.

10lb Avangard Pale Ale Malt
.5lb Caracrystal Wheat (55L)
Mash @156

.6oz Magnum 14.1% @60
1.5 oz Chinook 11.4% @10
1.5oz Chinook @0
1.5oz Chinook dry-hop in keg

OG 1.048, FG 1.014, 41 IBU
Ferment with S-04.

 

[stpug]

I just made an American Wheat with 6.5lb Avangard Pale ale, 3lb Avangard Wheat, and .5 lb Honey Malt. The Pale Ale malt seems to be highly flavorful and aromatic, with a really strong biscuity/sourdoughy flavor, almost like I had added Victory or Special roast. This might be my new go-to base malt.

I just tapped a keg of west-coast bitter (Session IPA?) using primarily Avangard Pale Ale, and it's delicious. It's a more flavorful base malt than standard 2-row, but not as "rich" and biscuity as Maris Otter. I'd recommend without hesitation as a base malt for any american ale.

QuercusMax, I would agree with your descriptions of this malt, particularly the sourdoughy characteristic. I find the pale to almost be like a base malt with british crystal and sourdoughy characteristics mixed in. It's not very "neutral" and wouldn't serve well in those style of beers (cream ale, blonde, etc) - BUT I am putting in my CAP as we speak just to prove it to myself .

On to my question though, are you finding this malt to produce exceptionally dark wort? My CAP is 75% AvangardPaleAleMalt, 25% yellow corn with an OG of 1.060, and the wort looks like I threw in a half pound of C40/C60. I've found the same issue with some other batches I've brewed with it. In BeerSmith, I've actually adjusted the SRM to 4.5 (I may move to 5-6 after a few more batches) and it seems to better match the beer I've brewed with it.

Cheers!

 

[QuercusMax]

Hmm, I wouldn't say it comes out darker than I would expect, but I haven't really tried to make anything with it where I was paying a lot of attention to the SRM. I made an IPA with 50/50 Pilsner and Pale Ale malt and it was pretty light in color.

I just re-brewed my Session IPA (1.049, 95% pale ale malt, 5% Crystal 80), and it's currently very cloudy. The color I get seems to be pretty close to the estimate that BrewPal on my iPhone gives me.

Could it be a pH issue maybe?

 

[stpug]

Thanks for the reply. I've got a pretty good handle on pH and am not seeing this kind of color variation with other malts. In fact, I've got a Czech pils with 100% Avangard pilsner (non-decocted) and it's lighter than I hoped for (looks like a bud light ). I was hoping that it's not just me with the pale malt color, but it looks like it may be (wouldn't be the first time ). Thanks again!

 

[stpug]

Just moved my CAP from primary to keg, and pulled a sample for gravity checking. Aside from being a higher FG than I had hoped for , the color is VERY dark for what I was expecting from a "regular" base malt. In a 5.25 gallon batch, using only 8 lb Avangard Pale Ale and 2.75 lb Yellow Corn grits as my grist, the color comes out in the 8-9 SRM range based on comparison of other beers in that same range - that's almost twice as dark as I expected!! As a "regular" continental base malt that puts the grain SRM up near 8; <-- that's munich territory there !!!

Fortunately, color doesn't really impact flavor and it's drinks wonderfully from the fermenter . Just need to keep the SRM in mind when aiming for lighter-color beers.

 

[schematix]

I haven't personally used Avangard before, but just today I was told by a LHBS owner that it is garbage and to beware. He said 5 of his really good brewers tried it, and none of the beers were any good.

I am a huge fan of Best Malz pilsner.

 

[QuercusMax]

That doesn't make any sense to me at all. The pils, wheat and Munich and all great.