Briess or Rahr 2-row?

[drunkatuw]

I've been shopping around and it seems that Briess 2-row is usually 25% more than Rahr. Maybe this is because I'm in MN and Rahr is produced here, but I was wondering about the quality difference between the two?

Unfortunately, my LHBS only carries Briess sacks for $45, but there's a chance I'll be driving up to Minneapolis this weekend and I could pick up a sack (or two) or Rahr for only $29.95.

Any one brew with both and prefer one over the other?

 

[Desert_Sky]

just my preference, but I stay away from Briess whenever possible

 

[zoebisch01]

I have never brewed with Rahr, but in general it seems it is much less expensive than Briess. I think Briess is a good malt for American style Ales in general. I'd give the Rahr a shot, as I can't imagine it being 'bad'. $30 is not expensive at all. I think the rule of thumb is that better quality often equals higher price, but there are exceptions to the rule. Unless someone who has used it can tell you it if it is a 'bad' malt, I'd say go for it.

 

[zoebisch01]

just my preference, but I stay away from Briess whenever possible

Have you had a bad experience with them? I can say that their Munich Malt is terribly low in dp, but the Pale Ale malt I had a sack of was good so I am wondering why you feel this way. :cross:

 

[ColoradoXJ13]

I use rahr as the base for all of my beers due to price. I have brewed with Briss 2-row and Great Western 2-row, and don't notice any difference in the end product. One of the smaller local micros here (Mountain/Southern Sun) uses Rahr as base, if it is good enough for them...

 

[Desert_Sky]

Have you had a bad experience with them? I can say that their Munich Malt is terribly low in dp, but the Pale Ale malt I had a sack of was good so I am wondering why you feel this way. :cross:

I just feel that the final taste is bland compared to other similarly prices malts. And that goes for the base malts and the specialty malts

 

[uwmgdman]

I have used both and have had good experiences with both. So purely on price, get yourself a deal I'd say.

 

[EinGutesBier]

The local microbrewery I've worked at has had sacks of both Briess and Rahr. When we opened the sacks of each, we noticed that the Rahr kernels were less plump, indicative of a not-so-good growing year. The Briess was fuller than the Rahr overall. Now maybe it's just a fluke for a specific harvest, but when we had used the Rahr, we had problems with the grain bed because of the comparably smaller kernel size.

Take it however you like, but as a result, I've only bought Briess so far for my own home brewing purposes and had no real issues. However, I might try Rahr next, since it's a good bit cheaper and I would like to see how it compares on the home brew front.

 

[SuperiorBrew]

I have used both and they seemed interchangeable to me, I tend to think of the Breiss and the more premium malt just from what I have read and pricing. I havent opened the 100lbs i just got from Midwest, but for some reason I am thinking it will be Rahr like i normally get from NB

 

[BierMuncher]

Rahr is fine. I interchange on base grains pretty frequently when the budget warrants it.

 

[Spyk'd]

I've noticed no difference between the two. I use Rahr for the base malt in all the recipes that have plenty of specialty malt and Marris Otter or Pale Ale when there isn't alot of specialty matls added.


I find the results quite good, if I do say so myself...

:cross:

 

[FlyGuy]

I've only used Rahr (not Breiss) but Rahr is great. Most of the popular microbreweries here in Alberta use it, too.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Get the Rahr. If you buy Briess or MO or whatever, you're just paying for a name.

 

[Buford]

Get the Rahr. If you buy Briess or MO or whatever, you're just paying for a name.

Maris Otter is a specific cultivar of barley so that name actually matters.

 

[SuperiorBrew]

Maris Otter is a specific cultivar of barley so that name actually matters.

The OP was comparing pale base malts & that is what Bernie was refering to.
Are you saying you can tell the difference between the Rahr and Breiss pale malts?

 

[RadicalEd]

No, he's not, he's saying that MO is physically a different type of malt; iirc both the strain and malting process are different for MO compared to standard 2-row.

He did not comment on the difference between Rahr and Briess, and I would read that as tacitly agreeing that there is little flavor difference between them.

Summary: MO is worth paying extra money for. Briess is not.

 

[B-Dub]

I have used Rahr in many, many many brews. They produce great malt and are great people. Plus they are the leading seller of malt for most of the West Coast micros right now!! Even out selling GW and way over Briess!

I also know the VP and he is a great guy.

Brett

 

[Jack]

As long as we're talking about marris otter, I have a question about it. Is it a base malt or should it be used as a specialty malt? Or does it depend?

 

[Yooper]

I've used it as a base malt in English styles, as well as any other styles I want the flavor in. You could use it in a mini-mash, too.

 

[RichBrewer]

As long as we're talking about marris otter, I have a question about it. Is it a base malt or should it be used as a specialty malt? Or does it depend?

I've switched to Marris Otter as my base malt for most of my beers. It is definitely a base malt.

 

[yellow70cooper]

Living in North Dakota I am qite a reular user of Rahr 2 row but this weekend I was in the Twin Cities and when I swung by Midwest, I got to talking with one of the employees about base malts and we compared Breiss to Rahr and the Rhar kernels were smalle and somewhat cracked in the bag, but the Briess looked plumper and bigger for lack of a better word. So I bought the 50 lbs of Breiss and a group of hops. Singlr malt single hop rules ..

 

[Aspera]

I would use Rahr and Briess interchangably most years but prefer Marris Otter in ales and Dingemanns for lager malts..