Gambrinus ESB Pale Malt... The smells!!

[EtchyLives]

I used GEPM awhile back but moved to more readily available Maris Otter for the last couple years. Got another couple sacks of GEPM to mix things up after a hiatus and made a wort with 94% base Malt.

The grain smell was unbelievably good. All the scents normally attributed to MO in spades with this malt. Also, really good efficiency (82%) with a big grain bill. Once this beer ferments out I'll give more impressions on the resulting flavor but for now I'm pretty sold on this grain as an MO replacement.

 

[imasickboy]

I use it exclusively in place of MO. It's so great, especially for the price.

 

[ESBrewer]

There are a lot of good pale ale malts made from different barley varieties that can be used instead of MO. Each of them seems to have slightly different character and aroma and it depends on the recipe and your taste buds which one you find most enjoyable. Gambrinus is malted from some Canadian 2-row, then there are British Golden Promise, Pearl, Halcyon, Flagon, Propino, Concerto, Chevallier etc. variety pale malts malted in much the same way so a lot of closely related things to experiment with.

 

[EtchyLives]

There are a lot of good pale ale malts made from different barley varieties that can be used instead of MO. Each of them seems to have slightly different character and aroma and it depends on the recipe and your taste buds which one you find most enjoyable. Gambrinus is malted from some Canadian 2-row, then there are British Golden Promise, Pearl, Halcyon, Flagon, Propino, Concerto, Chevallier etc. variety pale malts malted in much the same way so a lot of closely related things to experiment with.

One of the guys at my LHBS was talking ESBs with me. He's using Maris Otter, Pearl, and Golden Promise for his base malts. I'll have to chat with him some more about his grain bill and start experimenting.