Irish Stout Malt in a Saison?

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Is Irish Stout Malt in a Saison a Bad Idea?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 4 100.0%

  • Total voters
    4

gradnin

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Has anyone tried using Irish Stout Malt in a Saison? My LHBS just started carrying it.

The backstory here is that a while ago I went to make an all-grain Saison with 65% Pilsner, 15% Rye, 8% Caramel Wheat, and 8% Flaked Wheat and 2% Clear Candi Sugar. I accidentally bought Pale Malt instead of Pilsner and did not realize it until after I milled the grain. I brewed the beer anyway and it turned out great. A few months later, I brewed it again but with Pilsner and it was nowhere near as good. Since then, I have been wondering what else I could substitute for the Pilsner and I was thinking about trying Irish Stout Malt.

The Malting Company of Ireland's website has this note regarding the malt, "While usually used in Irish stouts, it is at home in any style calling for an English-type pale malt" and Irish Stout Malt just became readily available to me, so it seemed like this could be interesting -- well unless someone else has tried it and found that it is not.
 
I can see Irish Malt being 1.5-2L, so that's pretty light in terms of colour, which means the colour difference ( somewhat flavour wise as well ) from this to Pilsner malt will not be as big, as say from Pilsner malt to Vienna or Maris Otter.

I think it will make a fine Saison and more than likely, fine beer in general.
 
I started brewing late last year with the impression that Pilsner malt was a good choice in an all-purpose base grain and 4 sacks later realized that a lot of my beers lack the sturdy maltiness I like. Next I bought a sack of Belgian pale malt which made a difference but I still tend to depend on a lot of specialty grains. My next sack will be Vienna malt and I expect to get a lot more flavor from it and cut back on the aromatic, melanoidin, etc. that I had been using so much of to try to correct the plainness of Pilsner malt. I might also try crisp Maris Otter since my LHBS stocks it and recommended it to me.
 
I started brewing late last year with the impression that Pilsner malt was a good choice in an all-purpose base grain and 4 sacks later realized that a lot of my beers lack the sturdy maltiness I like. Next I bought a sack of Belgian pale malt which made a difference but I still tend to depend on a lot of specialty grains. My next sack will be Vienna malt and I expect to get a lot more flavor from it and cut back on the aromatic, melanoidin, etc. that I had been using so much of to try to correct the plainness of Pilsner malt. I might also try crisp Maris Otter since my LHBS stocks it and recommended it to me.

The one reason I buy more Pilsner than pale ale malt is you can always add to the grist to increase the body and mouthfeel. It’s a lot harder to take that same body away from Maris Otter or Golden Promise base, and the lightest color you can obtain is around 4-5 SRM. But they are quite delicious, so go for it!

One of the things I’ve come to realize is that it’s not just the color contribution of the malt, but the barley cultivar and origin that plays a huge role in flavor and complexity of the wort. A domestic malt will taste different than a similar continental variety, and even maltsters within the same area will produce variations in quality and flavor. It is always worth trying new and different malts to determine the effect it has on your finished beer.
 
If the color range is 1.5 to 2 L, then its functionally a Pils malt. It should be fine in a saison. Of course, the terrior of the barley will play a factor in the overall beer flavor along with the kilning level.
 
awhile ago a pro gave me half a bag to play with. I brewed a smash with this and citra it turned out great. It is pale enough, I think a Saison would be great. :mug: Brew on
 
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