Is British 2-Row Malt the same as American 2-Row Malt?

[SDouglas82]

I have a recipe calling for British 2-Row Malt and my LHBS only sells American 2-Row Malt. Is that going to be ok? Making an oatmeal stout.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[logdrum]

British 2 row (like Maris Otter) tends to be a bit more full flavored than good ole American 2 row. That being said, your Stout will be fine. Maybe throw in a couple of oz of Victory or Biscuit?

 

[SDouglas82]

British 2 row (like Maris Otter) tends to be a bit more full flavored than good ole American 2 row. That being said, your Stout will be fine. Maybe throw in a couple of oz of Victory or Biscuit?

Would you recommend English Maris Otter Pale Malt over American 2 row? Someone suggested that.





Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[kh54s10]

Would you recommend English Maris Otter Pale Malt over American 2 row? Someone suggested that.





Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

It depends on what you are trying to make. A British ale would benefit from a malt like Maris Otter, but an american ale could use an american 2 row. I use one or the other and do not worry too much about whether it is totally proper for an English or American ale.

I really like Maris Otter, BTW.

 

[Kuhndog]

If you had to pick between the two, I would go with the Maris Otter. Floor malted if you can get it and it's not overly expensive. A local brewery switched over to Maris Otter vs Briess Pale Ale malt for darker styles like brown ales, porters and stouts and EVERYONE says that there is more complex flavor and maltiness (doesn't mean sweetness by the way) for those styles.

 

[BigEd]

my LHBS only sells American 2-Row Malt.

Complain. That's like a meat market that only sells chicken breasts.

Will your stout be OK? It will be OK but it would be better with the UK malt. UK pale malt has a richer, deeper flavor than domestic so you could add some accessory malt as suggested above to give a flavor boost if you use the domestic malt.

Yes, Maris-otter is very good but the standard barley British pale malts are fine and there are other heirloom varieties besides MO that are also worth trying such as Golden Promise. To clarify, Maris-Otter is a barley variety, an heirloom type that is more difficult to grow and has lower yield than modern types. A number of malting firms offer pale malt produced from MO.

 

[SDouglas82]

It depends on what you are trying to make. A British ale would benefit from a malt like Maris Otter, but an american ale could use an american 2 row. I use one or the other and do not worry too much about whether it is totally proper for an English or American ale.



I really like Maris Otter, BTW.

It's an oatmeal stout.

7.9 lbs - British 2-Row Malt (where I'm having the issue)
16 oz - flaked oats
12 oz - 20L crystal malt
12 oz - roasted barley
6 oz - chocolate malt


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Talgrath]

It's an oatmeal stout.

7.9 lbs - British 2-Row Malt (where I'm having the issue)
16 oz - flaked oats
12 oz - 20L crystal malt
12 oz - roasted barley
6 oz - chocolate malt


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

For a stout I definitely recommend British 2-row over American 2-row; if your local shop doesn't carry them I would order online (and never go to said shop again until they get a better selection).

 

[chickypad]

I have a recipe calling for British 2-Row Malt and my LHBS only sells American 2-Row Malt. Is that going to be ok? Making an oatmeal stout.

Realize that most of the British malsters don't market their product as "2-row". Maris otter, Pearl, Optic, Golden promise, Halcyon are all British varieties of 2-row barley and are usually sold under these names. These would all be acceptable in any recipe just generically calling for British pale or 2-row base.

Edit: took me a minute to find it. There is a nice write up here comparing american 2-row to English base malts.

 

[hunter_le five]

American 2-row will make you a perfectly fine beer, even for this recipe. If that's all you can get your hands on right now, go for it.

But as the others have stated, Maris Otter (or other UK 2-row) would be a better choice, if you can get your hands on it. I would ask the LHBS staff if they can start stocking Maris Otter. A LHBS that does not stock MO is not a LHBS that I would continue frequenting for much longer. It's such a staple grain for brewing that I can't imagine why they wouldn't.

Edit: or as chickypad hinted at, maybe the guy working the counter at the HBS is a dummy and doesn't realize Maris Otter and Golden Promise et al ARE varieties of UK 2-row, and they do have them in stock. I've had similar things happen to me before....