Pale malt vs extra pale malt?

[rmeskill]

Hey all-I'm in Europe, and my grain choices tend to be a bit limited. Generally I can only get Weyermann Pale Ale malt, which clocks in around 5-6EBC. Sometimes I can get maris otter (about the same) but on rare occasions I see Weyermann Extra Pale or Extra Crisp Maris Otter (both around 2EBC). Since I've never been able to brew a side-by-side, what's the difference between the 'normal' an 'extra pale' varieties besides colour? Do I end up with a different flavour-profile beer if I brew with an extra pale? I'm just thinking about getting a 50lb bag of the extra pale while it's in stock or just not worrying about it and ending up with slightly darker beer.

Edit: to clarify, I can always get Pilsner malt which is 2EBC, but I'm wary to brew with too much Pilsner because I've ended up with shrimpy/popcorny beer before, even after a 90' boil, so I try to avoid it if possible.

 

[BigEd]

Lighter malt will have had less kilning time and/or temperature. Everything else being equal an Extra light compared to Light from the same maltster will be a little less "toasty" in flavor. Either way you should be fine. I'd lean in the direction of whatever type is more appropriate for the general colors of beer you will be brewing.

 

[ESBrewer]

Extra pale has little bit more diastatic power and less flavour & color. For most traditional ales (especially British) I would choose the darker one. Extra pale could be used in lagers and some light ale beers.

 

[Hanglow]

Yeah,it's also fine with beers with more specialty malts as those will provide all the flavour


Where are you in europe? there are so many malts and grains available here, I'm not sure I could ever go through them all!

 

[thehaze]

I've brewed a lot with Pilsner malt and I do 90 minutes boil and never had any popcorn/corn flavours, so maybe your are not boiling hard / enough?

From experience, you can easily go for Weyermann Pale Ale and the colour difference is almost non-existing. As for flavour, almost undistinguishable, especially for the beers I brew. You can use Pale Ale even for Lager / Pilsner style beers with no issues whatsoever and only ever have to boil for 60 minutes.