Sub for US Pale Malt

[AnthonyCB]

I live in Paris and I'm looking for a good substitute for US Pale Malt. I have a big bag of Crisp Maris Otter from the UK. It's quite a bit toastier than US pale malt, and I like it, but it does have a different flavor. I had intended on using pale malt from Malteries Soufflet since I have a friend who buys bulk from them. I've noticed that his pale beers have a distinct Belgian quality to them even though I know he is using S-05 yeast and is brewing non-Belgian styles. He uses a blend of pilsner and pale. Could this be what gives his pale beers the flavor I am noticing? I assume that this Belgian quality is actually coming from the base malt since none of the other ingredients explain it. It should be fairly easy for me to get Weyermann Pale malt or Crisp Pale Malt.

Which malt is likely to give me the clean graininess of US 2-Row Pale malt? How would you guys characterize the differences between them. Do you think I'm imagining things with the Malteries Soufflet malt? I'd rather not brew a batch of an American style that I'm going to be unhappy with.

Thanks,

Anthony

 

[TimTrone]

The weyerman Pale malt is really good stuff. Not too many places seem to keep in stock around here.

The crisp pale will be a little nuttier than the US stuff. IMO the choices of malt you have access to are superior to the US pale.

 

[Psych]

When I last bought some grain sacks at the malting company here they didn't have any 2-row packaged up and would have to run some fresh through the bagger, said it would take a while to clear the lines and stuff, so why don't we give you some organic pilsner instead?

I said sure, good deal!

So I've been using pilsner malt as a direct replacement for 2-row. It does have a different taste of course, but it's not so much different that it throws things off for me.

 

[BigEd]

I live in Paris and I'm looking for a good substitute for US Pale Malt. I have a big bag of Crisp Maris Otter from the UK. It's quite a bit toastier than US pale malt, and I like it, but it does have a different flavor. I had intended on using pale malt from Malteries Soufflet since I have a friend who buys bulk from them. I've noticed that his pale beers have a distinct Belgian quality to them even though I know he is using S-05 yeast and is brewing non-Belgian styles. He uses a blend of pilsner and pale. Could this be what gives his pale beers the flavor I am noticing? I assume that this Belgian quality is actually coming from the base malt since none of the other ingredients explain it. It should be fairly easy for me to get Weyermann Pale malt or Crisp Pale Malt.

Which malt is likely to give me the clean graininess of US 2-Row Pale malt? How would you guys characterize the differences between them. Do you think I'm imagining things with the Malteries Soufflet malt? I'd rather not brew a batch of an American style that I'm going to be unhappy with.

Thanks,

Anthony

I would use the Weyermann Pale Malt. Frankly any of the European malts are going to have more flavor, depth and richness than North American pale malt. That said I think the Weyermann will give you a more neutral profile than a British malt although the beer will still have more flavor in the body than if you used an American variety. To me that's a good thing. What particular style or recipe are you making?

 

[AnthonyCB]

IMO the choices of malt you have access to are superior to the US pale.

I'm not complaining about the quality of these malts. They are just different than US pale and I'm looking for the closest substitution. Vienna malt isn't superior to Munich malt, it's just a different ingredient.

What particular style or recipe are you making?

I'm looking for a sub for some APA and IPA clones that I'm going to brew to try to match some American Beers that we don't have access to here. I like the Marris Otter in general it just yields a different beer than if I were using US Pale malt.

I'm not a big fan of the Belgian malt taste that I'm suspicious the French Malt adds. It would be fine in a tripel but seems strange in an IPA.

Weyermann seems to be the consensus. Thanks for your opinions.

 

[BigEd]

I'm not complaining about the quality of these malts. They are just different than US pale and I'm looking for the closest substitution. Vienna malt isn't superior to Munich malt, it's just a different ingredient.



I'm looking for a sub for some APA and IPA clones that I'm going to brew to try to match some American Beers that we don't have access to here. I like the Marris Otter in general it just yields a different beer than if I were using US Pale malt.

I'm not a big fan of the Belgian malt taste that I'm suspicious the French Malt adds. It would be fine in a tripel but seems strange in an IPA.

Weyermann seems to be the consensus. Thanks for your opinions.

There is another malt that flies under the radar, if you will, British Lager Malt. It's lighter in color & flavor than the British pales and quite easy to work with. It might be worth consideration too.