Thinking about a bulk buy...

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jajabee

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
172
Reaction score
2
... how far could I get with a 50lb bag of plain old American 2-row? I plan to brew about ten 5g batches this year, so the bag would be just right, but I don't want to box myself in recipe-wise. I'm interested in brewing stuff like the Vanilla Caramel Cream ale, a Boddington's clone, a spiced Pumpkin ale, a fruity wheat beer, maybe some Belgian clones... would the 2-row base get me through all those? Or would another bag (a Marris Otter or something) be a better choice for a versatile base malt?
 
Personally, I figure about 8-9# per batch... assuming that I use solely 2-row as the base malt for all beers, that's only about six per 55# sack. I like Maris Otter myself (not to mention Golden Promise), but I feel it's a little less versatile than the 2-row.
 
Why not just use good ol' pale ale malt? It's good for just about everything. It seems like a sorta-kinda cross of 2-row and MO.
Where are you located?
 
If you want to brew that much, and not get boxed in, Id get 100# of pale.
 
I would go with regular 2-row. I've thought about a 55# bag of Maris Otter, but only because I love malty beers. 2-row will let you be very versatile, you can add other grains to make it more malty or whatever you need.
 
If you want to brew a bit of everything, a sack of Maris Otter and a sack of Pils would cover you fairly well.

In a pinch, a sack or two of plain 2-row will do fine.
 
American 2-row tends to be the backbone of my brewing. It is usually 50 to 80% of my grist bill.
 
Awesome guys, thanks. Looks like I'll go with a bag of 2-row pale. I'm in Portland, and the brewbrothers.biz guys here have it for $33/bag. Now I just have to go build me a pasta machine grain crusher! :D
 
Awesome guys, thanks. Looks like I'll go with a bag of 2-row pale. I'm in Portland, and the brewbrothers.biz guys here have it for $33/bag. Now I just have to go build me a pasta machine grain crusher! :D

Great price! I get a 55# bag for around $40 at the LHBS and consider that a pretty good buy (Canadian 2-row)
 
Huh, good point. I figure I'll store it in one of those smallish rubbermaid trash cans in the garage, with a lid on. I guess 50lbs will only get me 5-6 batches, so that's only one brew a month if I want to try to use it up in 6 months.... I think I can do that. :) Gotta get some more carboys though! :D
 
Okay, it's ordered!! I went and got my $14.99 pasta/grain crusher today and dinged it up with a drill bit, just have to build a hopper and platform for it with the spare plywood in the garage. Also found a $6.99 11.6 pound kitchen scale at a discount store today, sweet! That'll make me feel better about all the money I'm about to blow on another carboy and related equipment. ;)
 
Back
Top