What brand grain do you use?

[RandalG]

While looking at my LHBS website I noticed they have several different brands of grain mainly based on different countries it seems. I did notice overlap on a few varieties so I was wondering are some brands better than others or is it personal preference. Also is freshness an issue? In other words how long can grain be stored before it goes bad.
Randal

 

[batfishdog37]

Usually it depends on the style of beer you are making. Are you doing all grain? For example, I usually choose Maris Otter base malt if I am doing an English pale ale because it is malted in England and is well suited for english style beers. But, Rahr 2-row or some other domestic base malt would work fine. Yes, a lot of it is personal preference. Try different ones and find one you like in a certain style. Sometimes malts are designed with a specific goal in mind, such as adding dextrins or something else to the beer. Just read up on the malts and/or ask the people at your LHBS.

The grain will last longer if not crushed right away. If you crush it a the store you will want to brew fairly soon. (Couple of days or sooner)

Good Luck and have fun!

 

[joety]

Is Marris Otter a brand name? I thought it was a term for a strain of British Winter 2-row. My 50 lb back just arrived yesterday but I haven't opened the box yet.

For U.S. 2-row I use Briess since it's malted here in Wisconsin and the price is right, $44 bucks a bag at my LHBS.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

MO is a type of grain, not a brand. Most maltsters produce a MO.

I mostly buy Briess bulk malts because of the low price/high quality combination, but when it comes to specialty malts I'm all over the board.

 

[Evan!]

Batfishfog, I don't think he's talking about which kinds of base malt (pils, pale, 6-row, Maris Otter, etc), he's talking about maltsters (Breiss, Muntons, Weyermann, etc).

Maris Otter is not a "brand", it is, as joety says, a generic name for british winter barley. It's made by many producers, Muntons, etc., but the better brands are the authentic floor-malted styles. Fawcett is one. Gleneagles is awesome. I hear Warminster is great too---I should have some on the next palette.

Weyermann is great for german stuff like Munich malt and Pils. For American 2-row, I've been happy with both Breiss and Cargill.

 

[menschmaschine]

I make mostly British and German beer styles, so I use British and German malts... specifically, Fawcett (MO) and BestMalz (Pilsen), which I get from Country Malt Group (sacks) for about $1.05/lb including shipping and malt analyses.

I've made the same Ordinary Bitter with Muntons and Fawcett MO. Although the difference is fairly subtle, I definitely like the Fawcett better.

 

[PseudoChef]

From the distributor I'm lucky to have in town now, I use Briess for US 2-row and crystals, Munton's for MO, and Weyermann for Pils. Most of my Belgian specialties are Dingemann's. I'm trying to see if he'll start distributing Dingemann's pils as well. I've been happy with the quality of everything so far.

I still need to develop a familiarity for different base malts, however. Thinking I should concoct a simple malty pale ale recipe, and use Rahr, Briess, the Munton's MO, and Pils for 4 different bases to really train my palate.

 

[batfishdog37]

Batfishfog, I don't think he's talking about which kinds of base malt (pils, pale, 6-row, Maris Otter, etc), he's talking about maltsters (Breiss, Muntons, Weyermann, etc).

Gottcha, I just woke up when replying I obviously misread the question. I now see the intent. In which case I generally use Briess but enjoy many British malts. From now on I will wait till after my coffee to load up Homebrewtalk, ha ha!

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I go with the cheapest. 2-row is 2-row.

 

[giligson]

I go with the cheapest. 2-row is 2-row.

North America 2-row is a good place to start. It's cheap and generally available and very suitable to many different beer styles.

I get mine from Canada Malting Company - which is a division of Great Western Malting.

 

[david_42]

Marris Otter is a 2-row variety and most of it is floor malted. Other varieties include Golden Promise, Metcalfe, Copeland, Kendall, Harrington, etc. There are differences: protein levels, enzyme levels, starch profiles, level of modification, etc.

Other names will be the maltster, the company that processed the barley.

I'm one of those bad people that just head for the 2-row bin at the LHBS.

 

[CBBaron]

Mt LHBS carries Muntons Marris Otter and Pale Malt in 55# bags. Since the price difference is minor I usually go for the MO.

For specialty I usually just get the Briess. It is inexpensive and of good quality. They also make just about every type of specialty grain you can find.

Craig

 

[joety]

From the distributor I'm lucky to have in town now, I use Briess for US 2-row and crystals, Munton's for MO, and Weyermann for Pils. Most of my Belgian specialties are Dingemann's. I'm trying to see if he'll start distributing Dingemann's pils as well. I've been happy with the quality of everything so far.

I still need to develop a familiarity for different base malts, however. Thinking I should concoct a simple malty pale ale recipe, and use Rahr, Briess, the Munton's MO, and Pils for 4 different bases to really train my palate.

I thought I heard somewhere that Dingemann's does the malting for Castle's Pilsner. That's the brand Midwest shipped me. Do you know if that's true?

 

[Homercidal]

My first sack of grain was from Canada Malting Company as well. It was what the brewery I went to that weekend carried, and they were nice enough to sell me sack at their cost (so they say, but it was the same price as what the LHBS stores were selling it for and they were convenient, so what the heck.)

It seemed fine for me. From what I see online, they are a pretty big company.