whats your favorite base malt?

[fluketamer]

after switching to avangard and golden promise i have noticed an improvement in my beers over briess 2 row.

i think avangard is my new favorite for value and flavor. i didint realize how much the base malt affects the beer . even though i know thats kind of obvious .


i know a lot of people like MO. i havent tried that yet tho.

do you think its worth watering down the more expensive malts with briess 2 row or is it better to just stick to one base malt.

 

[sibelman]

I like supporting organic agriculture, so my favorite base malt is Great Western Organic Premium Two Row. Plump, clean, tasty - perfect for the styles I mostly brew. I've used various pilsner malts instead, where appropriate.

I get that economy might drive one to consider mixing a favorite base malt with cheaper ones. No shame in that, but if you feel that the more expensive malt really improves your beer, this could be a false economy. How much will you really save per batch this way?

 

[mac_1103]

I like supporting local farmers and maltsters, so this is my favorite base malt. Of course I realize that you may not have a similar option in NYC.

 

[Broothru]

I'm a fan of Weyermann malts, especially the Floor Malted Bohemian. Won 2 BoS comps using it. Great Western and Rahr put out some very good North American products, and it's hard to beat Briess for affordable quality malts. BestMalz and Avant Guard are staple favorites as well. Too many boutique maltsters to list, producing some great regional malts as well, but they tend to be pricey,

Low yields and declining markets have driven costs up along with availability issues. It's a scramble having to hunt around to find what you're looking for. Buy in bulk when you find your favorites.

 

[kevin58]

My favorite or what I used the most? They are two different things. I use Briess Brewers Malt 2-Row the most because it is affordable. My favorite is Maris Otter.

 

[Broothru]

I like supporting local farmers and maltsters, so this is my favorite base malt. Of course I realize that you may not have a similar option in NYC.

I think I saw them for sale at Kettle & Grains in Leesburg (a really neat shop if you're ever up in northern VA).

 

[Zanatrik]

I also try to use local malt when the style allows for it, so I have used Carolina Malt Carolina Gold for the vast majority of brews since I started buying it. I like that it is local but also quite cost effective.

 

[fluketamer]

thank you for the replies

 

[Steveruch]

Crisp #19 floor malted maris otter.
I brew a lot of British styles.

 

[AlexKay]

Ye Olde Pale Ale from local-to-me Sugar Creek:

Link

(DISCLAIMER: No otters were harmed in the making of this malt.)

Though their white wheat and Vienna malts are also very good…

 

[Franktalk]

My favorite is my local, Stone Path Nor'East 2-Row Gold.

 

[MaxStout]

MO (Crisp or Bairds) for most pale beers. Haven't brewed with 2-row in quite some time. I like the added dimension from British base malt. For lagers, Weyermann Pilsner, especially Barke.

I haven't yet brewed with malts from smaller maltsters. I've kind of wanted to try some, but it's so much easier for me to get my hands on the above malts. Rahr is "local" to me, but their grain is sourced from all over the region, and they are by no means small. I've tried their North Star Pils, and made a nice Kolsch with it.

 

[sibelman]

"local" to me, but their grain is sourced from all over the region

This is my perception of my fave, Great Western.

It's cool that so many folks are supporting local maltsters!

 

[Willy]

Me too @MaxStout - Baird's Marris Otter. Also love Simpsons golden promise.

 

[simbabrew]

I get Malteurop locally for $49.99 a sack will call and also their Pilsner for a little more. Makes great beer for the price. Also, if you want a pilsner malt in the German style, Weyerman Barke Pilsner cannot be beat (the most malty of the pilsners I have tried).

 

[day_trippr]

My favorites have been Simpsons Golden Promise, Weyermann Pilsner and Briess Brewer's Malt, in that order, since at least 2008, when I could get sacks of them at my LHBS Strange Brew (RIP) 15 minutes away. Now I'm lucky to have an HBT member a couple miles from me who makes BSG runs a couple times a year for sacks of malt so I still get my favorites and have plenty on hand - for the first half of 2025 at least

Cheers!

 

[shoengine]

My favorite base malt was Skagit Copeland Pilsner, from our former local organic maltster. Since they shut down I haven't found one that really rings my bell yet. Hoping another indy pops up in the neighborhood. I know terrior doesn't mean as much in beer as it does for wine, but I like the thought of local farms producing my malt, and if the maltster is local as well it seems a lot more efficient.

I still love Tos. Fawcett and Sons Golden Promise but it can get up past $80 a bag so I use it mainly in my Wee Heavy now and not much else.

 

[petesgalaxy]

Best Pilsner malt is my favorite. I use it for just about everything.

 

[Wigglebutts Brewery]

Crisp MO

 

[Broothru]

I'll tell you what malts I increasingly don't like, and those are the ones 'purportedly' carried by MoreBeer! I'm getting very weary of all their "offerings" that end up being just so much vaporware. It seems like they are only advertising about a fourth of the variety they used to carry pre-Covid. And those that are listed are "temporarily unavailable." Of course, you can't tell that they're "out of stock" until you select them for your cart. Then you are redirected to a list of comparable malts. But then when you click on one of them, you discover that they are also unavailable, after you attempt to put them in your cart!

MoreBeer used to be my first go-to. I bought my first boil pot from them about 30 years ago. When they opened their East Coast distribution facility, I could receive my order often the next day! Those days are long gone. I've patronized them a few times since the opening of their centralized shipping warehouse in Kansas City, and the service has just been 'O.K.' But this fiasco with grains has become an unacceptable joke.

Just this afternoon I received a new email offering an absolutely unbelievable price for a 55# bag of Rahr Pilsner, roughly half off, which would more than cover the price of shipping. When I went to put it in my cart, it came up "Unavailable at this time." Huh??!? There was an adjacent list of 5 other base malts to substitute (not on sale), three of which were also "unavailable." This blatant bait and switch has really chapped my a**, if you can't already tell.

 

[petesgalaxy]

I'll tell you what malts I increasingly don't like, and those are the ones 'purportedly' carried by MoreBeer! I'm getting very weary of all their "offerings" that end up being just so much vaporware. It seems like they are only advertising about a fourth of the variety they used to carry pre-Covid. And those that are listed are "temporarily unavailable." Of course, you can't tell that they're "out of stock" until you select them for your cart. Then you are redirected to a list of comparable malts. But then when you click on one of them, you discover that they are also unavailable, after you attempt to put them in your cart!

MoreBeer used to be my first go-to. I bought my first boil pot from them about 30 years ago. When they opened their East Coast distribution facility, I could receive my order often the next day! Those days are long gone. I've patronized them a few times since the opening of their centralized shipping warehouse in Kansas City, and the service has just been 'O.K.' But this fiasco with grains has become an unacceptable joke.

Just this afternoon I received a new email offering an absolutely unbelievable price for a 55# bag of Rahr Pilsner, roughly half off, which would more than cover the price of shipping. When I went to put it in my cart, it came up "Unavailable at this time." Huh??!? There was an adjacent list of 5 other base malts to substitute (not on sale), three of which were also "unavailable." This blatant bait and switch has really chapped my a**, if you can't already tell.

You could try Northern Brewer or Farmhouse.

 

[worlddivides]

Crisp Marris Otter. I've always really liked this malt, but when I lived in the US, I only used it for British ales since it was typically more expensive than American two-row and so on. But with exchange rates as they are now, Marris Otter is actually a lot cheaper for me than American (or Canadian) two-row, so I often use Marris Otter for West Coast IPAs, American Pale Ales, and other distinctly American styles, and it tastes great. So far, I've never bought a full bag of malt before. I just don't brew enough volume to justify it. But if I were to buy a full bag, the first one I'd get would probably be Crisp Marris Otter.

 

[WouldBeBrewmaster]

I'll tell you what malts I increasingly don't like, and those are the ones 'purportedly' carried by MoreBeer! I'm getting very weary of all their "offerings" that end up being just so much vaporware. It seems like they are only advertising about a fourth of the variety they used to carry pre-Covid. And those that are listed are "temporarily unavailable." Of course, you can't tell that they're "out of stock" until you select them for your cart. Then you are redirected to a list of comparable malts. But then when you click on one of them, you discover that they are also unavailable, after you attempt to put them in your cart!

MoreBeer used to be my first go-to. I bought my first boil pot from them about 30 years ago. When they opened their East Coast distribution facility, I could receive my order often the next day! Those days are long gone. I've patronized them a few times since the opening of their centralized shipping warehouse in Kansas City, and the service has just been 'O.K.' But this fiasco with grains has become an unacceptable joke.

Just this afternoon I received a new email offering an absolutely unbelievable price for a 55# bag of Rahr Pilsner, roughly half off, which would more than cover the price of shipping. When I went to put it in my cart, it came up "Unavailable at this time." Huh??!? There was an adjacent list of 5 other base malts to substitute (not on sale), three of which were also "unavailable." This blatant bait and switch has really chapped my a**, if you can't already tell.

MoreBeer has been pushing Viking Malt since they became their exclusive US distributor. Especially on the pro side. They also have some kind of arrangement with Country Malt, but they probably can’t buy and sell those malts as cheaply as the Viking malt.

As for my favorite base malt, it’s a tough question to answer. Really depends on the style. I love brewing with Maris Otter, but a modern English Pale Malt is probably more versatile to use in American and English styles.

 

[Broothru]

MoreBeer has been pushing Viking Malt since they became their exclusive US distributor. Especially on the pro side. They also have some kind of arrangement with Country Malt, but they probably can’t buy and sell those malts as cheaply as the Viking malt.

As for my favorite base malt, it’s a tough question to answer. Really depends on the style. I love brewing with Maris Otter, but a modern English Pale Malt is probably more versatile to use in American and English styles.

They can’t sell Viking malts that they advertise but don’t have on hand. Trust me. I tried loading a few into my cart. “Not available.”

 

[WouldBeBrewmaster]

They can’t sell Viking malts that they advertise but don’t have on hand. Trust me. I tried loading a few into my cart. “Not available.”

Planning and logistics isn’t easy. I lived that nightmare for long enough. I can only imagine how long those containers from Poland or Finland take to get to Oklahoma or wherever their warehouse is now.

 

[Broothru]

Planning and logistics isn’t easy. I lived that nightmare for long enough. I can only imagine how long those containers from Poland or Finland take to get to Oklahoma or wherever their warehouse is now.

Yeah, I get that. With all the supply chain issues since Covid, the move MoreBeer made consolidating their warehouses in KC, the decline in the hobby, etc., I’ve tried to be patient and understanding. But my patience is beginning to wear thin.

 

[WouldBeBrewmaster]

Yeah, I get that. With all the supply chain issues since Covid, the move MoreBeer made consolidating their warehouses in KC, the decline in the hobby, etc., I’ve tried to be patient and understanding. But my patience is beginning to wear thin.

That’s where BSG will always have an advantage. They have so many pro customers and points of distribution it’s easier for them to keep Weyermann, Crisp, Simpsons, Diegenmans, & Rahr in stock.

 

[Steveruch]

Crisp Marris Otter. I've always really liked this malt, but when I lived in the US, I only used it for British ales since it was typically more expensive than American two-row and so on. But with exchange rates as they are now, Marris Otter is actually a lot cheaper for me than American (or Canadian) two-row, so I often use Marris Otter for West Coast IPAs, American Pale Ales, and other distinctly American styles, and it tastes great. So far, I've never bought a full bag of malt before. I just don't brew enough volume to justify it. But if I were to buy a full bag, the first one I'd get would probably be Crisp Marris Otter.

I just got a bag of Crisp #19 floor malted maris otter. The best by date is two years away.

 

[G_robertus]

Pretty much anything Simpson. GP and MO depending on style, light or dark respectively. I like Munton's MO a lot as well. Viking Munich or any dark-ish Vienna also get an honourable mention. Fawcett and Paul's I don't like, Crisp MO is not better than the alternatives. Dingemans MO is also very bad.

 

[Broothru]

That’s where BSG will always have an advantage. They have so many pro customers and points of distribution it’s easier for them to keep Weyermann, Crisp, Simpsons, Diegenmans, & Rahr in stock.

I didn't think that individuals could order from BSG. I thought they were just commercial accounts. I know that's where my LHBS and the brewery I've had the opportunity to brew with on two occasions order through BSG.