What's your favorite malster and why?

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

last couple of years I'm only using Pale ale malt, not to be confused with pale malt and usually Rahr pale ale, I also use Dingemans and Weyermann Malting. Mostly I'm trying brew with the same grains to perfect some recipes taste, changing brands too much is confusing my pallet

 

[bwible]

last couple of years I'm only using Pale ale malt, not to be confused with pale malt and usually Rahr pale ale, I also use Dingemans and Weyermann Malting. Mostly I'm trying brew with the same grains to perfect some recipes taste, changing brands too much is confusing my pallet

Thats where I get caught up. Different base malts for different recipes.

You want pilsener malt for American or German lagers. You want pale ale malt for American ales. You want British malt for British beers. I try to always have those 3. I plan to make a pre-prohibition lager soon so I want 6 row for that. Different again. I don’t do Belgians but people who do have different malts for those.

I’m not sure I could get to one base malt I would use for everything. Just like there’s not one hop or one yeast that works for everything.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Thats where I get caught up. Different base malts for different recipes.

What I have been keeping on hand for the past few years is:

• American 2-Row/Pale: I have used several over the years. Briess the most because of price and availability. A local shop that closed a few years ago had Canada Malting for a good price, and it seemed like a nice malt. My last bag has been Rahr. I have been very happy with the Rahr. I find it is a clean slate with just a touch of "grainy" character, where Briess can have a touch of a straw character.
• German Pilsner: I mostly use Pilsner for brewing Belgians, but the price and limited access to Belgians has pushed me to using
  German Pilsner. My prior bag was Weyermann Floor Malted Bohemian. It seemed like a great malt for making German/Czech pilsners. My current bag is Avangard, mostly based on price. It has less flavor that the Bohemian, but provides a light colored neutral canvas which works well for me. I want to play more with Dingemans Belgian Pilsner Malt.
• English Pale Ale: My last several bags have been Crisp Marris Otter (not the floor malted one). I have been very happy with the character, and I feel that it adds an English character to English beers (even if that is just in my head). I am not a huge fan of using English Pale Ale in styles like APA or IPA, as I don't care for the biscuit type flavors in those styles.

I have done a number of small batch single malt trial batches. My overall take away was that there are definitely differences between types of malt and maltsters (sometimes subtle), but there is not a clear better or worse. I do think that it might be worth it to spend a few extra dollars on a "premium" malt, just because as a brewer you like the idea of using a premium malt.

Mostly I'm trying brew with the same grains to perfect some recipes taste, changing brands too much is confusing my pallet

That seems like solid advice.

 

[BrentinArkansas]

So I’m brand new at brewing. So far only 3 extract kits (and they’ve all been good). But I’m assembling my own BIAB system which will be finished in a month. I just returned from Findlay Ohio. There’s a microscopic sized malt house about 25 miles outside Findlay called Barley Five Malt House. I bought a 2 row from them and also some wheat and oats. I enter “malt house” in G maps and up they popped. I started looking around Arkansas and neighboring states to see if there are any and I’m surprised a few exist. I have no idea of taste, but at the prices I paid in Ohio, I can afford to experiment a huge number of times. I’m a small biz and I love supporting other fledgling operations. I paid 40 bucks per bag, so if it’s crap, no biggie. Opinions? (And yeah, I don’t know anything yet so please don’t bomb me

 

[Dland]

Can't say I have a favorite maltster. After having brewed enough batches to dial in consistency in styles I like to drink, I find the origin of malt is one of the final keys for hitting any given style.

 

[BrewingWisdom]

I like to try as many different brands of malt that I can. It's cost me lots of money to purchase sacks of grain from different companies but i do enjoy trying them.
So far, I really like (as well as others I share my beer with) Mecca Grade Lamonta. Their Munich, Vienna and Pislen are good as well. I am also a fan of Proximity Malt. They've made me very good beers the last 3 years.
Of course, I still use Rahr, Great Western and others that I can get at my LHBS but trying boutique maltsters has been fun. I can tell the difference in my Pales and IPA's but not so much my stouts. I can't tell the brand but I can tell when I've used these more expensive malts.

What's your favorite and why.

They come in the whole grain form or crushed?
And you never thought about buying grain from your local farmers market and malt them yourself and save money?

 

[Wayne1]

And you never thought about buying grain from your local farmers market and malt them yourself and save money?

I care far more about the quality of the malt than the price.

A local maltster, Root Shoot also grows fairly specific barley just for beer, They have their own VERY sophisticated malt house by SCHULZ. I believe it is the only one in North America. What they offer is far superior to anything that could be made in a home.

 

[sibelman]

I care far more about the quality of the malt than the price...A local maltster...far superior to anything that could be made in a home.

Yes, cool (esp. for those of us with spare cash to burn - I just spent over $100 for a sack of malt for the first time). And...

First let me say that both quality and quantity matter to everyone, albeit in different degrees.

Second, as homebrewers whose results sometimes exceed high-quality commercial beer, some of us might also be imagined to make damn fine malt at home with non-artisanal barley.

Finally, price and quality often compete, but there are bargains in this world - you don't always "get what you paid for."

P. S.: separate from quality, there's something truly impressive - even noble? - in @bracconiere 's infamous $1 12-pack. Beating the "drug dealers" at their own game!

 

[GBRbrew]

For the prices we're paying right now may favorites are the ones having a sale.

Cheers

 

[BrewingWisdom]

I care far more about the quality of the malt than the price.

A local maltster, Root Shoot also grows fairly specific barley just for beer, They have their own VERY sophisticated malt house by SCHULZ. I believe it is the only one in North America. What they offer is far superior to anything that could be made in a home.

Doing something commercially on a larger scale using the required complicated machinery doesn't translate to superiority.
I have watched that video the following processes similar to homebrewing were done to acheived the end result which is MALT .
1)Cleaning and rinsing.
2)Steeping or soaking few times .
3) Germination
4) Drying
5) Kilning it later removing rootlets .
After crushing the malt is ready to brew.
The cleanliness which they are bragging about in the video is an issue where thousand tons malt is made. On a smaller scale for 10 gallons of beer that's not an issue.

 

[BrentinArkansas]

They come in the whole grain form or crushed?
And you never thought about buying grain from your local farmers market and malt them yourself and save money?

They are whole grains. Not crushed. Also yes, I did think about local farmers…no barley is grown in Arkansas that I can find, and I’ve looked. But, farmers here do indeed grow winter wheat and oats which I am getting. I just happened to be in Ohio, so…..

Malting isn’t my first step in learning to brew, but I’m gonna experiment.

I’m not even a novice. I am 3 extract brews in and learning.

 

[BrentinArkansas]

I care far more about the quality of the malt than the price.

A local maltster, Root Shoot also grows fairly specific barley just for beer, They have their own VERY sophisticated malt house by SCHULZ. I believe it is the only one in North America. What they offer is far superior to anything that could be made in a home.

I’m so new at this that I shouldn’t even comment prob. I’ll be interested in higher quality when I’ve trained on some cheap stuff a bit. And who knows, it may be great malt I bought from a malter that can‘t yet charge the big bucks. Also, if it’s crap, I only spent a hundred bucks.

Lastly, I read comments from you boys who’ve brewed for so long and it is intimidating. Your knowledge far exceeds anything I have yet.

cheers