Would you use the cheap malt the big companies use?

[bionut]

I found a new source of malt, it's a malt factory that produce about all the Pilsner malt for that the big companies use to make their no character yellow beer. It's about 3 times cheaper than the malt i use for my homebrew (imported from around Europe).
How many of you would use it as a base malt for your beers?

 

[cilestiok]

I would absolutely use it. If it works for the most efficient beer machine in the world, it'll work excellent for us.

 

[JoshuaW]

As long as it was appropriate to the character of the beer, sure. Im sure it works just fine as a replacement for the more bland base grains.

 

[JonM]

Cheaper means lower in price, not lower in quality. It's less expensive because it doesn't have to take a boat ride from Germany. I do not have even the slightest reservation about using the Cargill or whatever malt from the LHBS.

 

[bionut]

That is exactly my thought, but i had some argues with some friends with a budget that afford them to be, oh well, snobs, in respect of brewing malt at least. I tryed the malt and don't see any difference betwen it and the most expensive stuff from Germany or Belgium. The only bad part is that they only produce Pilsner malt.

 

[brewprint]

I just bought a 55lb bag of avangard pilsner 2-row that is supposed to be cheap.

I'd use it for sure. If you try it and don't like it then change. I can't imagine that it won't work.

 

[CA_Mouse]

As long as it produces the needed sugars, then why not? If I'm paying US$39 for Pilsner malt and someone offers me comparable Pilsner for US$32, that allows me to buy an extra bag a year, so even if I have to use an extra pound per batch, I still save money.

 

[Jim_Holmes]

do an experiment , get some of the cheap grains and some of the grains you already use and make a recipe the exact same way one using the cheap one using the regular and see how it compares face to face, then do a bling taste test with your (snobish) friends and see if they can tell the differrence before you tell them what was used

 

[Firewalker11]

Silly as it sounds, eat a few grains and see what the flavors are. If its fresh and clean tasting, it's going to make good beer but it may be a different profile than you have used before so do a little research first.

Around here, we have BSG, they make RAHR, bulk super sacks (#2205) go for under $1000.00 delivered. Imagine a group buy (BYOB) at that price?

 

[UndeadFred]

It's probably okay to use, yes. IIRC most "big boys" use six-row though, so bear that in mind it really isn't quite as "flavorful" but converts better for use with rice and corn adjuncts.

Someone could correct me if I am wrong on that.. but you can certainly make good beer with six-row pils as a base.

 

[corkybstewart]

I used cheap Cargill malts for years because the brewpub nearby did, and they sold me malt at their cost. And it made good beer. Maybe somebody with super-tasting abilities could tell the difference, but it was fine for me and my friends.

 

[IslandLizard]

It's probably okay to use, yes. IIRC most "big boys" use six-row though, so bear that in mind it really isn't quite as "flavorful" but converts better for use with rice and corn adjuncts.

Someone could correct me if I am wrong on that.. but you can certainly make good beer with six-row pils as a base.

That's a good point. Now the big boys there in Romania may not use 40% adjuncts as they do here.

The OP should investigate if it's 2-row or 6-row. And it never hurts to sample some.

 

[IslandLizard]

That is exactly my thought, but i had some argues with some friends with a budget that afford them to be, oh well, snobs, in respect of brewing malt at least. I tryed the malt and don't see any difference betwen it and the most expensive stuff from Germany or Belgium. The only bad part is that they only produce Pilsner malt.

You can use Pilsner malt for any recipe. Just add a little Munich or Biscuit malt to obtain the extra flavor and color. Or kiln some of that Pilsner malt a couple shades darker.

 

[GHBWNY]

Silly as it sounds, eat a few grains and see what the flavors are. If its fresh and clean tasting, it's going to make good beer...

This is a really good idea. I always sample a few kernels of my recipe malts at the LHBS for flavor and freshness before I buy. (If the LHBS has a problem with that, then buy elsewhere.)

While attending a brewing class this summer at a nearby start-up craft malt company, they put little dishes of their different roast malts in front of us to sample. Man, I could have easily eaten a bowl of their smoked malt in place of my nightly popcorn!

 

[smcinco]

This is a really good idea. I always sample a few kernels of my recipe malts at the LHBS for flavor and freshness before I buy. (If the LHBS has a problem with that, then buy elsewhere.)

While attending a brewing class this summer at a nearby start-up craft malt company, they put little dishes of their different roast malts in front of us to sample. Man, I could have easily eaten a bowl of their smoked malt in place of my nightly popcorn!

Have you ever detected any off flavors? My understanding is that the diastatic power of the malt degrades but uncracked grains otherwise stay stable for years. My tasting ability is limited (never tasted bad grain, rauch malt is a different story, yuck) and will never be super refined so just wondering what your experience is.

OP, this sounds like a great plan. Even more so if you plan to brew more malt neutral beers like today's best IPAs.

 

[GHBWNY]

Have you ever detected any off flavors? My understanding is that the diastatic power of the malt degrades but uncracked grains otherwise stay stable for years. My tasting ability is limited (never tasted bad grain, rauch malt is a different story, yuck) and will never be super refined so just wondering what your experience is.

Compared to others, I am fairly new to brewing, and even newer to AG, so my experience is limited. But after tasting my first raw malted grains, esp. fresh from the maltster's kiln, I got an instant appreciation for flavor and freshness. While my taste sensors have not achieved 'diastatic discernment', I know what tastes good (and fresh) to me, and that's one less pre-brew variable to worry about.

So, what's so bad about rausch malt? Yum!

 

[CA_Mouse]

Someone could correct me if I am wrong on that.. but you can certainly make good beer with six-row pils as a base.

I recently listened to a podcast where the interviewee stated that originally 2-row was not popular with growers because of less yield per acre. As the modification has improved the grain, 6-row has lost its favor with brewers. So now the highly modified 2-row is as good as the 6-row.

What does this mean for us? I think that we will see a drop in the availability of 6-row and better prices on 2-row. In my book, any decreases in costs make for more brewing in my kettles! Now if I can just figure out a way to increase my fermentation chamber without breaking the bank....

 

[bionut]

Well i know from the factory that they use six row barley, and yes, the big pi$$ producing breweries use corn as an adjunct, have no idea about how much they use though.
I tasted the malt, it seems ok to me. They sell a lot of malt every day, so there are more chances to bo fresher than the one imported from germany and kept by the reseller for i don't know how many weeks until i get it...