One of my favorite breweries in California did a SMaSH beer with Pilsner malt and rotating hops. The Citra was of course my favoriteThis sounds delicious
Yeah same I've really enjoyed Simsons GP myself maybe it is a crisps thing.
Enjoying the journey
Jeez. My LHBS Is a LOT more expensive than yours. I use a lot of Weyermann Pilsner and it's currently $2.99 a pound. Czech pilsner is $2, but requires an acid rest. Even buying a 55 pound bag of Weyermann is $99. I should shop around online.
I'm surprised their prices are still as low as they are. They make more money on hops and yeast than grain, obviously, and sell quite a bit of equipment too. Maybe increasing grain prices would cause more harm than good. There's also a brewery attached to the shop where most of their income comes from. So as long as they're selling beer, other prices can stay low. Just a guess
This is cool @Sunfire96
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Maybe @Sunfire96's grain costs are lower because her LHBS has a brewery attached and I'm sure they can buy grain in large volumes, whereas your LHBS can only order smaller volumes and probably have to pay a shipper to deliver it. My grain costs are low as well because I'm fortunate enough to have a Northern Brewer store near me. They can purchase in high volumes and they have trucks to bring everything down from their warehouse in St. Paul down to Milwaukee (actually West Allis).
My LHBS is an Adventures in Homebrewing store. Not exactly a mom & pop operation, and they do receive semi trailers full of deliveries. Maybe they're just greedy. I checked the Northern Brewer website and they're not much cheaper than here. Weyermann Pilsner is only 40 cents less per pound. Are the instore prices lower than buying online?
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It's been a while since I compared online and in-store prices for a sack of base malt but, I do remember it was significant. If I remember correctly (which I usually don't) it was 1/4-1/3 cheaper in-store. Just like there is no such thing as a free lunch, there is also no such thing as free shipping. However, Weyermann may be more expensive simply because it's imported. I usually have two base malts on hand. Briess Pale Ale (local malster) and Crisp or Simpsons Maris Otter (from England). The Maris Otter is considerably more expensive. I expect much of the price difference is due to the difference in transportation distances.
AIH was just purchased by Northern Brewer, I believe. Maybe your prices will go down!
The 2 row batch is being shy, I was hoping it'd be drinkable by now. I hope to cold crash it tomorrow.
I'm gonna pause on the base malt comparisons for now and probably resume in late August with German malts. But I do want to continue my "grain studies" so to speak. I want to compare specialty malts next. Each recipe will be 90% 2 row and 10% specialty starting with Caramel 10 and going up in lovibond (British crystal 15 would be next). I'll probably stop at 120L. I chose 2 row because it's cheap, converts well in 60 minutes, and won't get "in the way" of the specialty malts like MO or high color pale malt might. Should be fun! I've decided to call this run of beers Crystal Ball
I'm gonna pause on the base malt comparisons for now and probably resume in late August with German malts. But I do want to continue my "grain studies" so to speak. I want to compare specialty malts next. Each recipe will be 90% 2 row and 10% specialty starting with Caramel 10 and going up in lovibond (British crystal 15 would be next). I'll probably stop at 120L. I chose 2 row because it's cheap, converts well in 60 minutes, and won't get "in the way" of the specialty malts like MO or high color pale malt might. Should be fun! I've decided to call this run of beers Crystal Ball
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Annabrit, thank you for doing these exbeeriments and sharing the info!
I'm here to make the tough sacrifices for you all, like brewing and drinking a large quantity of beer
I know my palate can be weird sometimes, so take my reviews with a grain of salt!
Base Jumper 2 Row is ready to go! Definitely a light, grainy, sweet beer. Sweeter than the pils batch (both finished at 1.011). I think I prefer the pilsner malt for a light session beer. I won't be able to do any triangle tests unfortunately between the two, but the 2 row and pilsner do seem distinctive, even tasting a week apart.
Tomorrow I'll brew the first Crystal Ball batch (90% 2Row, 10% Caramel 10L), and I should be able to do side by side tastings with this 2 Row smash. Cheers to more research!
Tomorrow I'll brew the first Crystal Ball batch (90% 2Row, 10% Caramel 10L), and I should be able to do side by side tastings with this 2 Row smash. Cheers to more research!
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Nice beer! Can I have one? It’s 93F here and that looks like it would hit the spot!Base Jumper 2 Row is ready to go! Definitely a light, grainy, sweet beer. Sweeter than the pils batch (both finished at 1.011). I think I prefer the pilsner malt for a light session beer. I won't be able to do any triangle tests unfortunately between the two, but the 2 row and pilsner do seem distinctive, even tasting a week apart.
Tomorrow I'll brew the first Crystal Ball batch (90% 2Row, 10% Caramel 10L), and I should be able to do side by side tastings with this 2 Row smash. Cheers to more research!
View attachment 21695
Is the pilsner beer more grainy or crackery?Base Jumper 2 Row is ready to go! Definitely a light, grainy, sweet beer. Sweeter than the pils batch (both finished at 1.011). I think I prefer the pilsner malt for a light session beer. I won't be able to do any triangle tests unfortunately between the two, but the 2 row and pilsner do seem distinctive, even tasting a week apart.
Tomorrow I'll brew the first Crystal Ball batch (90% 2Row, 10% Caramel 10L), and I should be able to do side by side tastings with this 2 Row smash. Cheers to more research!
View attachment 21695
Love it!
I would say crackery. There was an earthiness to it that was quite enjoyable. Noticeably more quaffable than this 2 row, which is a tad too sweet
You got it!
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I'm always impressed people can pick things out in beer. "Yup, that's beer" is about as close as I can usually get.
Very cool project, if the S40 arrives today like it's supposed to I may be in a position to try and replicate some of your work for peer review.
Very cool project, if the S40 arrives today like it's supposed to I may be in a position to try and replicate some of your work for peer review.
More data is always good!!I'm always impressed people can pick things out in beer. "Yup, that's beer" is about as close as I can usually get.
Very cool project, if the S40 arrives today like it's supposed to I may be in a position to try and replicate some of your work for peer review.
Crystal Ball 10 is ready. There's an off flavor to it like the yeast were stressed...I think this fermentation went a little whacky. It's possible that it will go away with time. I saved a bottle of Base Jumper 2 Row to compare this beer to. This beer is 90% 2 row and 10% caramel 10, Base Jumper is 100% 2 row, and hops and yeast were the same.
