Difference in malts

[Josh Hughes]

My time has been limited so I have not had the chance to really dig into this. In a typical batch I only use 3 lbs or so of grain. How much of a difference does using English crystal vs Briess make? German Munich vs Briess? German Vienna? I have used different malts from different origins but I’m not experienced enough to know if others factors affected flavor. English roasted barley made a better stout for me but I may have just had everything else go better. I like the smell and “munch test” on English crystal but not tasted a finished beer yet. Just curious before I order for my next 4 beers.

 

[Hawkbox]

Not a clue, I imagine there is an impact but unless you can get your hands on them at the same time and test I don't expect you will notice. I'm in northern Alberta, I take whatever grains the LHBS has in stock and run with it. Mostly Breiss as far as I can tell.

 

[Megary]

My time has been limited so I have not had the chance to really dig into this. In a typical batch I only use 3 lbs or so of grain. How much of a difference does using English crystal vs Briess make? German Munich vs Briess? German Vienna? I have used different malts from different origins but I’m not experienced enough to know if others factors affected flavor. English roasted barley made a better stout for me but I may have just had everything else go better. I like the smell and “munch test” on English crystal but not tasted a finished beer yet. Just curious before I order for my next 4 beers.

I think that's an awful lot to unpack.

I'll say that your process (mash, fermentation, pitch etc. etc.) is FAR, FAR more important to the finished beer than your decision between say, two different Munichs or whatever.
I'll also say that your recipe is more important than your decision between two different Munichs or whatever.
I'll also say that malt freshness is more important than your decision between two different Munichs or whatever.

But that doesn't mean that your malt choice doesn't make any difference because I think it does. I switched most of my grains to a local craft malthouse because I found their stuff far superior to what I was geting at the LHBS or on-line. (My LHBS had a turnover problem and the malt would sit there forever. No wonder they are history.)

Keep brewing and keep taking notes. I love doing mini-steeps with my grains on weekends that I'm itching to brew but cant for whatever reason. I've learned a lot by doing this, dialing up the usage of some grains and dialing down (or out, in some cases) the use of others.

Good luck.

 

[Nosybear]

My time has been limited so I have not had the chance to really dig into this. In a typical batch I only use 3 lbs or so of grain. How much of a difference does using English crystal vs Briess make? German Munich vs Briess? German Vienna? I have used different malts from different origins but I’m not experienced enough to know if others factors affected flavor. English roasted barley made a better stout for me but I may have just had everything else go better. I like the smell and “munch test” on English crystal but not tasted a finished beer yet. Just curious before I order for my next 4 beers.

They taste subtly different. How much of a difference they make, even from maltster to maltster, is a function of how different they are and how much you use. It would take a lot of experimentation to know all the differences, that's why I prefer to use a small subset of ingredients and really know what each does. I'll match to country but in reality, Belgian Pilsner is not that much different than German Pilsner, so I sub when necessary without thinking too much about effects. Bottom line is if you can tell the difference using a blind taste test, there is a difference, otherwise, there could be, but it could also be bias. And I'll admit, I haven't done that with a lot of my ingredients.

Taste the grains themselves and see if you can detect a difference. Or you can make teas of the grain and taste to see what the differences are: How the grain tastes as a tea will be what it tastes like in the beer. If you can't detect a difference, there's no reason to select one of the grains over the other.

 

[GFHomebrew]

I know genius brewing explored a variety of different chocolate and roasted barley malts and found big differences between maltsters they concluded with when I comes to roasted barley malts their can be a big difference between maltsters.

Check it out

 

[Josh Hughes]

Coo I’ll give that a look. Thanks!

 

[GFHomebrew]

Coo I’ll give that a look. Thanks!

They did a couple comparing different malt styles.
Their on the money with their stuff too.

 

[Tim Bulin]

After comparing Viking Pilsner with Avangard, I'm not sure if I would have noticed a difference if I hadn't already known it was a different malt. Just got a sack of Breiss Synergy Select(Euro-style Pilsner malt) delivered yesterday. The price is right and if I experience similar results, it will be my new base malt. Didn't care for the regular Pilsner malt from Breiss, too light(of course I guess that was how it was supposed to be).

 

[BOB357]

Depending on the beer, differences can range from indistinguishable to very noticeable. In cleaner, crisper beers I can usually tell the difference between a British Crystal and a domestic of the same color. In a Stout or Porter I can't. Your process, yeast and hops will usually have more influence on the final product than subtle differences between similar grains as a rule

 

[Josh Hughes]

I found English crystal “breadier” and the English roasted was better for me than Briess, it was a “deeper roast” taste if that makes sense. This is of course to my palate. I used German malt for the dunkel I have conditioning so I don’t know about Munich malt yet.

 

[BOB357]

It's usually the safest bet to use ingredients that are native to the beers country of origin. That's not to say the they will produce an end product that you'll enjoy more, but it will ensure that the beer is more indicative of the style.

 

[alethos]

I found English crystal “breadier” and the English roasted was better for me than Briess, it was a “deeper roast” taste if that makes sense. This is of course to my palate. I used German malt for the dunkel I have conditioning so I don’t know about Munich malt yet.

I suggest you buy and try beers from UK and Germany etc. and see how the styles differ. Also suggest you read Malt, a practical guide from field to brewhouse. Available on Amazon and kindle.

 

[Nosybear]

The reference Alethos mentioned is a good one. English styles and German styles do vary quite a bit. I find English Crystal malts to be sweeter, more toffee-like than Germans, which are more caramel. Best general advice is to stick with malts from the style's country. It can be fun to mix it up but I really have a hard time thinking about English caramel malt in a German ale...

 

[Tim Bulin]

After comparing Viking Pilsner with Avangard, I'm not sure if I would have noticed a difference if I hadn't already known it was a different malt. Just got a sack of Breiss Synergy Select(Euro-style Pilsner malt) delivered yesterday. The price is right and if I experience similar results, it will be my new base malt. Didn't care for the regular Pilsner malt from Breiss, too light(of course I guess that was how it was supposed to be).

Filled my Pilsner bin yesterday with the Breiss malt, can't really put my finger on it, but it definitely SMELLS different(although certainly not bad, just different).

 

[Josh Hughes]

Filled my Pilsner bin yesterday with the Breiss malt, can't really put my finger on it, but it definitely SMELLS different(although certainly not bad, just different).

Only Pilsner malt I’ve used. Next time I use Pilsner I’ll buy German. English beers are tasting better with English malts and the last German beers were better with German malts.

 

[Tim Bulin]

Only Pilsner malt I’ve used. Next time I use Pilsner I’ll buy German. English beers are tasting better with English malts and the last German beers were better with German malts.

Only used 3 Pilsner malts at this point, I have really enjoyed both Avangard and Viking. Berries Synergy is supposed to be close to European Pilsner, guess I will find out.