Pale Ale Malt vs Standard 2-row?

[J A]

I typically have a lot of Pilsner on hand and use that for most recipes, adding Munich, Vienna, Victory, etc as needed for color and malt flavor. Right now, though, my inventory is light on Pilsner and I have a lot of Rahr Pale Ale and Standard 2-row as well as a good supply of Maris Otter.

Over the next several weeks, I'll be brewing to fill up my keg pipeline so there'll be a batch or two of Bo Pils plus Cream Ale, APA, IPA and American Amber, maybe a Belgian Blond or Wit somewhere in the mix. The way I have it figured is that I'll save the Pilsner malt for the Bo Pils, use the 2-row for Cream Ale and APA and use the Pale Ale malt for the IPA and Amber. I'll save the Maris Otter for some darker beers next fall.

I know that probably most of the brewers here will buy recipe kits or buy malts only in quantities sufficient for one recipe but there are plenty of us that buy bags of base malt and keep a pretty good inventory on hand. Which styles do you tend to use Pale Ale malt for as opposed to 2-row? Do you go out of your way to buy or stock more of one or the other?

 

[Sandy Feet]

An ESB sounds really good to me if you have a bunch of Otter and WLP002

 

[Dave Y]

I tend to have more M/O, Munich, Vienna & Pils on hand, figuring 2 row is fairly easy to procure should I need it ( he types after getting shut out out malt on my last visit to my local HBS :-( ) My approach is kind like you said; I’ll use pale ale malt for where I need a more supporting malt profile and 2 row I’ll try to squeeze into recipes with adjuncts or where it’s not as prominent.

 

[J A]

An ESB sounds really good to me if you have a bunch of Otter and WLP002

Yeah...I thought about exactly that. I have an Irish Red finishing up and I should use the Notty yeast slurry for something. Though I really like a Stout on tap, that's pretty much a winter-only style for me.
An ESB or Brown Ale would be a great choice but a couple of things get in the way. For one thing, we're headed into a very warm spring by the looks of it - the 10-day forecast has the highs in mid 70s to mid 80s and that's likely to just keep rising. That means lawnmower beers are called for. A well executed British ale on the lighter side is a good addition but with the Irish Red, that's pretty well covered. Also, my tap space is pretty accommodating but I still have to curate my brewing schedule pretty careful. I can serve 5 and store 5. If I throw in another style, I'll have a hard time finding a place for it.

 

[Megary]

Which styles do you tend to use Pale Ale malt for as opposed to 2-row? Do you go out of your way to buy or stock more of one or the other?

I brew with essentially 2 base malts, both from a PA Craft Maltster: a 1.8L Pilsner and a 3.5L Pale Ale. Occasionally I'll use Maris Otter in specific styles (Milds and Bitters). That's pretty much it for base malts. As far as inventory/usage goes, I'd say I'm about 45% Pils, 45% Pale Ale, 10% (or less) Maris Otter.

Pilsner malt for lighter colored beers and hop forward beers, Pale Ale Malt for darker, more malt forward beers. There are exceptions, but generally.

I usually buy enough malt for ≈ my next 6 beers. But at 2.5gal batches, that isn't a ton of malt. I do keep a fair number of other malts around as well.

 

[Sandy Feet]

Yeah...I thought about exactly that. I have an Irish Red finishing up and I should use the Notty yeast slurry for something. Though I really like a Stout on tap, that's pretty much a winter-only style for me.
An ESB or Brown Ale would be a great choice but a couple of things get in the way. For one thing, we're headed into a very warm spring by the looks of it - the 10-day forecast has the highs in mid 70s to mid 80s and that's likely to just keep rising. That means lawnmower beers are called for. A well executed British ale on the lighter side is a good addition but with the Irish Red, that's pretty well covered. Also, my tap space is pretty accommodating but I still have to curate my brewing schedule pretty careful. I can serve 5 and store 5. If I throw in another style, I'll have a hard time finding a place for it.

I like mid 70's and 80's It has been like that lately here, and it has been nice when I can get outside.
If the alcohol is normal on it, I can drink a stout even in the summer here when it feels like 100 and something and a sauna outside. Those beers are surprisingly light when they get in the 4s. A Mild or lower alcohol Pub Style Beer with just a little something dark in it might be nice too.
.

 

[J A]

I like mid 70's and 80's It has been like that lately here, and it has been nice when I can get outside.
If the alcohol is normal on it, I can drink a stout even in the summer here when it feels like 100 and something and a sauna outside. Those beers are surprisingly light when they get in the 4s. A Mild or lower alcohol Pub Style Beer with just a little something dark in it might be nice too.
.

When I'm in the PNW and the weather is in the 70s (most places don't see too much in the 80s) I drink heavier beers. Here in Texas, it doesn't cool down much at night and it starts to get oppressive. We've had some really warm years lately. In March we should be seeing 60s and 70s and alternating between cool fronts and thunderstorms but we've had more muggy, warm weather so that even when it's in the 70s, it's often not that inviting.

 

[Sandy Feet]

Try Florida LOL, trust me, it ain't going to get any muggier than it is here Muggy 80s are fine and actually enjoyable for me. Oppressively muggy 95 in the summer, not so much.

 

[Minbari]

I typically have a lot of Pilsner on hand and use that for most recipes, adding Munich, Vienna, Victory, etc as needed for color and malt flavor. Right now, though, my inventory is light on Pilsner and I have a lot of Rahr Pale Ale and Standard 2-row as well as a good supply of Maris Otter.

Over the next several weeks, I'll be brewing to fill up my keg pipeline so there'll be a batch or two of Bo Pils plus Cream Ale, APA, IPA and American Amber, maybe a Belgian Blond or Wit somewhere in the mix. The way I have it figured is that I'll save the Pilsner malt for the Bo Pils, use the 2-row for Cream Ale and APA and use the Pale Ale malt for the IPA and Amber. I'll save the Maris Otter for some darker beers next fall.

I know that probably most of the brewers here will buy recipe kits or buy malts only in quantities sufficient for one recipe but there are plenty of us that buy bags of base malt and keep a pretty good inventory on hand. Which styles do you tend to use Pale Ale malt for as opposed to 2-row? Do you go out of your way to buy or stock more of one or the other?

I usually have pale and marris otter on hand, depending on style.
If i am making a light colored lager i will buy pilsner malt or vienna.

Have used munich as a base too, up to 50%

 

[J A]

Try Florida LOL, trust me, it ain't going to get any muggier than it is here Muggy 80s are fine and actually enjoyable for me. Oppressively muggy 95 in the summer, not so much.

Yep! Been there. Ditto Texas coast. I've done an event called the Texas 200 a couple of times, sailing and camping up the coast for a week in June. Humidity never lets up. It cools off enough at night for the mosquitoes to be comfortable, though.

 

[Josh Hughes]

I usually buy a few batches worth of base malt at a time. 5 lbs usually gives me 1.046 at my efficiency for a 3 gallon batch. Most of the time it’s all Pilsner, mix of pils and Munich/red x unless it is an English beer and I buy MO and have some crystal. I do have some dark roast usually carafa II and roasted barley. A pound lasts me a year or so each. I got 15 lbs of Pilsner and pound of red x to last the next 3 batches

 

[NorthWest Small Batch Brewing]

I bag sacks of Great Western 2-Row. I prefer the flavor of 2-Row over pale malt. Pluss Pale malt is a European thing and costs more. I also buy sacks of Great Western Munich because I love Munich malt and go through a lot of it. I'm lucky I have a home brew store I can get it at. ... I do tend to buy adjuncts online.

 

[J A]

I bag sacks of Great Western 2-Row. I prefer the flavor of 2-Row over pale malt. Pluss Pale malt is a European thing and costs more. I also buy sacks of Great Western Munich because I love Munich malt and go through a lot of it. I'm lucky I have a home brew store I can get it at. ... I do tend to buy adjuncts online.

I like GW malt but it's not always available locally. I'll be spending a month or two in the PNW this summer and I figure I might find a decent price on GW malt and load up on it before I come home.

 

[Brew Cat]

Well I used to buy full sacks and ended up doing a lot of substitutions. My 2 suppliers closed so I have been buying in 10lb incriminates. Although my cost is more I get a lot more flexibility not only with types of malt but also maltsters. I think you are correct in using the pilsner in your European lager using the 2-row in your hoppier stuf. Although i would use the 2-row in my cream ale I would have no problem using the pale in that. I actually use pilsner in my pre pro and cut back on the corn and love the results so thats an option as well. I'll use the MO in a British IPA or PA

 

[J A]

Well I used to buy full sacks and ended up doing a lot of substitutions. My 2 suppliers closed so I have been buying in 10lb incriminates. Although my cost is more I get a lot more flexibility not only with types of malt but also maltsters. I think you are correct in using the pilsner in your European lager using the 2-row in your hoppier stuf. Although i would use the 2-row in my cream ale I would have no problem using the pale in that. I actually use pilsner in my pre pro and cut back on the corn and love the results so thats an option as well. I'll use the MO in a British IPA or PA

I've gotten used to buying full bags in large part because we used to have a local guy who was bringing in Sekado grain by the container and selling to local breweries. He offered bulk prices to our club and even sold a few bags at a time to individuals. Absolute no brainer at $25 to $30 a bag several years ago. Also one of the local clubs puts together a group buy once a year or so and it's possible to get standard base malts for almost 40% off retail.
I end up getting a few bags and having a lot of base malt on hand. Same with hops...I tend to buy by the pound from Yakima Valley.

Unfortunately, if I don't brew enough, all the savings goes out the window when I have to get rid of old malt and hops like I've recently had to do. I need to be careful about loading up too much and only buy what I can reasonably use up in a year's time. Right now I have enough malt on hand for 10 big batches. That's 20 kegs and it's probably about the right number to keep plenty on tap and cover parties and holiday gatherings. Now all I have to do is get brewing!!

 

[Brew Cat]

Well, if I had that situation, I would just buy Pilsner and Munich and use it for everything in different combos. When I bought sacks, I was paying about $1/lb. now I'm closer to $2/Lb. Last year I brewed about 25 batches so about 250lbs of grain. So about $250 dollars over the year. Thats a good chunk of change. Not much I can about that.

 

[J A]

Well, if I had that situation, I would just buy Pilsner and Munich and use it for everything in different combos. When I bought sacks, I was paying about $1/lb. now I'm closer to $2/Lb. Last year I brewed about 25 batches so about 250lbs of grain. So about $250 dollars over the year. Thats a good chunk of change. Not much I can about that.

Last time I bought rom the group buy, I got 1 Pilsner, 1 2-row and 1 Pale malt. That was after I popped for a bag or Maris Otter from the LHBS because the bag price is a buck a pound less than the price by the pound. At that point I didn't know that the club was putting together a group purchase so I could have passed on the bag and just gotten what I needed for a batch. Still...the pound price for what I needed was half the cost of a bag so I was ahead buying the bag. The only problem now is that I have a lot of 2-Row, Pale Ale and Maris but I'm light on Pilsner and I'm heading into Lager season.

I'll get 2 or 3 "real" Lagers out of the bag of Pilsner before it gets too hot to brew and I'll see how the 2-Row works for my Cream Ale. I can use the other malt for IPAs and Pales and I'll have plenty of it left going into next fall and winter when I'll be wanting heavier, darker ales. If I get desperate to brew a lager, my LHBS has Avengard Pilsner for a relatively reasonable price. I doubt that we'll be in any danger of the taps running dry for the next year or so.

 

[Brew Cat]

Here is what I would do. In your lager series use the pilsner for the Bohemian Pilsners then the pale for pre pro lagers since you have the yeast going. Then as it warms up you do the cream ales at the warmer temperatures. Then go for the pale ales when it really starts getting warm
I used to do it that way before I had real temperature control.

 

[J A]

Here is what I would do. In your lager series use the pilsner for the Bohemian Pilsners then the pale for pre pro lagers since you have the yeast going. Then as it warms up you do the cream ales at the warmer temperatures. Then go for the pale ales when it really starts getting warm
I used to do it that way before I had real temperature control.

That's pretty much what I've been thinking. Even with temp control, I have to be mindful. I can crash a Uni with the glycol chiller even when it's pretty warm but it gets harder and harder. Even now it mid 70s in my garage and it'll be nothing but hotter from now until November. I'm planning on brewing as much as I can before mid May because it's likely to be in the high 90s or even 100 most days and the garage never gets below 80. Crashing to 34F is just plain hard to do.
Since I've got capacity for running two 10-gallon batches at a time, I can double up production and get it while the gettin' is good. I only run into scheduling problems when I max out on kegs and refrigerator space.
My current plan is to get a split batch IPA/American Amber done ASAP for my 2 small Uni's and get another lager going in the bigger one as soon as the Bo-Pils is kegged. I plan on a Cream Ale because lower ABV is the go-to around my house but I may put on a good, sturdy Pre-Pro Lager because I'll have a good pitch for it. It makes sense to keep the lagers going in the big fermenter and rotate through the quicker beers in the two smaller ones but one way or another I really have to get my wife's Pale Ale on tap pretty soon.

 

[Dave Y]

Even now it mid 70s in my garage and it'll be nothing but hotter from now until November. I'm planning on brewing as much as I can before mid May because it's likely to be in the high 90s or even 100 most days and the garage never gets below 80. Crashing to 34F is just plain hard to do.

Ditto.
What I did last year was used the garage for all the brewing and t/f activities, sealed up the fermenter and cart it inside with the chiller. I have a convenient spot right by the front door, stone floor, power and recessed so it’s out of the way. Even insulated, once the night temps stay above 70, my chiller just cannot cold crash. I can get about 44-45F and that’s the lowest they will hold. I’ll probably repeat that this year.