Grain Brands

[tehdilgerer]

Gday AHB,
Looking to start steeping some grains in my 3rd brew, so naturally have to go buy some...The sponsors above have quite a range of different brands (Barett Burston, Weyerman,Bairds, Thomas Fawcett etc), and i was wondering if there is a superior brand, or is it all horses for courses?
What have you had success with, or probably more to the point, what has failed?

If it helps, im looking to get some crystal, pils, and stout grains like roasted barley and choc

 

[brettprevans]

you probably should have posted this in the AG section for more responses.

in short
1. there is some differance in quality for some grains.
2. some brands have differant varieties that other brands dont
3. some grains are roughly the same characteristics just a differant brand.

I have previously posted some docs relating to grain but cant find the posts so i'll upload the documents again. you might find them interesting to read and it might explain some of the grain type uses etc

edit:
attachments. the Grain Comparison spreadsheet is a good referance but may be a bit out of date by now

View attachment grain_comparison.xls
View attachment grain_guide.xls
View attachment Grain_Brewing___the_final_frontier.doc

 

[brettprevans]

sorry for the short reply. Im in and out of meetiings so dont have time for a long reply. hope the above is of some use

 

[tehdilgerer]

thanks cm2, thats basically what i was looking for, and those attachments should come in handy when i move into AG.
Just a quick question, in relation to: 1. there is some differance in quality for some grains. -

Assuming every brand had the same product (say, crystal 10/carapils) which brand would you choose over the others?
Unless im making no sense here, and creating an issue out of none :huh:

Thanks for your help, in any case mate

 

[brettprevans]

thanks cm2, thats basically what i was looking for, and those attachments should come in handy when i move into AG.
Just a quick question, in relation to: 1. there is some differance in quality for some grains. -

Assuming every brand had the same product (say, crystal 10/carapils) which brand would you choose over the others?
Unless im making no sense here, and creating an issue out of none :huh:

Thanks for your help, in any case mate

bascily some people will swear about one grain over another, others have a differant opinion.
personally I dont care unless im really trying to make the best possible beer i can (eg for a comp). I dont have the spare $ to spend on wyyermann or similar so Ill use joe white or other. personal preferance and availability of spare $ probably determine which brands you pick for generic grains. Edit (See Maples post below for a better explanation of what I meant).

a small note: the actual 'conversion' specifications of some grains will be better than others. say for instance, that as a general rule, asutralian pils grain is very highly modified compared to USA and europe brands so things like DMS etc arent as prevelant. so there can be reasons to buy a certain brand over another.

personally I dont care too much. if I can afford good specialty grains (such as wyyermann) then ill get them and then just use cheaper base grain.

 

[Maple]

Just a quick question, in relation to: 1. there is some differance in quality for some grains. -

Assuming every brand had the same product (say, crystal 10/carapils) which brand would you choose over the others?
Unless im making no sense here, and creating an issue out of none :huh:

your question does make sense, but the answers will vary. base ingredient is Barley. Where that barley grows will give it different characteristics. how the malting was done will again give specific characteristics. so basically, you have a large number of variables that will give different results, some perhaps better than others, but that comes down to personal taste to a point as well. eg,. take joe white vs weyerman: one uses Euro grain, one Aussie grain - going to be different before you even start. malting processes may be similar and resultant colour will be close, but the time and layered complexity that the grain gives as an output will be different. Best way to get a handle on it is to try them. See what you like, what you get out of them, and build your knowledge from there.

Just make sure that you are using a grain spec'd for steeping (i.e. does not require a mash) if you are just steeping.

 

[chappo1970]

+1 CM2 and Maple

If it helps, im looking to get some crystal, pils, and stout grains like roasted barley and choc

All those are perfectly fine to start off with. Best advice is keep trying them out. Whenever I get a new malt I chew on them and see what they taste like. From there I can usually tell what possibilities they have to add to a beer.

I think what is the hardest thing with homebrewing is taste is such a personal and subjective thing. For example I know Maple and I loooove our rye where as other brewers would rather add last nights bed pan to their brew than add rye to it. So you need to find what your tastes are really. Specialty grains are not dear and you don't usually need bucket loads of them so why not buy a few different ones every month and build up your palate?

Good Luck with it.

Cheers

Chap Chap

 

[manticle]

For steeping grains you need such small quantities, that you can probably afford to try a coupe of different brands and compare.

I have noticed a difference with something like Joe White Vienna and Weyerman Vienna. Weyerman being a German company might produce more traditionally German malts so it can also depend on what you're brewing. Being a budget man, I generally choose Joe White for most things with the exception of a very few specialty malts which either aren't available from other brands or which I prefer.

Example sof the above would be dingeman's biscuit or special B.

Certainly there's no malt I've yet tried that I would describe as sub par.

 

[Jazman]

dont forget some grains like pils and other pale malt must be mashed other like your crystals,roast barley can be steeped

 

[tehdilgerer]

thanks to all the above replies, so quick, and much appreciated
glad to see all the big guns of the forums replying to my topic B)

@jazman - yeah mate, all the grain i shall buy will be steepable, unless craftbrewer is lying to me ;p

and @everyone else -i think the general consensus is to buy some grains and see what i think though id probably like to support the australian companies first... but i like the idea, gives me an excuse to brew more beer the only problem is, im running out of bottles to put it in (if only uni students could afford a kegging system.....)

oh yeah and @ chappo, i think ill stray away from adding a bed pan to my beer, some what strangely i dont think that will really help things......