Joe White Pilsner Vs Weyermann Pilsner

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dabre4

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I know there have been similar discussions to this in the past, and that most of the time the differences between malt brands are minimal. I'm normally happy using Joe White base malts as the results always turn out great, however I'm brewing a Pilsner this weekend and was wondering if there is much difference in the final results between using Joe White or Weyermann Pilsner malt? Obviously there will be a difference, I guess my question is are they obvious or very subtle?

Thanks.
 
For mine, there is very real difference in aroma and taste which is apparent in beers brewed with Weyermann compared to JW both in a home brew and commercial sense. Both malts are good but the Weyermann is not as heavy on the palate which assists in providing the crispness tasted in a good quality pilsner.

Buy a few kg's and try for yourself.
 
JW export pils IMHO is as good as the wey pils malt. Add the price factor in and its a no brainer. The "standard" JW pils im not a huge fan of ( and im not saying its bad at all ), but the export is excellent. I won't be buying the wey stuff again. Just gunna have try the difference yourself. I once did 100% JW pils, then next batch did 100% Wey german pils. Definately a difference. Havent done it with JW export pils and wey, but am so happy with the export im not gunna bother.


BTW just having "imported" malt won't make your beers turn out better, you stil have to get all the other factors right, mash, ferment, conditioning to name a few. My .02c
 
Price shouldn't be much of a factor these days. Weyermann Pilsner shouldn't be more than approx $15 a sack more or 0.50c a kilo in small lots against Aussie Malts

Both grains are quite different IMO (though i haven't had JW in a while), best to try both & see which you prefer, they both have their place.

mje1980, Interesting that you don't like JW Pils but like their Export Pils :blink: I wasn't aware that they did 2 different Pilsners? Export is the only one available through their distributor.

Cheers Ross
 
I didn't think there was either ross, but its been a long time since i used JW pils, and last year i got half a sack of JW export to do some lagers ( rarely do lagers ). If its the same its very different to what i remember, though i havent used it for at least a few years, and my brewing has also improved since then. I still think its as good as the wey stuff.
 
For mine, there is very real difference in aroma and taste which is apparent in beers brewed with Weyermann compared to JW both in a home brew and commercial sense. Both malts are good but the Weyermann is not as heavy on the palate which assists in providing the crispness tasted in a good quality pilsner.

Buy a few kg's and try for yourself.


I agree with Duff.
Have used both & liked both but found the weyermann to be the first choice for me these days. Getting fantastic results with the Weyermann.

Crusty
 
Just bought ingredients to make my first Pilsner. Will probably start it next week. I went for Weyermanns Pilsner malt, but wasn't sure whether to go for the Floor malted or "normal" Pilsner malt. What is the difference and has anyone used the floor malted pilsner malt?
 
As duff has pointed out the biggest difference between them is the flavour. JW lends more of a malty-sweet pilsner character and Weyermann has more of the doughy bready pilsner qualities. Either way, both great malts and use what is acceptable to your palate and hip pocket! :icon_cheers:
 
Weyermann currently have 4 Pilsner malts available in Australia.

Pilsner I think of it as more of a north German style, lighter, clean crisp pilsner and lager beers
Bohemian Pilsner South German fuller bodied rounder finishing, a bit chewier.
Premium Pilsner Czech grown and malted in Germany, pretty obvious what you would choose it for
Floor Malted Pilsner the floor malting process tends to cause melanin development so more colour and typical flavours associated with older malt and beer styles, is a ripper as the base for an Alt or Schwartz beer maybe a Dortmund.

I don't stock JW but have used heaps over the years I don't believe there is a really profound difference between the offerings from the Australian maltsters, I just prefer the Malt Europe Pilsner, it's made to Heineken speck and they are as fussy as any brewer on the planet so the malt is consistently very good.
The secret is to choose the malt to make the beer you want to drink. I don't think any of the malts mentioned are anything other than excellent just a matter of the most appropriate to the style you're looking for.

MHB
 
While I have limited experience, I have gone through a few sacks of JW pils and the Wey Bo Pils. I find a particular characteristic of the JW to stick out, and I can taste it in craft beers. In my relatively inexperienced opinion, the JW seems to leave beers on the flabby side regardless of FG, whereas I find the overall profile of the Weyermann pleasing, again regardless of FG.

I can only put this down to the difference in growing, and perhaps malting. The German kernels seem to be much skinnier than Aussie ones, indicating either a dramatically different breed of barley, or the difference in growing conditions, or both. Consider the difference in AUS and GER grown hops that are supposed to be the same strain. I know it is not directly analogous, but I would be more comfortable if JW adopted the more generic term 'lager malt' as per BB.
 
I will agree with most above and say that the JW malt does a good job but leaves the beer with a touch of something i dont want in a lager...... a kind of cheweyness or something..... its been a little while since i have used it as a result.

I have used the IMC Pils as well and its a better malt..... id put it up close to the standard Wey Pils!

Ive not tried the BB Pils as yet.

I do however use Weyermann malts almost exclusivly these days. I use TF floor malted offerings for my ales.

The Pilsner malt makes a nice crisp beer, clean with a sweet bready hint that just screams German Pilsner
THe Premium Pilsner is a lighter coloured malt with similar flavour characteristics to the Pilsner malt.... but lighter. ITs not my favorite malt but very nice stuff.
The Boh Pils had a deeper maltiness...... greater depth of flavour. It works really well in a Classic American Pilsner with lots of corn to bolster colour and flavour in the beer. It is edging close on ale malt teritory in depth of flavour but with the Pilsner malt character...... that bready sweetness.
I have a bag of Floor malted Boh Pils to try and cant wait to get into it.

i honestly think there is a big difference in the flavours you get from different pilsner malts. The price of the german malts has come down and i honestly think they are a far superiour product. I see two reputable retailers above who dont use or stock the JW malts any more...... i think that says something as they are both brewers and must be following the wants of themselvs and their customers.
 
i've been really into the weyermann bohemian floor malted stuff lately. Beautiful malt. not at all like the german pils malt, rounder and breadier, but still light. delicious. my czech saaz SMASH with it is becoming a house brew (whether i use 3724 or 3655 or 34/70).

i haven't brewed with anything other than weyermann for about 6 years, which is not to say you can't make good beers with JW malts, but I think for beers with a 100% pils malt grist you want the good stuff.

I know it doesn't bother a lot of people but I can certainly taste whether it is Aussie malt in local microbrew pilseners (ales, not so much) - they're usually lacking in the finish when you drink them - a simpler and shallower flavour. have a JS pilsener side by side with a (fresh) urquell sometime and see what you notice maltwise.
 
I'm brewing tomorrow using JW Pilsner for the first time. Should I use a 90min boil for DMS purposes?
 
it's just easier to. you don't have to, but it's 30 minutes extra and you won't have to worry about it at all
 
Nothing to worry about either way. 60 min boil is fine.


cheers Ross
 
60 mins, I'm using JW Pilsner at the moment. I did two lagers using it, an Aussie Premium and an Classic American Pilsner. The Aussie scored third in the NSW in the lagers the other week and the CAP came in 5th in the PIlsners, so well pleased. In the case of the lager both judges commented on the fine Pils malt aroma, so JW must be doing something right. :)

I always mash for 90 mins, or even 2 hours with a nice long initial rest at 62 .. just something that Thirsty Boy mentioned ages ago re what the commercials do with Aussie malts when doing lagers, seems to work for me.
 
Do you not bother with a protein rest then Bribie?
 
No need with modern malts - I just use a Hochkurz mash with lagers, as do most German breweries nowadays. However saying that if I was using the trad. Weyermann floor malted Czech Pilsner I'd probably give it one.
 
You tend to get a better efficiency out of the Wyermann Malts than Joe Whites.
IMO, Wyermann have a better grain/malting process which see's a high level of Starches able to be converted to sugars.
If you like JW, and that's fine, experiment with it to find out just how much extra you will have to add to arrive at your goal figures.
 
Joe White Maltings, Australian owned and produced, Australians employed.

Weyermann Maltings Germany, not so many Australians employed.

I'll go Joe White thanks.

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