Maris Otter as base malt?

[Ross]

Simpsons Maris otter hasn't been available for quite a while. Nothing to do with suppliers "ethics", it's simply not coming into Australia. The Simpsons had nice plump grains, which seemed to get a few homebrewers all excited, but I didn't find it an improvement over TF Maris Otter or Perle which are the 2 staples of our brewery.

Cheers Ross

edit = apologies it is the heritage crystal no longer available, not the MO. Comments on preference still stand.

 

[manticle]

Curious.

I got a bag in a recent bulk buy organised by full pint and regularly get smaller amounts from a supplier down here.

I know heritage crystal hasn't been available for a while (makes me cry). I've not tried the TF maris but I did find their floor malted golden promise gave me a preferred result in beers I made with it to the simpsons (GP not MO).

 

[Bribie G]

Picked up a bag of TF FM Pearl from Ross couple of weeks ago, about to give it a whirl.
When Marks Home Brew gets fully set up in the new place a really nice Australian base malt(s) are Malteurop from Geelong.

 

[dicko]

Picked up a bag of TF FM Pearl from Ross couple of weeks ago, about to give it a whirl.
When Marks Home Brew gets fully set up in the new place a really nice Australian base malt(s) are Malteurop from Geelong.

Is that the one they call MEU?

 

[Oakers]

MO is a great base malt. However, if you just want to make a nice malty APA then regular pale malt with 20% Munich and 5% crystal is a fantastic grain bill. Maybe a few % of wheat to aid head retention and a shed load of hops and you are done! Save the MO for a nice English bitter.

 

[manticle]

Nah. Use it for an apa and save the munich for a nice alt or dunkel.

 

[Spiesy]

I'm loving 2-row in my APA's right now - certainly not malty, but I like the lightness and crispness that it brings to the table. Combined with a low mash temp and clean yeast really puts the focus on the hops.

 

[Adr_0]

Call me loony, but I'm not a big fan of crystal in APA's. Same goes for Aussie Munich, which seems to be a bit 'crystally' compared to the delicious Weyermann Munich II. With a bit of wheat (10%) it makes a great base recipe for an APA.

I think TFFMMO is fantastic, but haven't used MO from a different maltster. I like a couple of great ingredients and it works phenomenally well with a bit of TF medium crytal and a touch of TF roast barley in a bitter. I am very tempted to try it 100% for an APA.

I'm still 50:50 on using it for darker beers where for e.g. BB pale will work well. Having said that in a few weeks - once we move house... - I'm going to try it in a stout, e.g.:
77% TFFMMO
15% TF Brown malt
8% TF roast barley

Early days and I guess you have to at least try it. I think it will be wanting for crystal of some sort but curious to see how stouts tasted 150 years ago I guess.

 

[Bribie G]

Is that the one they call MEU?

That's the one. He got it in huge cubes like they deliver fertilizer to farms and served it out through a hopper into a bag in a box, that is if he gets back into the stuff. It's equal to JW and BB for Aussie Ales and Lagers etc. and great value.

 

[peas_and_corn]

Call me loony, but I'm not a big fan of crystal in APA's. Same goes for Aussie Munich, which seems to be a bit 'crystally' compared to the delicious Weyermann Munich II. With a bit of wheat (10%) it makes a great base recipe for an APA.

Agreed. I do mostly if not all mo beers, and use other malts to boost body, while making sure the final product won't be too sweet

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Mvaybe ...just by chance....we could use Australian malts....

Can any one give reason why our locally made malts are not suitable.....

 

[manticle]

I was going to be gentle and say there's nothing wrong with joe white but just about every malt of theirs I've tried is shat on by an import. Don't know if it's the barley, malting process or a combo but I don't find jw to be a patch on simpsons, dingemans or weyermans (subbing where appropriate). Never tried barrett burston so I'll make no claims there.
No comparison between joe white trad ale and a good UK pale though. JW vienna and munich are rubbish compared to weyerman.

Quality ingredients can still be ruined by bad brewing and good brewing can make average ingredients into decent beer.

 

[MartinOC]

Don't shoot the messenger, Stu:

Horses for courses. Suitable, but not necessarily appropriate/superior.

 

[Phoney]

I think Australian malts are fine in beers where the malts are more or less masked by hops or roasted malts, eg; APA's, IPA's, porters and stouts. Just about anything else like as ESB's, lagers, wheat beers etc and they turn out 'soupy' compared to the same recipe brewed using weyerman or english malts. Mine have anyway. For me it comes down to economics. If I'm brewing a beer thats all about the hops, I want to save money on malt so I use JWPA that costed me 50 bucks a sack, if vice versa I use the imported malts that costed me 88 bucks a sack.

 

[mje1980]

I like bb etc for clean blonde type ales etc. but I don't really brew those kind of beers so dingemans, wey and MO it is

 

[stakka82]

Depends what type of beer for me. I prefer jw in aussie or American styles but that's it.

 

[Howlingdog]

I would suspect that JW and BB that we get here in OZ would be spec for the Lion Nathan and CUB. Why would they do special batches for a few homebrewers. Back in the Late seventies and early eighties the only Malt BABBS could source in bulk was from Joe White at Redbank- specially made for XXXX. Recommendations from the Maltster were a lager mash.

By the time I typed this I couldn't remember to whom I was replying.

 

[Yeastfridge]

Mvaybe ...just by chance....we could use Australian malts....

Can any one give reason why our locally made malts are not suitable.....

I try to brew with Australian base malts because I want to support local industry but for a lot of the beers I like to drink UK and European malts actually taste that much better.

 

[Kiwifirst]

I'm loving 2-row in my APA's right now - certainly not malty, but I like the lightness and crispness that it brings to the table. Combined with a low mash temp and clean yeast really puts the focus on the hops.

How low? you talking 65c and a S05 yeast or something completely different.

I am trying to build a recipe for the wonderful Japanese House of the Rising Sun pale ale. This is what got me onto the whole MO discussion.

 

[Bribie G]

Aussie base malts are produced for the lager market, with a couple of exceptions such as Tooheys Old and Coopers Ales.

Most home brewers do Ales because lagers are hard.

Bit like complaining that the lamb doesn't do a good Beef Stroganoff.

As someone posted, horses for courses. I doubt if the MO and other overseas grains that get imported for home brewers are even a gnat's bite on the hides of JW or BB, much as I applaud the "malt miles" principle.