Pale Ale Malt Vs. Pilsener Malt

[nabs478]

I am about to brew a Pale Ale. I am putting together a recipe, and I am wondering about the difference between Pale Ale and Pilsener Malts. I read somewher on here that they are almost identical. but the Pilsener Malt is a little bit light coloured.

I am hoping to produce a good 'session' beer, and as such I am hoping for something fairly light in colour, so I am thinking of using Pilsener Malt.

Has anyone noticed any other differences between these malts?

Also I am thinking of bitterness. Can somebody identify a common commerical beer with around 30 IBUs, and one with about 40 IBUs so I roughyl know how bitter these values are?

 

[Cortez The Killer]

I haven't been able to really distinguish between the two malts with respect to body

The pilsner malt will be lighter

I've made pale ales with both ale and pilsner malt and a combination of the two - all have turned out tasty

With IBU's the perceived bitterness is based on a lot of factors - have a look at this article http://beercolor.netfirms.com/balance.html and at this chart http://www.brewsupplies.com/hops-gravity.htm

Beers with a high FG or alot of crystal, warmer mash temps, carbonates - can detract from bitterness

Where as thinner beers - or increased sulphates will increase perceived bitterness

To be safe and to get an understanding of how IBU's affect taste follow the chart i've attached and stay in the middle of the road - for your next batch - have a look at increasing or decreasing - based on sampling

Cheers

 

[mfdes]

Pilsner malts are produced in a different way and they are also dried before kilning. They have much more DMS precursor in them. I find I like the results from Pale Ale malt, though some of the local products are almost indistinguishable from Pilsner malt in colour.

If I was substituting Pilsner malt on a recipe tha calls for Pale Ale malt, I'd add maybe 5-10% light munich to add a bit more malty flavour. Also make sure you have a full 90-minute boil to drive off DMS.

MFS.

 

[crozdog]

I'd add maybe 5-10% light munich to add a bit more malty flavour. Also make sure you have a full 90-minute boil to drive off DMS.

MFS.

i've done many ales with pilsner malt adding some light munich as MFDES suggests - they make loverly light session drops. Give it a go.

Re the DMS & a 90 minute boil, i believe that aussie malts are low in DMS precursors and that a 60 minute boil is all that's required. I don't do more than a 60 min boil & have never had DMS detected in my beers (ales or lagers).

 

[///]

I used to sell Barretts and the confusion in part comes from the labeling of 'pale' malt.

The Barrets Pale malt in the market is a Pilsner/Lager malt. Barretts produce a number of Pils malt (Galaxy for eg) and an Ale Malt. This is different from some maltsters in the UK which label ale malt as 'Pale Malt'.

Anyways, if you have Barretts Pale it is pils malt, if another supply just ask. It is a labeling thing mostly and my general rule is pils malt for pils beer, ale malt for ale beer. But you can blend, and successful brewers do do this, as well as use pils malt in ales to give a lighter profile. An example of an Ale made with Pils Malt is Everards Sunchaser from the UK.

The difference is lesser between Ale and Pils malt of Aussie origin than is a malt like Marris Otter and Aussie Pils. MO and GP have a raw biscuit profile on the nose and a greater depth of flavour on the palate to me. Anyways, the net is different malt types and production make for different profiles.

For a beer about 30 IBU's, try some of the Micro's such as Snowy River and Barons. For 40 odd IBU's, try some of the Murrays Nirvana Pale ale which is pretty damm fine.

Scotty

 

[Randall the Enamel Animal]

I've been using a lot of galaxy for ales that don't rely so much on the base malt for flavour, eg IPA and highly coloured beers. Very good, clean, reliable malt. Grain size is small, so be sure to adjust your mills. Use GP or MO for english style pales where malt flavour is essential.

 

[Zizzle]

I used to sell Barretts and the confusion in part comes from the labeling of 'pale' malt.

The Barrets Pale malt in the market is a Pilsner/Lager malt. Barretts produce a number of Pils malt (Galaxy for eg) and an Ale Malt. This is different from some maltsters in the UK which label ale malt as 'Pale Malt'.

Aha! Very valuable piece of information.

A few recipes make more sense to me now.

Oops, the last english ale I did I used BB Pale Malt thinking it would be a substitute for MO Pale Malt. Traps for new players.