I've got a sack of Breiss pilsen malt that I have been using for most of my recipes that call for pilsner. The beers are not coming out the way I would like them to. Should I be buying something like weyerman pilsner or is the pilsen basically the same malt?
They should be the same, but Briess is US and Weyermann's is from Germany. What exactly is the difference you are getting from what you are aiming for?
edit: the web site says it is made with Pilsner malt and Carapils malt, though it doesn't give percentages.
I'm not sure how to describe the flavor I'm looking for. I had three different munich helles beers this weekend as well a DAB dortmunder export. They all had the same prominent flavor which I assume is from pilsner malt. Mine seem to taste more like the flavor profile you'd expect from american 2-row.
I tend to find Weyermann Pilsner and Dingemanns Pilsner malt more full bodied tasting and maltier than Briess pilsen malt. Whenever I am brewing american styles I will use Briess, but if I am brewing European styles than I would use either Weyermann or Dingemanns even if they cost a bit more. I just feel like I am getting a more flavorful contribution from the using the right kind of malt per style.
"A bad man is a good man's job, while a good man is a bad man's teacher."
I think I'm going to brew something light like a munich helles, 5 gallons with weyermann, 5 with briess. A side by side comparison should show any flavor differences.
leftnut wrote:I think I'm going to brew something light like a munich helles, 5 gallons with weyermann, 5 with briess. A side by side comparison should show any flavor differences.
That's an excellent approach.
I think you'll like the results with Weyermann. Hit the nearest Gordon Biersch (if that's feasible). They use Weyermann malts exclusively (AFAIK).
