[Derek]

Planning on brewing a dubbel and dark strong/quad of my own creation in the coming weeks and was curious to know opinions on Domestic vs. Continental malt flavors.

I have access to Briess and Dingemans malts so its not a matter of inability to procure the right malt.

[dmtaylor]

If you are at the shop or if you have both on hand already, munch on a couple of grains of each, and use the one that tastes better.  If ordering online, get what's cheaper or whatever.  I don't think there's a wrong answer.  With experience you might learn which one you prefer the most.  If you have no preference, then you can't go wrong.

[HoosierBrew]

Dingemans is just superior in every way for Belgians over Briess IMO.  Briess malts are ok for American styles but are mild flavored,  and are not as good as Rahr (domestic) malts IMO.  But for Belgian beers, Dingemans and Castle are tops across the board. Excellent pils, pale and specialty malts.

[AmandaK]

Dingemans is just superior in every way for Belgians over Briess IMO.  Briess malts are ok for American styles but are mild flavored,  and are not as good as Rahr (domestic) malts IMO.  But for Belgian beers, Dingemans and Castle are tops across the board. Excellent pils, pale and specialty malts.

Agreed.

[jeffy]

Dingemans is just superior in every way for Belgians over Briess IMO.  Briess malts are ok for American styles but are mild flavored,  and are not as good as Rahr (domestic) malts IMO.  But for Belgian beers, Dingemans and Castle are tops across the board. Excellent pils, pale and specialty malts.

Agreed.

I also agree.

[hopfenundmalz]

Dingemans is just superior in every way for Belgians over Briess IMO.  Briess malts are ok for American styles but are mild flavored,  and are not as good as Rahr (domestic) malts IMO.  But for Belgian beers, Dingemans and Castle are tops across the board. Excellent pils, pale and specialty malts.

Agreed.

I also agree.

I agree.

Recently I read that Briess has built a another mating a that is much bigger than the 2 they had. They also bought a storage facility in Wyoming, and have contracts for malt in that area. That makes me think they are upping their game. Dropping 6-row was already announced.

I think I read that stuff above in the New Brewer.

[HoosierBrew]

Recently I read that Briess has built a another mating a that is much bigger than the 2 they had. They also bought a storage facility in Wyoming, and have contracts for malt in that area. That makes me think they are upping their game. Dropping 6-row was already announced.

I think I read that stuff above in the New Brewer.

Hadn't heard that. I'll be curious to see what they do there.

[Derek]

Sounds good and what I had expected.

My local shop in Syracuse has Dingemans Special B, Pilsner, Pale, Aromatic, Biscuit, Chocolate and the Debittered Black malt. That should get me where I need to be for most if not all Belgian and American Styles.

[Derek]

The most practical thing to do would actually just get my base malt in bulk from local place and order incremental values of my specialty/color/roast malts from someone like Keystone.

I plan on doing 1-1.5 gallon micro batches so it doesnt make sense to have to buy Lbs. of these grains when I may only need 0.05 lbs. at a time.

[erockrph]

The most practical thing to do would actually just get my base malt in bulk from local place and order incremental values of my specialty/color/roast malts from someone like Keystone.

I plan on doing 1-1.5 gallon micro batches so it doesnt make sense to have to buy Lbs. of these grains when I may only need 0.05 lbs. at a time.

I brew smaller (2.5-gallon) batches myself, and I generally get a sack of base malt that is most appropriate to the styles I'm brewing the most, and buy my specialty grains in 1-lb increments regardless of how much I need. If stored well, specialty grains will easily last 2+ years. I've ended up accumulating a bit of a library of different malts to choose from, and outside of needing a particular strain of liquid yeast I can brew most recipes on short notice.

[Derek]

That's good to know. I think I can use the method you do and really be able to have 4-5 batches worth of grains on hand at all times.

I personally think I can make 1 lb. of all the specialty grains i'd need last for a long time at the increments i'd need.

When scaled down my recipes need only 1-2 lbs. of base malts and between 0.05-0.2 lbs. of specialty grains.

What do you store in?

[erockrph]

That's good to know. I think I can use the method you do and really be able to have 4-5 batches worth of grains on hand at all times.

I personally think I can make 1 lb. of all the specialty grains i'd need last for a long time at the increments i'd need.

When scaled down my recipes need only 1-2 lbs. of base malts and between 0.05-0.2 lbs. of specialty grains.

What do you store in?

If they come in good-quality ziploc bags, I just leave it in those. Otherwise I move it to a 1-gallon ziploc storage bag. I've been meaning to get a couple of Gamma seals to use to store my bulk grains in 5-gallon buckets, but for the time being the grain stores just fine in the sack for a year or so.

[reverseapachemaster]

I'm in the same boat as far as brewing small batches. Many shops don't sell at increments under one pound and when I find a store that sells by the ounce it's usually ridiculously expensive compared to a pound. When I end up with too many partial pounds of specialty malts then it's time to piece together a recipe to trim down.

[Derek]

I was going to shop for grains online for a time but the shipping is making me think I should use my local store.

They dont have the full range of Dingemans grains but if I need some caramels or other specialty grains besides special B or aromatic i'll just use Briess or Muntons to supplement. Better to shop local I guess anyway.

[erockrph]

I was going to shop for grains online for a time but the shipping is making me think I should use my local store.

They dont have the full range of Dingemans grains but if I need some caramels or other specialty grains besides special B or aromatic i'll just use Briess or Muntons to supplement. Better to shop local I guess anyway.

I pretty much have to buy online, so I try to buy several recipes' worth of grains at once to keep shipping costs down.