[Richard]

I recently made a California Common, using a variation on a recipe I have used several times before. The previous brews have been excellent, but this one was outstanding. It has gotten rave reviews from everyone who has had it, and several people have called it the best beer they have ever tasted. Now I am trying to figure out why it came out so good. I used the same hop schedule, same yeast, same fermentation temperature, etc. I did make some changes to the malt, and the answer must be there, but I made several changes. I had used generic 2-row base malt previously, but this time I used expensive local craft malt: Admiral Pils from Admiral Maltings (http://admiralmaltings.com/). I also changed the specialty malts a bit because I had some odds and ends lying around. The overall amount of specialty malts was the same, but the recent one came out a bit darker. They had essentially the same OG and FG, within a point or two. Here is the final comparison:

Previous beer	Recent beer
10 lbs 2-row	10 lbs Admiral Pils
1 lb C60	12 oz C60+ 4 oz Caramel Aromatic
1 lb Munich	12 oz Munich Dark + 4 oz Munich Light

So the question is: did I just hit a perfect sweet spot with the balance of specialty malts, or did the base malt make a huge difference? I know that the only way to really tell is to brew it again while changing only the base malt or only the specialty malts, but that could be many months away. My guess at the moment is that the difference is due to the base malt, but my wallet is hoping that it is not.

[denny]

We'd have to know what the difference in flavor was like in order to make an educated guess.  Send me some of both versions.....

[blatz]

That’s part of the difficulty of changing many variables at the same time. 

I mean if this is the best beer you’ve ever brewed, why would you change anything the next time you brew it?  I would keep everything the same.

As for your uncertainty about the contribution of the base malt - the best way to see if you vastly prefer that over your generic 2 row is to brew the same exact recipe twice, only varying the base malt and then comparing the 2 beers, preferably using a beer with a lowish level of hops and specialty malts - maybe a simple pale ale or blonde ale.


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[KellerBrauer]

Any variation you make in a recipe, albeit minor, will change the outcome.  My suggestion is to repeat the recent brew to see if you can duplicate it.  If you can, the minor variations Made the difference.  If you cannot duplicate it, than the difference might be in the water??  Maybe??

[Richard]

I mean if this is the best beer you’ve ever brewed, why would you change anything the next time you brew it?  I would keep everything the same.

I may well brew it exactly the same to see if it is equally good. The problem with that is the price of the malt. Admiral Pils is $25 for 10 lbs, others are $10 - $12.

[Megary]

Maybe you can get a bulk buy deal on the Admiral Pils.  Or maybe you can split a bigger bag with a fellow brewer.    10# is only one more batch, and it sure sounds like you will be brewing this one again and again.

[Kevin]

"It's the best beer I have ever made...but why?" When we can answer that question and achieve consistent repeatability, that's when we've become good brewers. That's the quest for me anyway.

[rburrelli]

There is a distinct color and lovibond difference between Munich malts.  Dark Munich is different than Munich Dark. That could explain some differences I would think, but further experimentation would be needed.

[denny]

There is a distinct color and lovibond difference between Munich malts.  Dark Munich is different than Munich Dark. That could explain some differences I would think, but further experimentation would be needed.

Really?  I don't think I've seen that.  Which maltster(s)?

[BrewBama]

... achieve consistent repeatability, that's when we've become good brewers. That's the quest for me anyway.

This is my quest, too.  Which is the primary reason I’ll be brewing the same recipe with the same ingredients (except for the aroma and flavor hops) over the next four (or more?) brews this Summer. I began brewing the same recipe three brews ago but I’ve changed base malts. So I’ve decided to stick with the same malts for at least the next three to see if my process is consistently repeatable over those four beers.


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[rburrelli]

There is a distinct color and lovibond difference between Munich malts.  Dark Munich is different than Munich Dark. That could explain some differences I would think, but further experimentation would be needed.

Really?  I don't think I've seen that.  Which maltster(s)?

Bestmalz Munich dark vs Weyerman (or others) dark Munich.

[denny]

There is a distinct color and lovibond difference between Munich malts.  Dark Munich is different than Munich Dark. That could explain some differences I would think, but further experimentation would be needed.

Really?  I don't think I've seen that.  Which maltster(s)?

Bestmalz Munich dark vs Weyerman (or others) dark Munich.

Thanks.  Never noticed that.

[blatz]

There is a distinct color and lovibond difference between Munich malts.  Dark Munich is different than Munich Dark. That could explain some differences I would think, but further experimentation would be needed.

Really?  I don't think I've seen that.  Which maltster(s)?

Bestmalz Munich dark vs Weyerman (or others) dark Munich.

Thanks.  Never noticed that.

Bestmalz Munich Dark target is 11L per their website

Weyermann Munich II target is 8-9.9. 

Slight differences but not significant enough in my opinion


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[Robert]

There is a distinct color and lovibond difference between Munich malts.  Dark Munich is different than Munich Dark. That could explain some differences I would think, but further experimentation would be needed.

Really?  I don't think I've seen that.  Which maltster(s)?

Bestmalz Munich dark vs Weyerman (or others) dark Munich.

Thanks.  Never noticed that.

Bestmalz Munich Dark target is 11L per their website

Weyermann Munich II target is 8-9.9. 

Slight differences but not significant enough in my opinion


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But there are distinct flavor and aroma differences between different colored Munich malts from the same maltster, and between the same color product from different maltsters. 

[blatz]

There is a distinct color and lovibond difference between Munich malts.  Dark Munich is different than Munich Dark. That could explain some differences I would think, but further experimentation would be needed.

Really?  I don't think I've seen that.  Which maltster(s)?

Bestmalz Munich dark vs Weyerman (or others) dark Munich.

Thanks.  Never noticed that.

Bestmalz Munich Dark target is 11L per their website

Weyermann Munich II target is 8-9.9. 

Slight differences but not significant enough in my opinion


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But there are distinct flavor and aroma differences between different colored Munich malts from the same maltster, and between the same color product from different maltsters.

That part I don’t disagree with, but the difference in lovibond isn’t stark like say Briess or other American Dark Munich which is more akin to melanoiden.  The way I read his post suggested a major difference.  I’ve used Best and Weyermann lines of Munichs and while they aren’t completely interchangeable they aren’t worlds apart.


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