I use a quite a bit of Simpson's Golden Promise in British-style ales that I brew. I noticed that the price has shot up to the point where domestic craft malts are competitive or cheaper. I recently tried to order some Maris Otter from FH Steinbart and they told me that they didn't have any but offered to substitute Skagit Valley Malting Talisman True British Ale malt (
https://www.skagitvalleymalting.com/true-british-ale) for the same price. That started me thinking about whether there is a substitute for Golden Promise, too. I know that the British malts are grown in cool and moist conditions, and my favorite craft maltsters in California and Oregon don't have those, but Skagit Valley does.
I began to wonder if there any domestic craft maltsters that make something very similar to Simpson's Golden Promise. Would the Skagit Valley malt be good enough for that, too? Then I began to wonder if it really matters at all. Conventional wisdom, as in the Daniels book "Designing Great Beers", is that you should use ingredients from the region associated with the style you are making. But I'm not trying to make an exact clone of a British beer. I just want to make beer that tastes good, so maybe I can stick with my favorite local maltsters. I know that base malt matters, but do I need to have a supply chain that goes across the world when I have local maltsters that make great products?