[Cliffs]

dark munich can have a fruity quality to it that would work well in a kolsch

[erockrph]

My local maltster, Admiral Maltings in Alameda, CA (https://admiralmaltings.com/) has a brand-new floor-malting facility. They started with one and now have expanded and put in another floor. They buried pipes for hot water in the floor so they can control the temperature. They say their process is a mixture of modern technology and traditional practices. They are definitely doing something right because their business is booming. Sierra Nevada hired them to malt some grain grown on SN land, so the malt is exclusively for SN - they call it their estate malt. I have been meaning to go by and take one of the malt house tours but haven't gotten to it. I have used their malt and it is wonderful.

I'm always looking for a new craft maltster to try out, and their lineup has quite a few malts that sound really interesting. I reached out to them in hopes that there may be some homebrew shops that I can order their grain from. Thanks for sharing!

[Richard]

My local maltster, Admiral Maltings in Alameda, CA (https://admiralmaltings.com/) has a brand-new floor-malting facility. They started with one and now have expanded and put in another floor. They buried pipes for hot water in the floor so they can control the temperature. They say their process is a mixture of modern technology and traditional practices. They are definitely doing something right because their business is booming. Sierra Nevada hired them to malt some grain grown on SN land, so the malt is exclusively for SN - they call it their estate malt. I have been meaning to go by and take one of the malt house tours but haven't gotten to it. I have used their malt and it is wonderful.

I'm always looking for a new craft maltster to try out, and their lineup has quite a few malts that sound really interesting. I reached out to them in hopes that there may be some homebrew shops that I can order their grain from. Thanks for sharing!

MoreBeer sold some of their grains in the past, but they stopped a year or so ago. I am not aware of any retail outlet for their grains other than purchasing them on-site, where they sell by the pound or by the sack.

[Megary]

My local maltster, Admiral Maltings in Alameda, CA (https://admiralmaltings.com/) has a brand-new floor-malting facility. They started with one and now have expanded and put in another floor. They buried pipes for hot water in the floor so they can control the temperature. They say their process is a mixture of modern technology and traditional practices. They are definitely doing something right because their business is booming. Sierra Nevada hired them to malt some grain grown on SN land, so the malt is exclusively for SN - they call it their estate malt. I have been meaning to go by and take one of the malt house tours but haven't gotten to it. I have used their malt and it is wonderful.

I'm always looking for a new craft maltster to try out, and their lineup has quite a few malts that sound really interesting. I reached out to them in hopes that there may be some homebrew shops that I can order their grain from. Thanks for sharing!

Most of the grain I use is from Deer Creek Malthouse in PA.  Love their stuff, all of it.  And it feels good to buy local even if I’m obviously not making a dent for them.

https://www.deercreekmalt.com/


2 options to buy:

1.  Direct from them.  Their shopping cart is a little wonky so best thing to do is e-mail them, tell them you’re a homebrewer and they will take care of you.  Besides grain, you can get food-stuffs and maybe beer as well.  Not sure if they ship beer out of state though.  I can send you some.   .  If there’s a drawback ordering direct it’s that they aren’t always sitting around waiting to read emails and process orders.  Give yourself leeway if going this route.

2.  Get “most” of their stuff (not beer!) from Keystone Homebrew.  Excellent people, quick turnaround on all orders.

I have always operated under the belief that ordering direct from Deer Creek would guarantee me “fresher” product, but that might be wishful thinking.  Never had a problem with grain (or anything) ordered from Keystone.

[HopDen]

Is it acceptable to the style to brew a Kolsch Style beer using floor malted pilsner grain instead of German pilsner malt? Reading the traditional ingredients for this style on BJCP website it claims/states German pilsner, pale or Vienna malt and a "small" amount of wheat. Is a Kolsch beer traditionally brewed using a single malt? Or is it brewed with a combination of said grains?

I realize that it is my choice how to brew  but wanted some input as to what the norm is. I like drifting out of the lane on tradition (after learning the style) but since I don't brew this style pretty much at all I wanted some opinions from the crowd.

This is what I decided to brew.

Weyermann Floor Malted Pilsner 43.3%
Weyermann Vienna Malt 43.3%
Weyermann Malted Wheat 10%
Weyermann Acidulated Malt 3.3%
Select Spalt 23 IBU's 75 mins.
Hallertauer Mittelfrüh 3.IBU's 20 mins.
Hallertauer Mittelfruh 0 mins. whirlpool @ 165* 20 mins.
Lallemand Kolm Yeast 59* ..... maybe a diacetyl rest. FWIW I have been skipping to see if I can tell, so far I don't and besides lagering will help.
Soft water
Step Mash 122* 143* 159*
75 Min Boil

Criticism welcome.

[House Of Ales]

I use 2-Row as a base malt for all of my beers. But I’m not a true to style brewer.

[denny]

I use 2-Row as a base malt for all of my beers. But I’m not a true to style brewer.

Pretty much any malt is 2 row. Do you mean pale malt?

[House Of Ales]

I use 2-Row as a base malt for all of my beers. But I’m not a true to style brewer.

Pretty much any malt is 2 row. Do you mean pale malt?

Nope. I mean 2-Row

[jeffy]

I use 2-Row as a base malt for all of my beers. But I’m not a true to style brewer.

Pretty much any malt is 2 row. Do you mean pale malt?

Nope. I mean 2-Row

It seems to me you would have to look pretty hard to find anything other than 2-row.
My base malt is usually Pils or pale malt, both 2-row, of course.

[denny]

I use 2-Row as a base malt for all of my beers. But I’m not a true to style brewer.

Pretty much any malt is 2 row. Do you mean pale malt?

Nope. I mean 2-Row

Yeah, but 2 row what?

[House Of Ales]

I use 2-Row as a base malt for all of my beers. But I’m not a true to style brewer.

Pretty much any malt is 2 row. Do you mean pale malt?

Nope. I mean 2-Row

Yeah, but 2 row what?

2-Row malted Barley of course. There are plenty of base malts like 2-Row, 6-Row, Pale malt, Pilsner, Maris Otter, Munich etc. so yes 2-Row.

[BrewBama]

Though commonly referred to as ‘2-row’, 2-row and 6-row are types of barley.  It’s like wolves and domesticated dogs: they are both in the canine family. 2- and 6- row are in the barley family.

I believe what Denny is driving at is that the 2-row type is processed differently (i.e. malted, kiln dried, etc..) to various stages such as Pils, Brewer’s malt, Xtra Pale, Pale, Pale Ale, Lite Munich, Dark Munich, Vienna, etc.  Following the canine example; a certain dog, such as a German Shepard, can be processed (aka trained) to be a guard dog, a seeing eye dog, a police dog, a sheep herder, etc.

Maris Otter, Golden Promise, Haná, Chevalier, Full Pint, Copeland, etc are specific breeds of ‘2-row’. Again, with the canine example; various dog breeds are German Shepards, Chihuahuas, Great Danes, etc.

[denny]

I use 2-Row as a base malt for all of my beers. But I’m not a true to style brewer.

Pretty much any malt is 2 row. Do you mean pale malt?

Nope. I mean 2-Row

Yeah, but 2 row what?

2-Row malted Barley of course. There are plenty of base malts like 2-Row, 6-Row, Pale malt, Pilsner, Maris Otter, Munich etc. so yes 2-Row.

Pale, pils, Munich, etc are all 2 row barley. The difference is in the kilning. Maris Otter is a 2 row barley variety that can be killed to produce different malts.

[ynotbrusum]

I am no maltster, but I have used a lot of malt over the years.  As I understand it, there is 2 row and 6 row malt based on the kernel alignment on the stalk (and having different specifications between the two as base malts, such as diastatic power, nitrogen levels, etc...).  Typically from there the maltster adjusts its process to arrive at the final lovibond to create the maltsters categorization of malts.  This would typically be the categories mentioned by Brew Bama.  Pils is usually very low (below 2 L) through Dark Munich (Light Munich might be at around 4-6L, or so, Dark at 8-10L, as an example.)  I had a Viking Extra Pale that was 1.7-1.9L, which is down in the Pils range.  Due to its makeup, 6 row typically has more enzymatic power than a comparatively similar Lovibond 2 row variety.

I could be wrong on any of the foregoing, but at this point in my life, I am starting to forget things that are not essential to the hobby.  I am just happy to get good results.

[tommymorris]

There is 2-row pale malt. Most people just call this 2-row, including me. But, technically we’re wrong when we just say 2-row.

There is also Pale Ale malt. That is generally 2-row barley but with with a different malting profile and darker color.