[sharg54]

I have been looking into buying a bulk sack of grain to use as a base malt for my brews and save a few bucks over buying various malts to fit what I'm making at the time. I have been considering Maris Otter and have used it a few times for stouts, ales and such but was wondering if it would make a good base malt for Pilsners and some lite lagers as well. Would this be a good choice or will it throw off the taste of say a CAP or something like that? I normally use 6 row or 2 row in my caps but every time I change up I have to get a different base so I have to run to the brew store. Is it the malt that really makes the difference in a brew or is it more the yeast and hops used?

[tygo]

Malt definitely makes a difference in the final product.  If you just want to have one sack on hand get the one that you'll use the most and continue to buy other base malts as needed.  The MO wouldn't be the best malt to make an authentic pils.

[sharg54]

Ok that sounds right but is there a good all around malt that you can build off of with out having to start from scratch  (ie. unmalted grain) and use as a base malt as well.  I have been making my own Crystal malts in the range of  60 to 80 L and have been tinkering with some roasted, chocolate, biscuit and cara-pills malts too, as well as a few others and have been using American 2 row as a base and they have turned out quite well but still I think they could be better if a different base malt were used to build off of that could also be used for a wide range of brews. From what I have been reading and talking to others about it's just a matter of temp and time as far as what you end up with and weather or not they are dry or wet or mashed in whole grain form when you make them. There are a few sites that talk about how the various malts are made as far as temp goes but little else as far as base malts being used. Is there some place I can look for this type of information or am I blowing smoke? I love to cook and as far as I'm concerned this is really nothing more than cooking just with different ingredients.

[tygo]

love to cook and as far as I'm concerned this is really nothing more than cooking just with different ingredients.

Yes, indeed.  That it is.

Unlike you, I haven't played around with taking the malt I have and changing it into something different.  However, I would think there is a difference between taking base malt and toasting it one way or another and completely changing the character of the base malt you're starting with.

The character of the base malt is dependent on the type of barley used to make it and the process it goes through to become malted barley.  I don't think there's a lot you can do to change that basic process once it's occurred.  MO isn't going to be able to be transformed into pilsner malt no matter what you do to it.  And I think the same would apply going the other way, trying to turn pilsner malt into a darker, richer base malt.  I think you'll end up with a crystal-type pilsner, not MO.

Just my thoughts.  I don't really know.

[sharg54]

Yeah I would have to say your right... Guess in this case you can't build a silk purse out of a sows ear... Guess I'll just have to make a run from time to time to the brew shop to get the base I need... As for the rest about as far as you can go is smoking it , roasting it or caramelizing it after that you have to start from scratch with the right grain. Thanks for your input, it's always good to have a sounding board from time to time.