Pale malts

[Moley]

Apologies if it's a numpty question, and I've tried a forum search but found no obvious answer.

What's the difference between Maris Otter and Golden Promise?

When might you use one or the other?

 

[paulpj26]

As far as I know Golden Promise is a little lighter in colour than Marris Otter :thumb:

 

[robsan77]

I had heard I think that golden promise gives a slightly sweeter beer. That said I have no experience, no evidence to base that on and dont know the science of why or how it can?

 

[Mark1964]

We have both and to be honest cant tell any difference whatsoever apart from the golden promise makes a bit darker more amber coloured wort

 

[dennisking]

I`ve found very little difference with all the varieties of PM I`ve used.

 

[Ned Lud]

I’m still a novice compared to many on this site, but I’ve brewed 18 25l batches of all-grain beer so far – 12 using Maris Otter as base malt and 6 with Golden Promise. As noted in the previous posts, compared to MO, GP gives a paler wort, a slightly sweeter finish and, IMO, it also has a slightly lower potential gravity – I'd guess around 1035.

There is a slight but noticeable flavour to GP which I find reminiscent of Lowland single malt whisky, such as Auchentoshan. Its only really apparent in the two GP brews in which I used single English hops (Challenger and EKG) with no specialist malts or adjuncts. This flavour fades with time and is hardly noticeable in well matured beer. Not sure if different maltsters would make a difference - the MO was Simpsons from Barley Bottom, the GP was Thomas Fawcett from the Malt Miller.

I really like the flavour of GP and will use it as my stock base malt in future.

Rob sells GP in smaller quantities than 25kg if you want to give it a go.

Cheers

John

(Ned Lud)

 

[Moley]

Rob sells GP in smaller quantities than 25kg if you want to give it a go.

I've actually just bought a sack of GP off Rob so I was asking the question retrospectively.

Next planned brews will be using Centennial and Cascade.


Oh, and I like Auchentoshan :

 

[Aleman]

Ned lud has excellent taste . . . Golden Promise is a variety of Barley used in making whisky. It is a good brewing barley . . . perhaps not one to use in all pale malt beer but otherwise a pretty good all rounder.

 

[dennisking]

Had a long conversation with my father in law about malts a few years back, he worked in the industry from the early 60s until he retired 10 years ago, even got an MBE for his work. He worked as a chemist for home grown cereals, a company set up to improve every aspect of growing, storing and using grains and cereals in the UK, he retired as technical director. He can remember Maris otter being developed at a Cambridge lab in the early 60s, the name comes from the road the lab was based on, Maris otter lane. The brief of the lab was to produce an easily grown grain of good yield, that would convert to malt easy and would produce good English beer. Despite some opposition from some of the big brewers it has become the main stay of English ales, Adnams were one of the first to take it on board and announce an improvement in their beer . Golden Promise was like wise developed for Scottish conditions mainly for the whisky industry, but as distillers mash grains in the same way it would also make very good beer.

 

[robsan77]

interesting facts there. bet your father in law has loads of useless knowledge.

 

[dennisking]

He still loves talking about it and gets up at 6 every morning to listen to radio 4s farming program, a program he was on a lot. Unfortunately his interest is now mainly drinking the whiskys he helped produce and as virtually an alcoholic. But his mind is still sharp and will remember all the fine detail of his life in grain.

 

[Ned Lud]

. perhaps not one to use in all pale malt beer but otherwise a pretty good all rounder.

As I’m still on a steep learning curve, I try and brew alternate brews with single hops to try and find a hop character that I really like. I only started using GP as I heard it was the base malt in TTL. I had no idea it was a whiskey malt.

Bearing in mind what Aleman said, my last brew was a GP/single hop Green Bullet pale ale with no full boil hops, just late hop additions - I’m not too happy with the results. It’s early days yet, but the intense Green Bullet smack-in-the-mouth resinous spice flavour clashes badly with the GP flavour. I think MO or even a lager malt would have been a better bet here. It’s the first time I’ve used Green Bullet and the initial taste is fantastic... until the GP flavour breaks through a few seconds later. Hopefully it will all calm down a bit with time.

I brewed a GP-only American-ish pale ale using Cascade as the bittering hop with Chinook and Amarillo as late addition/aroma hops. That turned out really well, a very light refreshing lemony flavour - your centennial/cascade brew should go well Moley.


Cheers

Ned

 

[mysterio]

Funny you mention the malt whisky/GP thing, I noticed that with the Timothy Taylor clones I would make, I thought it might have been in my mind though because I knew the connection with whisky making. When I posted about it someone else said their wife noticed the similarity too.

 

[dennisking]

If I rememember correct the father in law did mention it was was grown in northen England as well as Scotland

 

[beer taster]

He still loves talking about it and gets up at 6 every morning to listen to radio 4s farming program.

Radio 4 food program recently did a program on malt - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00yw6kh/Food_Programme_Malt/