Marris + Munich APA

Maris Otter blended with either Vienna or Munich works well.

 

Why not just make it all MO?

 

I know that I'm going to sound like a broken record here, but I find Munich to be inappropriate in hop-forward beers. The first reason is that I think it clashes with most New World hops, especially grapefruity ones like Centennial or Cascade. The other reason is that it makes the hop character fall off much more quickly, due to oxidative processes that the malt engenders.

 

Marris otter alone would be my choice. I usually had a little Vienna or Munich to grists that are lighter and less characterful like plain 2row malt. Marris otter is wonderful on its own and will go great with the centennial.

 

Nothing wrong with adding some Munich per se but I would go light with it. Too much will cover up the MO. MO should add plenty of body on its own but if you really want more I would probably just go with a low lovibond crystal malt.

 

I find that the higher beta glucan content of oats will accomplish this, as well, but if you're really stuck on a crystal-type malt, I'd suggest dextrin/carapils. Even though it's not technically a crystal type malt, it will leave your beer with more residual extract. Some interesting reading on why:

http://blog.brewingwithbriess.com/understanding-carapils/

 

C-10-20 are your friends.

 

Oats are gonna make it harder to clear. I would use catapults or c10 like has been suggested.

 

Never had a problem with that. Maybe some chill haze, but I wouldn't know as my hoppy beers are hazy from the hops as well.

 

*carapils not catapults lmao. Trebuchets are the superior siege weapon anyway.

 

And if you’re gonna go low lovibond crystal go German or Belgian.

 

Can you explain the oxidative process?

 

GP won’t be too far off MO. GP is a little sweeter

 

Posts 8, 11, and 12 in the following thread do a pretty decent job, IMO.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/toasted-flaked-oats-in-neipa.580038/

 

M.O. has a wonderful toasty flavor. Munich malt tends to lean quite strongly toward caramels. That's what gives Märzens their chewy, carameliness. But at 15%, it will taste good, yet it will cover up the toasty flavors. I suggest 5% tops of Munich malt to add a lighter touch.

 

Maris Otter is a wonderful malt... toast is a great descriptor. Golden Promise is also good.

I forgot where I go this, but somewhere online I got a tasting comparison of the basic Pale malts.

• 2-row Bready. Very light. Very slightly sweet with a smooth light graininess. Very faint twang. Serviceable if a bit nondescript. It's amazing how you can just tell this is the basemalt for a lot of commercial beers. It tastes "familiar."

• Maris otter Toasty on the nose. Much nuttier than 2-row. Slightly sweeter and more caramelly flavor. Toasty sweetness comes through. Toasted bread.

• Golden promise. Very mild aroma. Flavor is slightly sweet. Cracker sort of breadiness. Grainy. Sweetest of the six. Pleasant.

• Pearl Slight sweetness and caramel on the nose. Faint "green" almost vegetal aroma. Not unpleasant though. Medium caramel flavor with a smoother mouthfeel than the others. Sweetness carries through.

• Optic Very little nose. Slight oat aroma. Flavor leans towards the sweet grain side. Maybe a little rougher than the others. Almost grassy. I like it though.

• Halcyon Light nuttiness in the aroma. Grain is more present. Subdued caramel. Maybe a bit like the crusts from white bread. Really clean. Light nuttiness is nice. Very mild.

• The three that stood out for me as the most distinct from each other were Maris Otter, 2-Row, and Optic. The Optic smelled like a clean barn (not barnyard though). Good horse feed. A definite rough graininess that I could see complimenting some styles very well. Maris Otter was definitely the most toasty of the 6 with some deeper more rich flavors. 2-row was, like I said, kind of "familiar" tasting.

Again, caveat: I neither wrote this nor can take credit for it. Likely from Homebrew Talk. Nonetheless, living in Germany and being able to source English malts, my favs are OM, GP and Halcyon. I never use 2-row.