Malts were scored from one (1) being your favorite combination of Ron Mexico hops to malt. nine (9) being the least favorite for this hop malt combo. All brewers brewed with known water profiles based on distilled or RO water and brewing salts and acid malts added to maintain the same PH value in the mash. All were using Ron Mexico hops and US-05 yeast, fermented at the same temperature. although the malts used did vary the system efficiencies the majority of brewers were in the 1.052 range O.G. with a few outliers.
Swaen Munich Light
| Reviewer Name | Beer descriptors | Your Malt Rated preference |
|---|---|---|
| Lazy Otter Brewing | Not much head, amber looking on the darker side. No hop aroma from Sabro. Not the full body I expected by the description given for the malt. Definitely malty than other basic malts. I could smell a little sweetness from the malt, and it had a peculiar after tast to it (malt taste) which might be better suitable for darker beers. | Seventh Best Malt for this style |
| Jerry Scoppa | Well rounded. Darker color (ironic). Oktoberfest smell. Super smooth. Light body and not dry at the end. | Second Best Malt for this style |
| Dave Phelps | Beautiful amber color, great carbonation, malt, I felt the malt was overtaking the hops. I think this malt would be great for a lager! | Fourth Best Malt for this style |
| Chuck & Nate | Nice clarity, little to no hop flavor or aroma, strong maltiness with some biscuit and cracker notes. Aroma has fruitiness like a junk drawer fruit cake from 6 Christmases ago. Well balanced and easy to drink. | Fourth Best Malt for this style |
| Gary | I actually found this one a bit similar to the vienna malt, whereas it seems more style specific to a marzen, bocks, vienna lager, maybe in lower percentages in an Altbier. Although like the vienna malt paired with this yeast and hop combination i place this in the 4th position. it had a nice clear appearance with a light caramel color. it had a smooth body with slight sweetness. again well crafted. | Fourth Best Malt for this style |
| Dennis Pynn | I thought this beer was really solid. I enjoyed it quite a bit!! | Third Best Malt for this style |
| John Herrmann | Aroma, grainy, bread, toast, hay. Stone fruit Color amber good clarity a little chill haze Mouthfeel medium full Flavor is bread, toast, grainy stone fruit, cola. Balanced to firm Bitterness. Hop flavor is fruity but soft. Drinks like a Marzen. | Sixth Best Malt for this style |
| Matt | If you’re looking for distinct malty flavor, with some color and body then this malt is for you. Nice head and aroma too. Hops in the background. | Sixth Best Malt for this style |
| Dennis Pynn | Very nice copper color. Not totally clear but I would say 70% clear. Could not read through it. Really nice malt nose. Reminds me of fest beers or American Amber ales I have had in the past. I have never used this malt in the past but would like to. I really liked the flavor, color, and nose | Third Best Malt for this style |
Optic Malt
| Reviewer Name | Beer descriptors | Your Malt Rated preference |
|---|---|---|
| Lazy Otter Brewing | nice orange - golden shade for the beer. interesting malt with a bit of a bready aroma and a distinct after taste. | Second Best Malt for this style |
| Jerry Scoppa | Slightly darker/amber color. Peppery aroma. Gave biscuit, cedar and mint. This one surprised me. I had a hard time identifying it. Worked with the Sabro differently than others. I would love to use this in conjunction with other malts..... | Ninth Best Malt for this style |
| Dave Phelps | great carbonation, very malty, little to no hop aroma, great color. | Fifth Best Malt for this style |
| Chuck & Nate | Tough one to describe. Some light hops coming through on the aroma, but predominantly malt. Very interesting malt character and not sure where this one would fit as far as a beer style. Not great clarity. | Seventh Best Malt for this style |
| Gary | Not sure what happened here but i got water profile issues, like a bit of metallic and water profile phenol, curious if the brewer was able to use RO distilled water. The beer had a beautiful orange hue, in my eyes a perfect IPA color, although it was hazy its appearance was beautiful in my opinion. I also got a bit of bubble gum quality, mouth feel was good and it finished nice. I think i would like to try this on an IPA but i need to find out from the brewer if they were able to adhere to the water profile. if not I would not use this malt. I hope it was just my bottle. | Ninth Best Malt for this style |
| Dennis Pynn | I liked this beer but it was very unique. Hard to come up with a discriptor for it. | Fifth Best Malt for this style |
| John Herrmann | Aroma, fruit strawberries, jam bready. Appearance Hazy. Some head dissipates quickly. Mouthfeel good carbonation medium bodied. Flavor strawberry jam, white bread, sweetness, vanilla. This is such a good beer. I will look into optic malt for sure | Best malt for this style |
| Matt | Clear, light golden color. Some biscuit aroma, less toasty character then a vienna. Bread dough aroma. Tasting mint from the sabro hops. | Fourth Best Malt for this style |
Dingermans Belgian Pilsner
| Reviewer Name | Beer descriptors | Your Malt Rated preference |
|---|---|---|
| Lazy Otter Brewing | fairly clear and nicely carbonated. medium bodied and pale in color. very clean and crisp. not much hop aroma. typical what i would expect from a pilsner malt | Sixth Best Malt for this style |
| Jerry Scoppa | Clear beer. Good carbonation. White lacey head. Strong pilsner aroma. | Eighth Best Malt for this style |
| Dave Phelps | This was my beer, I think it was AWESOME! Just kidding, this was an easy drinker. great lawn mower beer | Third Best Malt for this style |
| Chuck & Nate | Clean and light and clear (until you accidentally dump in the dregs).... Very clean smell, a slight amount of the hops came through. A touch of bready / buscuity on the end. Nice and balanced and super easy to drink. | Second Best Malt for this style |
| Gary | Very nice clean pilsner type quality, this could almost pass as a true pilsner. The interesting thing i found out about this malt in this style was that it finished with that pilsner qualty/flavor that i have always associated with the pilsner yeast, yet here it is in an ale. "light bulb"! this also paired well with Sabro hops. Light bready, light mouthfeel, smooth, I place this 3rd best for this yeast hop combo | Third Best Malt for this style |
| Dennis Pynn | One of my favorites. I really liked this beer! Classic Pilsner flavor | Second Best Malt for this style |
| Matt | Very light in color, good clarity. Nice fluffy head. Hop aroma comes through. Less malt forward. Light bready aroma. Rich creaminess from the hops used. Hops taste is poking thru a bit. | Sixth Best Malt for this style |
Vanora Mecca Grade Vienna
| Reviewer Name | Beer descriptors | Your Malt Rated preference |
|---|---|---|
| Jerry Scoppa | Golden color. Nice white head. Hop forward malty flavor. Doesn't drink like a 5% - abv hidden. Biscuity linger at the end. Good lagerish flavor. | Third Best Malt for this style |
| Chuck & Nate | Rich and bready, like a Vienna lager, but lighter than our entry. A bit of mouthfeel. No hops in the aroma or flavor. Fairly sweet. | Sixth Best Malt for this style |
| Gary | Beer is clear, golden color. Has a fresh fruity lightly sweet aroma, finishes clean a smooth with a light body almost a wonder bread toast quality. Beer was flawless and i enjoyed it a lot. I did find that this malt pairs to a specific style maybe a altbier, and marzens, light bock, etc. that is the only reason i placed this in 7th, on its own like most of the beers it was fantastic | Seventh Best Malt for this style |
| Dave Phelps | bready, smooth, very clear beer, slight hop aroma | Seventh Best Malt for this style |
| Dennis Pynn | This was my beer so I will rank it the lowest so I will not effect others ranking | Eighth Best Malt for this style |
| John Herrmann | Aroma: bread toast a little stone fruit and vanilla Good clarity Flavor is a balance more toward the malt. Bread toast stone fruit and a smoothness that is almost lager like. A little hop bitterness balances the beer, hops are overpowered but that is not a bad thing in this delicious well brewed beer. | Fourth Best Malt for this style |
| John herrmann | Aroma: Malty Bready, toast. Medium light body Good clarity. Flavor balance more toward malty similar to what I expect from Munich. Bread toast a little stone fruit. Overpowers the hops which is not a bad thing. Delicious well brewed beer. Highly drinkable. | Fourth Best Malt for this style |
| Matt | Deep golden color, slight orange hue, darker base malt. Aroma is low on hops, malty aroma. Toasty, bready. | Best malt for this style |
European Wheat
| Reviewer Name | Beer descriptors | Your Malt Rated preference |
|---|---|---|
| Lazy Otter Brewing | Nice carbonation, 2 inch head, this beer had the most head and its nice and fluffy and persistant. The beer is surprisingly clear for a wheat malt. I do get the typical wheat malt character from this one, but it’s a little mild (I assume due to the age now). I would put it as a regular wheat beer without the yeast aroma characteristics. No hop aroma. Very crisp and clean, a perfect thirst quencher. I didn’t know you can just make a good beer with only wheat malt! | Ninth Best Malt for this style |
| Jerry Scoppa | Strong wheat smell. Fast dissipating head. Tasty. Exactly what you expect from a wheat. | Sixth Best Malt for this style |
| Dave Phelps | Great golden color, good carbonation, nice light beer, malt, light hop aroma, piney, easy drinker on a summer day | Second Best Malt for this style |
| Chuck & Nate | While we aren't sure what style this (recipe) beer fell into, but this grain was definitely the best in our opinion. Light in color and taste. Got the hops immediately and it finished light and easy. Balanced and totally a crusher. | Best malt for this style |
| Gary | SHOCKER!!! this beer was one my favorite, who knew you could use 100% wheat in a beer and have it come out so good. crisp, light Belgian aroma almost smells likes its gonna be a bit on the sour side by the aroma. i found it to be as clear as the golden promise malt and almost exactly the same color. nice smooth mouthfeel, and crisp with a bit of lower PH brightness to it. A bit on the tart side i guess is how i would describe it. | Second Best Malt for this style |
| Dennis Pynn | I was quite suprised with how clear this beer was since it was 100% wheat malt. I liked it but it was not quite balanced for my palate. | Seventh Best Malt for this style |
| John herrmann | Aroma fruit, apple sulfur, spice Appearance Clarity slight haze head dissipates quickly. Mouthfeel light-med Flavor spicy, hop bitterness, some fruit pine mint and wood, there is a tartness present that is not acidic sour but tart none the less. All wheat is an accomplishment. Would love to great how you did it. Clean beer but the malt is not my favorite. | Ninth Best Malt for this style |
| Matt | Lightest beer of the lot. Very clear for 100 percent wheat. Good head retention even with low carb. Good body. Woodsy aroma from sabro hops. Dry finish. Bready taste, little sweetness. Very light caramel notes. | Ninth Best Malt for this style |
Thrall Family Malt
| Reviewer Name | Beer descriptors | Your Malt Rated preference |
|---|---|---|
| Lazy Otter Brewing | Color- golden pale. Nice fluffy lasting head Little hop aroma from sabro, mostly citrus and orange aromoas. But can get a very nice bready aroma Nice medium mouth feel. Well carbonated beer. Not so clear Over all a very nice beer with bready aroma and the after taste is really nice. | Best malt for this style |
| Dave Phelps | Too much carbonation, very clear. I got more of a hefeweizen flavor from this beer. Not sure if something happened during the shipping process. Good beer, but I don't think it represented the experiment very well. | Seventh Best Malt for this style |
| Chuck & Nate | Never heard of this maltster, but it is nice. The quality of the beer is nice. Good clarity and a clean a tasty beer. The hops were present in the aroma and flavor... Super easy to drink. | Third Best Malt for this style |
| Gary | This beer was so unique, as everything seems the same as a two row beer should be but this one had a bit of that fresh barely field smell to it, it was as if you were walking through a barely field just prior to harvest. this malt did allow for the hops to come through just a bit more, the color was light and it cleared up nicely. I got a bit of fruitiness but otherwise pretty neutral. | Fifth Best Malt for this style |
| Dennis Pynn | I thought this beer had the best balance of the group of beers. I really enjoyed this beer. | Best malt for this style |
| John herrmann | Aroma fruity, tropicall star fruit, a little Malt sweetness. Appearance: bright a little chill haze Mouthfeel medium Flavor bread, toast and fruit, canned fruit salad, pine, citrus. Nice beer. | Third Best Malt for this style |
| Matt | Clear ale like. Light straw color. Aroma hops don't shine thru but has a nice balanced taste. | Eighth Best Malt for this style |
Golden Promise
| Reviewer Name | Beer descriptors | Your Malt Rated preference |
|---|---|---|
| Lazy Otter Brewing | - Very clear beer, but no head. Lacks a bit of carbonation Aroma- little to no hop aroma. Lot of malt aroma though, has that bready, doughy aroma which is nice, more like when you add water to any floor. Mouthfeel is on the medium side, beer is pretty dry and crisp. A little more carbonation would have made it better. Over all it’s a very clean beer with a nice malt touch. This malt has a bit of a character on its own. | Fourth Best Malt for this style |
| Jerry Scoppa | Golden color. Very clear. Good malt smell. Sweeter on the taste. This was TASTY! | Best malt for this style |
| Dave Phelps | I think that if this beer would have been carbed up properly it would have been a great beer. Wish I could have tried it off the tap. Very Light in color. good malt smell, slight hop aroma. tastes great | Third Best Malt for this style |
| Chuck & Nate | This malt just didn't get what it deserved here. The lack of carbonation really impacted what we could have experienced with it. The malt was good and added a nice bready and clean character, but really was a little boring for us. | Ninth Best Malt for this style |
| Gary | I did my review from the can as all of you did, so i graded it accordingly, however on the tap (appropriately carbonated) I really enjoyed this beer, although to me a bit too sweet for the hop presence, it had a nice mouth feel and a sweet caramel smell to it despite it being so light in color. It tied for the lightest in color with the European wheat. I have learned a lot about this malt, I would try this recipe again with more sabro and a much lower mash temp like 148 to get it to finish a bit lower. | Eighth Best Malt for this style |
| Dennis Pynn | I liked the flavor but the carbination was missing so this malt took a big hit. | Seventh Best Malt for this style |
| John Herrmann | Aroma bread some fruit and melon Appearance slight chill haze Mouthfeel med body, low carbonation, little head. Flavor Bready malty, sweet, citrus and wood. Nice beer. | Eighth Best Malt for this style |
| John Herrmann | Aroma bread some fruit and melon Appearance slight chill haze Mouthfeel med body, low carbonation, little head. Flavor Bready malty, sweet, citrus and wood. Nice beer. | Eighth Best Malt for this style |
| Matt | Straw color. Clean, clear looking beer. Refreshing clean taste, little sweetness. Hops do come thru, nice balance. | Second Best Malt for this style |
Breiss Pale Ale Malt
| Reviewer Name | Beer descriptors | Your Malt Rated preference |
|---|---|---|
| Lazy Otter Brewing | Pretty clear beer and very well carbonated, just a little chill haze. Little head but was persistent. Very little hop aroma. Got a little dank notes from the sabro (not sure if anyone else got this). It has a maly aroma, but not like bread, some thing similar to when you open a bag of malt. Mouthfeel is nice, and the beer is crisp and on the dry side. Perfect thirst quencher. It has a slight tinge in the after taste, almost like an astringent after finish. But the beer is really good. Good job! | Third Best Malt for this style |
| Jerry Scoppa | Small head and slow lacing dissipate. Crisp. Drier on the end. Solid beer. | Seventh Best Malt for this style |
| Jerry Scoppa | Good carbonation. Golden color. Strong pale ale flavor. Drier on the end. Neutral malt flavor as expected. | Fourth Best Malt for this style |
| Dave Phelps | Very light in color, super clear, little head retention, slight hop aroma, stronger hop profile than the others, slight malt flavor. | Best malt for this style |
| Chuck & Nate | Pale and clear. This beer smelled awesome!! It was the first one that really had some hops popping. The flavor, fell a bit flat. It was fairly boring in that department compared to some of the others. Pale malt while it can make a good SMASH with enough hops, just doesn't have enough backbone to really be a solo artist with a real light hop bill in our opinion. Similar to golden promise in that respect. | Eighth Best Malt for this style |
| Gary | This one and the wheat was so close in scoring but two vastly different beers. Clean 2 row SMAsH paired perfectly with the hops well balanced, clean light bready aroma. light body finishes nice all around well balance and clean beer. my favorite for sure. To the brewer, make this a house beer. maybe bump the IBU to 40 and it will be a fan favorite. | Best malt for this style |
| Dennis Pynn | Classic pale ale malt and very clear! Really good beer! | Fourth Best Malt for this style |
| John Herrmann | Aroma fruity, a little Malt sweetness bread some Carmel Appearance: bright a little chill haze Mouthfeel medium Flavor bread, toast and fruit, fruit stripe gum, maybe coconut pine, citrus. | Best malt for this style |
| Matt | Good clarity. Hints of biscuit and nuts. Nice golden color. Clean ale aroma, some hops. Slight graham cracker. More malt forward. Like a toned down version of Vienna in summary. | Third Best Malt for this style |
Vienna Malt
| Reviewer Name | Beer descriptors | Your Malt Rated preference |
|---|---|---|
| Lazy Otter Brewing | little hazy, nicely carbonated and on the darker side for a smash. Little to no hop aroma, but it’s a very malty beer. Overall it’s a very clean malt and it’s a well made beer. Its malty but does not have that bready aroma. Mouthfeel is nice and smooth and it coats the mouth really well. | Fifth Best Malt for this style |
| Lazy Otter Brewing | Extremely clear beer, nice head, well carbonated. Head is persistant A little sweet aroma from the malt, it has a full bodied mouthfeel as compared to other malts that were in the experiment. The beer is nice and malty and has a pleasant after taste to it. Would be nice base for darker beers or browns. Little to no hop aroma, malt dominates the beer. | Third Best Malt for this style |
| Jerry Scoppa | A little more hop bitterness. A little darker. Hops on the back end. Sweeter flavored malt. Reminds me of an oktoberfest. | Fifth Best Malt for this style |
| Chuck & Nate | Super cool color - Oktoberfest / Marzen - TONS of character and the beer tasted like a Vienna lager. Hops were buried by the powerful malt. | Fifth Best Malt for this style |
| Gary | marzen type quality, clear beer, malt sweetness yet finishes drier then it smells, whereas it smell caramel sweetness but feels more crisp. Its what you would expect a all vienna beer to smell like, just surprised it was not overpowering. I really liked this in its specific style, however for this recipe and hop combination i find it at about 6th. beer was amazing on its own and i am educated that all vienna is pretty damn good. | Sixth Best Malt for this style |
| Dave Phelps | bready, smooth, malty aroma, hop was not noticeable, very clear beer | Ninth Best Malt for this style |
| Dennis Pynn | This is a great malt to work with. Probably would be awesome with another malt | Second Best Malt for this style |
| John Herrmann | Aroma: bread toast cherry caramel Clarity: slight chill haze beautiful amber color. Mouthfeel: medium full Flavor balance toward malt. Bread, toast, caramel, a little vanilla and possibly stone fruit like dried cherry or prune. Some fruit from Hops Delicious well brewed beer more Marzen like. Perfect for fall | Fifth Best Malt for this style |
| Matt | Clear deep golden color with orange hue. Similar to Mecca Grade Vienna, however more vienna aroma and taste. No hop aroma. Very malt forward in the taste. Grainy, bready, biscuity. | Fifth Best Malt for this style |