11 replies to this topic

[johnpreuss]

Has anyone used this stuff before?  I was at the LHBS grabbing some stuff for an upcoming brew and they had a 10# sack of Avangard Premium Malt - German Pils Malt.  It was the only continental pilsner they had, it was that or Briess pilsner malt.

[Big Nake]

'Twas just reading about that HERE. There is a link there to another conversation on the AHA forum and the feedback sounds very encouraging. I'm going to look for it next time I'm in my LHBS.

[johnpreuss]

I read that thread on the AHA forum.  I wish I could get a sack of it for $40 

[Big Nake]

I read that thread on the AHA forum.  I wish I could get a sack of it for $40 

Yeah, $40 for a 55-lb sack of what sounds like very nice malt to brew with. To be honest, I don't do a lot of branching out when it comes to malt. I'll do domestic 2-row (Rahr Pale Ale malt is nice) for American beers, some type of English MO for British beers and typically Best Malz pilsner for some of the German lagers I make. But some of those comments about this malt are very encouraging. I used to like Durst Turbo Pils and then it started getting tough to find. If anyone brews with any of this Avangard malt, please post your findings.

[Big Nake]

Peeps: On my LHBS stop today, my pilsner malt options were Weyermann (both the standard and floor-malted), Rahr Premium Pilsner and Avangard. I had to ask about the Avangard and the guys said, "Oh, there might be some buried right here... " and sure enough I got the last sack of it. 55 lbs for $60 ($1.09 per pound).So I did some reading on the Avangard last night because I thought there might be a chance I could get it today. One conversation mentioned that efficiency went up with this malt. That conversation changed over to more of a "better extraction" or "better yield" from the malt as opposed to higher efficiency. Some people mentioned that the kernels are smaller and a more narrow mill gap might be important. I'm just tossing this out there for anyone who has used it... let me know your results. The other information was that the malt had a nice, deep & bready character that made some nice lagers. The thread I read last night is HERE. Cheers.

[SchwanzBrewer]

What I heard was that Avangard is actually the biggest Maltster in Germany. They make a lot of pilsner malt. Weyermann is actually a pretty small outfit, but they branched out to the US before Avangard did, so we're used to Weyermann. I made my Kolch with Avangard and it was great. Won a gold. it's good malt.

[Big Nake]

What I heard was that Avangard is actually the biggest Maltster in Germany. They make a lot of pilsner malt. Weyermann is actually a pretty small outfit, but they branched out to the US before Avangard did, so we're used to Weyermann. I made my Kolch with Avangard and it was great. Won a gold. it's good malt.

Nice. Did you have to futz with mill gaps or anything like that? I would like to avoid that if possible. Some mentioned that the kernels were smaller while others said that the grain was of 'average plumpness'. A term of endearment?

Edited by KenLenard, 12 November 2014 - 12:52 PM.

[SchwanzBrewer]

Nice. Did you have to futz with mill gaps or anything like that? I would like to avoid that if possible. Some mentioned that the kernels were smaller while others said that the grain was of 'average plumpness'. A term of endearment?

 

Ran just fine through my mill. I don't know what my gap setting is. It's factory set.

[Big Nake]

Ran just fine through my mill. I don't know what my gap setting is. It's factory set.

Mine too. I think mine (a Barley Crusher) was set to .36 and I haven't touched the gap on it. I'm looking forward to trying it and I'm thinking that a Helles might be a nice experiment because the malt will stand out a bit. Hmm... 

[johnpreuss]

I used this malt to make my my Boston Lagerish type first lager.  it came out nice.  There was a bit of a graininess to it that I thought was proper

[Big Nake]

I used this malt to make my my Boston Lagerish type first lager.  it came out nice.  There was a bit of a graininess to it that I thought was proper

I have a small amount of Best Malz pils from my last sack of it and I will make something with that but when I dip into this Avangard Pils, I want to make something that will allow the malt to come to the front of the stage... so a Pils, Helles... something gold and lagery. JP... have you sampled that Boston Lager you made? I have some in a secondary and I'm looking very forward to it. Cheers.

[johnpreuss]

I have a small amount of Best Malz pils from my last sack of it and I will make something with that but when I dip into this Avangard Pils, I want to make something that will allow the malt to come to the front of the stage... so a Pils, Helles... something gold and lagery. JP... have you sampled that Boston Lager you made? I have some in a secondary and I'm looking very forward to it. Cheers.

 

That one is LONG gone!  Very tasty. I want to use american nobels again in a lager.  I think it was a great success.