Base Malts

Sugar Creek Pilsner malt is a locally malted version of the wonderfully light and grainy version that light lagers and pilsners have been made from for hundreds of years! This malt is made of 2 row Conlon barley grown right here in Indiana. A 1.5-2 Lovibond grain, it gives a lighter color to beers, leaving them crisp and golden! This malt is bursting with grain flavor, which works well in a range of lagers, from the lighter Pilsen beers to festbiers such as Marzens and Oktoberfest biers. As the lighter grain can lead to precursors of DMS, a 90 minute boil is recommended on beers where a large percentage of pilsner malt is used as the base. Recreate all your favorite traditional lager styles, or add a light golden color to your ales with this versatile malt from Sugar Creek Malting!

Barley malted right here in Indiana! Sugar Creek Malt Co. is a local malting company located 40 miles north of Indianapolis. Started with the intention of making fine, locally-produced malts for truly locally-produced beer, Great Fermentations is proud to be the exclusive retailer of their local malts to homebrewers! All barley malted by Sugar Creek Malt Co. comes from within 200 miles of their Boone County malting operation. Using a form of floor malting, Sugar Creek Malting Co. is able to monitor malting conditions hour-by-hour to ensure high quality malts for the end user!

Muntons English pale malt is a fully modified base malt that can be used in a number of beers. It works best as a base in British and American style ales, but can be used as part or all of the base for other beers as well, since it is easy to work with and has a great flavor. Pale malt is generally more highly kilned than standard 2-row malt, and as a result it is slightly bready and has a richer flavor profile than 2-row.

This is a good base to use in a number of beer styles, from lighter pale ales and bitters to darker porters and stouts. Give this a try next time you are putting together a beer that requires a clean yet slightly rich flavor profile.

A highly modified base malt with more diastatic power to convert mashes which contain a large percentage of adjuncts such as rice and corn. It is very useful in brewing certain beer styles, such as wheat beers and cream ales.  Briess 6-row malt also has more husk material than 2-row brewer's malt,  which reduces the risk of stuck sparges when using huskless grains like wheat or rye. Since it is high in protein, its use can result in increased break and haze. A protein rest is suggested when brewing with 6-row.

It has a great flavor which has been described by some as slightly grainy. Briess 6-row is often used in high-gravity mashes as well, and those using special adjunct ingredients such as pumpkin. Try some in your next high-gravity  or specialty batch of beer!

Avangard Malz is the biggest malting company in Germany, and is known for the high quality of their traditional German malts. None of their malts is perhaps more sought after than their pilsner malts, with which some of the finest lagers can be made. Lagers made from this malt have a bright, clean, full-bodied character. Highly-modified, it has been reported that brewers tend to get excellent efficiency out of this malt. It produces beers with a nice light golden color. Avangard pilsner malt can be used in a range of different styles and in any beer that calls for pilsner malt. Give Avangard's pilsner malt a try today!

Avangard German Pilsner Malt (55 lb. Bag)

Avangard Malz is the biggest malting company in Germany, and is known for the high quality of their traditional German malts. None of their malts is perhaps more sought after than their pilsner malts, with which some of the finest lagers can be made. Lagers made from this malt have a bright, clean, full-bodied character. Highly-modified, it has been reported that brewers tend to get excellent efficiency out of this malt. It produces beers with a nice light golden color. Avangard pilsner malt can be used in a range of different styles and in any beer that calls for pilsner malt. Give Avangard's pilsner malt a try today!

Patagonia Extra Pale Malt is a Chilean base malt. These malts are grown between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. With the unique soil, weather conditions and topography of the region, Patagonia Extra Pale Malt has a unique flavor quality and can be used as an excellent base whenever American 2-row might be used. It is a very versatile malt, producing beers with good body and unique flavor characteristics. Try some today and experience the taste of South American grown and malted barley!

Muntons Maris Otter malt is a 2-row winter variety of barley specially bred for use in the brewing industry. It has a low nitrogen content and  high quality malt characteristics which give beers a lush, full flavor profile. It is generally regarded as having a more rich maltiness than standard American 2-row varieties that have been bred specifically for yield. Plump kernels with good husks for filtration, Maris Otter has a breadiness that goes well in British style ales, but may be used  in any recipe where more malt character and a more rounded flavor are desired.

Maris Otter is favored by maltsters and brewers alike because of ease of malting, quick maturation times, ready absorbency of water, and a reputation as being very forgiving during the brewing process. A single-infusion mash is all that is required to brew with Maris Otter. One of our favorite base malts!

Muntons Maris Otter Malt (55 lb. Bag)

Muntons Maris Otter malt is a 2-row winter variety of barley specially bred for use in the brewing industry. It has a low nitrogen content and  high quality malt characteristics which give beers a lush, full flavor profile. It is generally regarded as having a more rich maltiness than standard American 2-row varieties that have been bred specifically for yield. Plump kernels with good husks for filtration, Maris Otter has a breadiness that goes well in British style ales, but may be used  in any recipe where more malt character and a more rounded flavor are desired.

Maris Otter is favored by maltsters and brewers alike because of ease of malting, quick maturation times, ready absorbency of water, and a reputation as being very forgiving during the brewing process. A single-infusion mash is all that is required to brew with Maris Otter. One of our favorite base malts!

Briess 2-row brewer's malt is our most popular base malt, and for good reason. It is an economical, fully-modified base malt that can be utilized in almost any beer style with wonderful results. It provides a slightly higher yield and has slightly less protein than 6-row brewer's malt. It provides a light golden straw color in beers with which it is brewed.

The flavor has often been described as clean, with some also attributing a sweet and mildly malty flavor to it. These flavor characteristics lend themselves well to a range of different beer styles, anything from blonde and pale ales to Russian imperial stouts, and everything in between. Highly-modified, it is perfect for single infusion mashes employed by many home brewers. If you've never used Briess 2-row, try some today and see what you've been missing out on!

Avangard Vienna Malt (55 lb. Bag)

Vienna malt is the base malt for the famed Vienna lager, and is also used as a large proportion for many traditional German beers, such as bock and fest beers. It can contribute golden to light orange color to beer, and may be used to lighten the body of beers where Munich malt is used as a majority of the grist. It contributes biscuit and malt flavor and character to beer. A wonderful base malt for many German beers, it has also found its way into many American pale ale and IPA recipes as a small portion of the grist. Vienna malt can be used creatively in a number of beers styles; see what you and your imagination can do with it!

Muntons English Pale Malt (55 lb. Bag)

Muntons English pale malt is a fully modified base malt that can be used in a number of beers. It works best as a base in British and American style ales, but can be used as part or all of the base for other beers as well, since it is easy to work with and has a great flavor. Pale malt is generally more highly kilned than standard 2-row malt, and as a result it is slightly bready and has a richer flavor profile than 2-row.

This is a good base to use in a number of beer styles, from lighter pale ales and bitters to darker porters and stouts. Give this a try next time you are putting together a beer that requires a clean yet slightly rich flavor profile.

Simpsons Golden Promise™ (55 lb. Bag)

This unique product has a sweet berry-nut flavor. When used at a rate of 4-15% of the grain bill it will add a deep golden hue and light caramel flavors. The malt also adds a creamy, satiny finish to your beer. A full bag weighs 55 pounds

Sugar Creek Munich Malt is a rich, toasty malt that can be used as a base, or to supplement base malts for a more rich beer with more body and malt character! It is made of 2 row Conlon malt grown right here in Indiana! With a Lovibond range between 8 and 10, it is comparable to many other Munich malts in color and flavor contribution. It has a strong malty flavor and slightly nutty aroma that goes well in any beer style where a little extra malt character is desired. It works especially well in Festbiers such as Marzens and Oktoberfest biers, but can work just as well as a portion of the grist for a pale ale or IPA!

Barley malted right here in Indiana! Sugar Creek Malt Co. is a local malting company located 40 miles north of Indianapolis. Started with the intention of making fine, locally-produced malts for truly locally-produced beer, Great Fermentations is proud to be the exclusive retailer of their local malts to homebrewers! All barley malted by Sugar Creek Malt Co. comes from within 200 miles of their Boone County malting operation. Using a form of floor malting, Sugar Creek Malting Co. is able to monitor malting conditions hour-by-hour to ensure high quality malts for the end user!

Sugar Creek Pre Prohibition malt is a malt that is slightly darker than standard base malt, registering 5 to 8 on the Lovibond scale. Made from a 6-row variety of malt known as Thoroughbred, its darker color means it has been toasted slightly longer than standard base malt to give it a richer flavor. It contributes strong nut and toast flavors to beer. It works well in a range of beers, most notably pre-prohibition style ales and lagers, especially dark lagers. It can be used for up to 100% of the base in beers where it is utilized. A unique malt with very few modern equivalents, give this malt a try next time you want to make a pre-prohibition style beer!

Barley malted right here in Indiana! Sugar Creek Malt Co. is a local malting company located 40 miles north of Indianapolis. Started with the intention of making fine, locally-produced malts for truly locally-produced beer, Great Fermentations is proud to be the exclusive retailer of their local malts to homebrewers! All barley malted by Sugar Creek Malt Co. comes from within 200 miles of their Boone County malting operation. Using a form of floor malting, Sugar Creek Malting Co. is able to monitor malting conditions hour-by-hour to ensure high quality malts for the end user!

Another fine product from Avangard Malz, Germany's largest malster! This German light munich malt undergoes higher kilning temperatures than pale malt. The resulting malt will lend a full, malty flavor and aroma, and an orange-amber color. While it does not have as much diastatic power as other base malts, such as pilsner and pale malts, it does nonetheless usually have enough diastatic power to convert itself. Light Munich malt can thus be used as a base, but is often used in conjunction with another base malt in order to add more rich maltiness to a beer. Light Munich is slightly darker than Vienna and has a wide range of applications in a number of different beer styles.

Avangard Light Munich Malt (55 lb. Bag)

Another fine product from Avangard Malz, Germany's largest malster! This German light munich malt undergoes higher kilning temperatures than pale malt. The resulting malt will lend a full, malty flavor and aroma, and an orange-amber color. While it does not have as much diastatic power as other base malts, such as pilsner and pale malts, it does nonetheless usually have enough diastatic power to convert itself. Light Munich malt can thus be used as a base, but is often used in conjunction with another base malt in order to add more rich maltiness to a beer. Light Munich is slightly darker than Vienna and has a wide range of applications in a number of different beer styles.

Dingeman's Belgian pilsner malt is a light malt made from high quality European 2-row barley. It has a crisp pilsner character that makes it ideal for a number of lightly colored beers. It's flavor has been described as mild and malty, and works perfectly as a base malt for many different styles. It is highly-modified, requiring only a single infusion mash for conversion due to its high enzymatic power, and can be used for up to 100% of the grist for just about any beer. It can be used interchangeably with German style pilsner malts with impressive results.