13 replies to this topic

[Bklmt2000]

I recall that several of you (especially Brother Ken) have used Swaen pils malt in the past and really liked it, so I ordered a couple of bags this past Saturday.

 

But, have any of you used Swaen's light Munich? 

 

I bought a bag since I'm nearly out of Munich, and it seems like a good malt from the few online reviews I found.

 

But I'm curious to hear from those of youse who've actually used it and how you liked it.

[Big Nake]

No, not the Munich.  I've gone through 2 sacks of the pilsner and one sack of the 'pale ale' malt... or maybe they just call it 'ale' malt.  I would call their pilsner malt "good".  It has made numerous good batches of beer but it's probably not any better than say Avangard or Best Malz.  I still say Weyermann Barke pils has produced the best pilsner malt-based beers.  The ale malt just seemed like regular old 2-row malt to me, nothing special.  I also picked up something called SWAEN GOLD HELL which I think is their version of CaraHell.  It seems like a good malt as well.  Their site would make you believe that they are a serious high-end maltster.  I think they're a good maltster but I'll be honest and say I bought it because of the price point at LP.  

[Bklmt2000]

No, not the Munich.  I've gone through 2 sacks of the pilsner and one sack of the 'pale ale' malt... or maybe they just call it 'ale' malt.  I would call their pilsner malt "good".  It has made numerous good batches of beer but it's probably not any better than say Avangard or Best Malz.  I still say Weyermann Barke pils has produced the best pilsner malt-based beers.  The ale malt just seemed like regular old 2-row malt to me, nothing special.  I also picked up something called SWAEN GOLD HELL which I think is their version of CaraHell.  It seems like a good malt as well.  Their site would make you believe that they are a serious high-end maltster.  I think they're a good maltster but I'll be honest and say I bought it because of the price point at LP.  

 

That's the spot I'm in; the price was too good to pass up, especially since Avangard pils was ~$4-5/sack more, so I figured "WTH" and sprung for the Swaen. 

 

If Swaen ends up being "meh", then I'll go back to Avangard and fork out the extra dough.

 

I do wish LP would carry Weyermann products; what I find strange is they have a section for Weyermann grains, yet when you click on that link, there's no Weyermann products to display.  Weird.

[Big Nake]

That's the spot I'm in; the price was too good to pass up, especially since Avangard pils was ~$4-5/sack more, so I figured "WTH" and sprung for the Swaen. 

 

If Swaen ends up being "meh", then I'll go back to Avangard and fork out the extra dough.

 

I do wish LP would carry Weyermann products; what I find strange is they have a section for Weyermann grains, yet when you click on that link, there's no Weyermann products to display.  Weird.

I've noticed that Weyermann weirdness on their site.  They may have carried them at one point and then stopped.  I figure that if a new malt comes out that seems decent and the price point is okay, I'll try it... it's only beer.  If the beers don't come out well, maybe I don't buy that brand anymore.  I supposed you could also play it safe and order 10# of it first so you're not stuck with 50-55 pounds of a malt you don't care for.  What still surprises me is that I got a 55lb sack of Barke Pilsner malt from one of my LHBSs for $64 and this Golden Promise I bought yesterday at another supplier was $90.  Sheesh.  The things we do for beer. 

[Bklmt2000]

I've noticed that Weyermann weirdness on their site.  They may have carried them at one point and then stopped.  I figure that if a new malt comes out that seems decent and the price point is okay, I'll try it... it's only beer.  If the beers don't come out well, maybe I don't buy that brand anymore.  I supposed you could also play it safe and order 10# of it first so you're not stuck with 50-55 pounds of a malt you don't care for.  What still surprises me is that I got a 55lb sack of Barke Pilsner malt from one of my LHBSs for $64 and this Golden Promise I bought yesterday at another supplier was $90.  Sheesh.  The things we do for beer. 

 

True dat.  Almost legitimizes spousal complaining about how much time I spend on beer stuff.

 

Almost.

[Bklmt2000]

Updating this post: I'm a dumbass.

 

The light Munich I thought I bought from LP was, in fact, one of the GoldSwaen Cara malts.  In other words, a crystal malt in the 30-40 Lovibond range, not an actual Munich malt.  Crap.

 

The good news?  I finally caught onto this yesterday, between looking at my original order and researching the Swaen website.  Note to self: be more diligent in the future when researching new brewing ingredients.

 

The bad news?  Not really bad, per se, but earlier today I sprung for a couple of 10# bags of Avangard light Munich (which I know for sure are base malts, not cara/crystal malts) from LP.  But, I've got several years worth (~45#) of medium crystal malt on my hands (sitting in a Vittles Vault) to work thru.

 

First world problems, no doubt.  I think once I work thru the Swaen in my inventory, I'm going back to Avangard for my base malts.

[LeftyMPfrmDE]

The light Munich malt is...alright. gone thru two sacks in the past couple years. My local stopped carrying the avanguard lt Munichx so just went along. While a decent grain to use, its "good enough", especially for the price. Good an addition for a pale ale. Just bought 50# of wyermann light Munich from morebeer.com, and well, world's apart from swean. I made a dopplebock with the swean, and it just seemed to lack a depth to the flavor.

Just my 2 cents.

Edited by LeftyMPfrmDE, 29 April 2019 - 02:37 AM.

[Bklmt2000]

The light Munich malt is...alright. gone thru two sacks in the past couple years. My local stopped carrying the avanguard lt Munichx so just went along. While a decent grain to use, its "good enough", especially for the price. Good an addition for a pale ale. Just bought 50# of wyermann light Munich from morebeer.com, and well, world's apart from swean. I made a dopplebock with the swean, and it just seemed to lack a depth to the flavor.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Weyermann is my preferred grain supplier, especially for Munich malt.  Damned good stuff. 

 

I will take a look at MoreBeer (didn't know they carried Weyermann; never thought of giving them a look for grains).

[Bklmt2000]

With shipping, Morebeer wants ~$75 for a 55lb bag of Weyermann.  A little too rich for my wallet.

 

Unless LP starts carrying Weyermann (again?), it looks like Avangard will be my go-to malt supplier again. 

[Big Nake]

I don't really care for how Swaen names their various malts.  They're not very descriptive and I feel like some translation is necessary.  "Pilsner" and "Pale Ale" and even "Swaen Gold Hell" make sense but some of them are a little vague and would cause some confusion.  Ken imagines people at Swaen coming up with new malt names...  Swaen Super Sunshine, Swaen Rainbow Zinfandel Munich 4, Swaen Extra Sorcery, Swaen Dark Light Pencilneck...  

 

Sorry you ran into that confusion B2000.   

[Bklmt2000]

I don't really care for how Swaen names their various malts.  They're not very descriptive and I feel like some translation is necessary.  "Pilsner" and "Pale Ale" and even "Swaen Gold Hell" make sense but some of them are a little vague and would cause some confusion.  Ken imagines people at Swaen coming up with new malt names...  Swaen Super Sunshine, Swaen Rainbow Zinfandel Munich 4, Swaen Extra Sorcery, Swaen Dark Light Pencilneck...  

 

Sorry you ran into that confusion B2000.   

 

It was my own dumb fault for not doing my research prior to hitting "place order".  And I agree, Swaen's naming conventions are a bit wierd. 

 

I would never expect that a name like GoldSwaen would mean a cara/crystal-type of malt vs. a pils/pale ale/2-row type of base malt.  I think they're the only maltster I've encountered that had such odd and confusing names. 

 

But, a lesson learned.

[LeftyMPfrmDE]

With shipping, Morebeer wants ~$75 for a 55lb bag of Weyermann. A little too rich for my wallet.

Unless LP starts carrying Weyermann (again?), it looks like Avangard will be my go-to malt supplier again.

Or you can order 5 10 lb bags and will be shipped for free.

[Genesee Ted]

I forget the exact name but swaen Amber malt is fantastic

[macbrak]

I'm a fan of the Pilsner. Made a couple of good beers with them and got good results, including an all swaen light lager that was well received. One of the local breweries here has started using it after trying it.

 

I'm also not a fan of their naming system.