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Maris Otter (Pale Ale Malt)

A prized English pale ale barley variety malted for a rich, biscuity, full-flavoured base, favoured for traditional ales.

What Maris Otter (Pale Ale Malt) is

Maris Otter is a heritage two-row winter barley long favoured by English brewers for its full, biscuity, bready malt flavour. Though lower-yielding and more expensive than modern varieties, it is prized for the depth it brings to a beer.

It is the classic base malt for English bitters, pale ales and milds, where its richer character is part of the traditional flavour. Many homebrewers reach for it whenever they want an authentic British malt backbone.

Colour and flavour

Colour: 2.5 to 4 degrees Lovibond. Malt colour is measured in degrees Lovibond, or the metric EBC, and is a rough guide to flavour intensity as well as to the shade the malt lends the beer.

Flavour and character: Rich, biscuity, bready and full, with more depth than a plain pale malt..

How much to use

Typical proportion of the grist: Up to 100% of the grist. Adjust to taste and to the style you are brewing; the figures here are a starting point, not a rule.

Maris Otter (Pale Ale Malt) is a base malt. Being a base malt, it is mashed with the rest of the grain so its enzymes convert the starch to fermentable sugar; it is not a steeping grain. It is central to styles such as English Bitter, English Ipa, Porter and Brown Ale, where it does much to define the flavour and colour, and it can be used in smaller amounts in many other beers. As with any grain, the right amount depends on the beer you are building, so treat the proportions here as a tested starting point rather than a fixed rule.

Related

Sources: BJCP Beer Style Guidelines · How to Brew (John Palmer), malt reference