Pale Ale Base Malts - Maris Otter vs Golden Promise vs Malteurop vs Gladfield

[Cain Harland]

I'm interested in peoples opinions on:

Maris Otter vs Golden Promise vs Malteurop Pale Ale Malt vs Gladfield Pale Ale Malt

Particularly in something with a simple malt profile like a west cost IPA

And are the first 2 worth paying twice as much for?

And if there is a big difference can a base of one of the cheaper ones plus a small amount of a specialty malt achieve a similar effect?

[Mark Weusten]

I agree it is important to buy local ingredients and that grain which is grown here in NZ must be a better environment than elsewhere. When it comes to pale ales I prefer the flavour of Gladfield and would buy that over the others if they were the same price.  Last two beers I have done have been using pilsner malts and the Gladfields is quite cloudy in the bottle whereas the Malteurop is very clear with exactly the same recipe and equipment. I also found the Gladfields pilsner to be sweeter than Malteurop. Depends what finished product you are after I guess.

[Grant R Baker]

I am a huge fan of Gladfields Ale malt.. very nice base malt and it is cheap.  I still use MO or GP in brews that I prefer (slight taste difference).

I must get hold of that chart as there is a big difference in Crystals from Gladfields and others I have used.