Technically, it's a malting process. Floor malted tends to be a bit less modified, meaning it has to be handled differently in the mash. It's slightly lighter in color, slightly different in flavor. I can't tell a flavor difference in my brewing - it's lost in other variables.
piggybacking, anyone notice a difference between Weyermann Pilsner and Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner? Is it just where the barley is grown?
Floor malted pilsner does have a slightly richer flavor to me, but I really don’t care for it. It's also less consistent than standard malt because it’s done in a more “manual” way, so it changes from batch to batch. I’m over all the “new” malts, floor malted, straight variety malt like Barke. I went back to blended pilsner malt like Wyermann and like the beer better. I still have a weakness for straight up Maris Otter, it’s hard to beat it. It’s hard to beat modern malts.
Bohemian Pilsner is slightly richer to me, but not necessarily better. It doesn’t work for all beers, but it’s pretty good in a pils.
I've been a bit curious about some of the 'craft' malts out there. Sometimes I wonder if they aren't under, or maybe even over modified,
I think malting grain is a well developed process and requires a lot of experience. Most malting companies strife for the highest quality possible, so I wonder about these new malting companies too. I’m pretty happy with the grain I get, the biggest problem I have Is when I wreck a perfect good malt by making a crappy beer with it.
Well, you know Root Shoot. I've had some questionable malt from another vendor - it was supposed to be undermodified for decoction mashing. Like everything else, the smaller the batch the greater the variation. If I were running a brewery where batch-to-batch consistency mattered, I'd be a lot more careful where I get my ingredients but since I'm a hobby homebrewer, the bit of variation is not a problem as long as the malt performs to expectations.
