Although beer can - by definition - be made from any grain (Japanese sake, made from rice, is technically a beer and not a wine), barley is the basis of most Western-style beers. There are special styles that uses percentages of wheat, rye, oats, rice and corn as flavoring adjuncts, but barley is the heart and soul of beer.

Before barley (and most other grains) can be used in beer, they must be malted, which basically means germinated/sprouted in warm water. This develops enzymes which are later used to convert starches to sugar.

Here is a good article on malting your own grains in case you ever survive a nuclear war and really need to make beer in The Wasteland.

Main Street stocks many different types of grains; if you do not see one that you want or use, please do not hesitate to call or email - chances are we have it on stock, or have immediate access to it.


Base Malts for the All-Grainer
Name of Grain
Dominant Characteristic
Price per Pound
Great Western American
2-row malt
Clean, average malt, mid-modified, used by many brewers
as an all-purpose grain
$1.40/pound
$13.00/10 lbs
$44..95/50 lbs
Breiss American
Pacific Northwest Pale Ale malt
slightly darker than the regular American 2-row, this grain is great for any richer, maltier microbrew style that you are trying to produce. It has more of the malty, nutty English-style flavors, at a very economical American price.
$1.40/pound
$13.00/10 lbs
$44..95/50 lbs
Gambrinus (Canadian) Pale Malt
uses high percentage of Harrington malts, richer flavor than
American - good taste and less expensive than imported
To Be Announced
Gambrinus (Canadian) ESB Malt
slightly darker roast than the previous malt, this
is meant for rich, full-bodied ESB's and IPA's, but can
be used for any full-bodies malty beer
To Be Announced
Hugh Baird (English) Pale Ale malt
true Maris Otter English malt - the Cadillac (or Mercedes Benz!) of pale malts, known for its rich bready,
biscuit flavors
$2.00/pound
$19.00/10 lbs.
$74.95/55 lbs
Crisp (English) Maris Otter Palemalt
another true supplier of Maris Otter pale malt - known for its rich, bready character - great for all English ales
$2.00/pound
$19.00/10 lbs.
$74.95/55 lbs
Simpson's (Scottish) Golden Promise
a highly-requested, highly sought-after base malt -- it is finally available!! a very nutty tasting, rich malty hearty taste - great for dark beers, Scottish-styles, and ambers -- this is a very plump grain that should give you higher than normal extraction rates, as well as a tremedous flavor. Rumored to be used in Pelican Brewery, on the Oregon Coast.
$2.00/pound
$19.00/10 lbs.
$74.95/55 lbs
German (Weyermann or Best Malz)
Pilsner malt
a clean, malty crisp flavor, this is the classic grain for German-style pils, or any lager-like beer that you are trying to create.
$1.90/pound
$18.00/10 lbs.
$62.95/55 lbs
Belgian/French (Malto-Franco Belges) Pilsner malt
clean, crisp and malty -an all-purpose grain for those
that do not like the breadiness of the English malts -
this is almost mandatory for lagers and all clean,
crisp ales
$1.90/pound
$18.00/10 lbs.
$67.95/55 lbs
Breiss American (domestic) Wheat Malt
good all-purpose white wheat malt - low to mid-modified, so it needs a protein rest for full proper conversion
$1.40/pound
$13.00/10 lbs
$49.95/50 lbs
Belgian/French
(Malto Franco Belges) Wheat malt
a high-modified wheat malt that needs no protein rest!
Need I say more??
To Be Announced
German (Weyermann) Wheat malt
mid-modified, but the true German wheat from the
land that made wheat beers famous
$1.75/pound
$15.00/10 lbs.
$49.95/50 lbs

All of our Specialty Malts, listed below, are $1.92 per pound. There are discounts for 10 pounds or more, lowering the price to $1.75 per pound.

Fifty pound bags of Domestic Specialty Grains are $62.00
Fifty-five pound bags of Imported Specialty Grains are $74.95

Malt-Building Base Malts
Name of Grain
Dominant Characteristic
English Vienna Malt (5L)
 soft and delicate, this is great for adding in maltiness without caramel or strong roasty flavors - color addition is a wonderful deep gold
Belgian Munich malt (7L)
the best-tasting Munich malt available - this adds a rich malty backbone and lots of amber/red colors - great aroma as well
American Munich malt (20L)
better suited for extract beers than for all-grains, this is a darker Munich than one is likely to find elsewhere
German Melanoidin Malt (30L)
a wonderful specialty malt - I use it often - it adds melanoids which are usually only produced from decoction mashes - melanoids are RICH tasting compounds that lovers of big, malty beers will love even more

Crystal Malts, and the Such
Name of Grain
Dominant Characteristic
American Dextrin Malt (Carapils) (3L)
body-building grain, adds little to flavor, but helps with "richness" and head-retention
American crystal malt, (comes in 10, 20, 40 60, 80 and 120 degrees Lovibond) please specify when ordering
the higher the number, the darker the roast and the more color and caramel flavor gets added to your beer
Belgian (DWC) CaraVienne (22L)
a great Belgian crystal malt - soft and malty, slightly fruity
Belgian CaraMunich (65L)
a great crystal for winter ales and hearty rich porters, etc. My favorite, I add it to many "big" flavored beers - fruity and caramel-tasting
English (Hugh Baird) crystal malt (50L)
very aromatic and rich, almost perfumy with the smell and taste of roasty caramel - very nice
Belgian (DWC) Special B (130L)
a cross between a dark crystal and a chocolate malt - use sparingly, has a strong raison flavor but adds a great complexity to full-tasting beers

Dark Malts
Name of Grain
Dominant Characteristic
American chocolate malt
excellent malt, necessary for porters, or brown ales, adds a rich, nutty, chocolate taste to the beer - hard to do anything but good with this grain
American black (patent) malt
burnt, bitter malt - must be used sparingly lest it impart a charred flavor to the beer - small amounts add lots of color, large amounts lots of flavor
American roasted barley
the classic "stout" flavor - unmalted and black barley, can be added up to 1 or 1.5 pounds per 5 gallons, or less for more subtle flavors

Nutty and Miscellaneous Malts
Name of Grain
Dominant Characteristic
American Victory Malt
nutty toasted flavors, nice and warm and slightly roasty
Belgian Biscuit Malt
a Belgian bready flavor, has a true biscuit flavor, nice and chewy
English Special Roast Malt
an English malt, also used to produce a biscuit/bread flavor
Belgian Aromatic Malt
an awesome malt, I use it everywhere - adds a rich, "malted milk" smell to beers - esp. good for winter ales, doppelbocks, and styles that use few finishing hops
French Cara-Wheat Malt
a toasty, nutty wheat malt - very unusual and hard to find, this is a great addition to amber weizenbocks and big winter styles
Canadian Honey Malt
Doug's favorite - a sweet, intensely flavored malt that complements many different styles of beer - great for a complex back-layer in everything from pilsners to porters
German Rauch Malt
the true German smoked malt - can (and should) be used as 100% of a rauchbier mash
Scottish Peated Malt
very intense, smoked/peated flavor - added under 1/2 lb in a 5-gallon batch, this adds a distinctive smokiness to Scotch ales and porters
American Rye Malt
a rye malt that has been malted, which softens up the rye flavor - necessary for roggenbiers, or American rye-wheat hybrid ales