plumage archer malt

[kay-jay]

hi,

my first all grain brew is gonna be next friday! i'm doing 'fools gold IPA' a recipe from pas8280.

when this is done i plan to try and approximate a couple of my favourite brews. from a website i found that brakspear oxford gold uses 'plumage archer malt' which i can't find anywhere on the net. is this just a branding ploy? and the same or similar malt goes by another name???
also can anyone tell me whether there is any noticeable difference between pale malts generally?? or is it perfectly ok to use them interchangeably?

hoping a can help!

cheers in advance

KJ

[Stonechat]

* Proctor was bred in 1952 by crossing Plumage Archer with the Danish variety Kenia. Plumage Archer was the first genetically true variety of English barley bred in 1905 by Dr E.S.Beaven, then proprietor of Warminster Maltings.

The above quote is taken from the Warminster Maltings website.

You will be fine using any of the pale malts available to homebrewers either through home brew shops or microbreweries.

My personal favourite is Maris Otter as to my palate it has the most intense malty flavour as well as fairly good extraction rates. It's got a small price premium on it as the yield per acre for farmers is not as high as more modern varieties. A couple of newer ones are Flagon and Tipple which I hope to try soon.

[Stonechat]

http://www.warminster-malt.co.uk/marisotter.html

Here's the rest of the page to put it more into context.

Also re-reading your post, I think it is a marketing ploy to make the drinkers of their beer think they are getting a "ye olde" type product. In a way they are as this variety has now been around for over 100 years.