Grains

Base malt is eighty to ninety percent of a grain bill, so it decides most of what the finished beer tastes like. The maltsters here are genuinely different from one another and worth choosing deliberately.

Australian pale and pilsner malts from Joe White and Voyager are clean and well-suited to Australian styles. Simpsons Maris Otter brings the bready, faintly nutty character that defines English bitter, and Golden Promise is softer again. Weyermann's German malts are the right starting point for continental lagers.

Grain is milled to order, which matters more than most people expect. Too coarse and you leave sugar in the tun; too fine and the bed compacts and will not drain. If you mill your own, aim for cracked kernels with the husks still largely intact.