Is there a difference between Standard 2 Row and Pale Malt 2 Row? It seems at times these 2 grains get interchanged.
Yes and no. I currently have 40 individual specs for pale malt in my grain choices, and another 18 for Pilsner. They are all 2 row and all are diastatic base malts for the majority of my gravity.
Base malt comes in all sorts of variations for flavor, origin and yield, but they're all pretty close in color.
My local brew shop does have both of these grains. It looks like Standard 2 Row is 1.8 - 2.0L and Pale Malt 2 Row is 3 -3.5L.
I suspect what you're seeing is perhaps a slightly more kilned base malt (Great Western calls it Northwest Pale Malt) along with the more traditional paler base malt.
If you're keenly interested in using various base malts without a lot of specialty malts or adjuncts, then you should ask for a lot analysis sheet, in order to get the most accurate data on your purchase.
