36 replies to this topic

[Big Nake]

My shipment just arrived.  The smoked malt is Best Malz (I think...) and smells really yummy.  I can smell it right through the plastic.  Honestly, I think anything over a half-pound might be overkill but more homework might be necessary. 

[positiveContact]

My shipment just arrived.  The smoked malt is Best Malz (I think...) and smells really yummy.  I can smell it right through the plastic.  Honestly, I think anything over a half-pound might be overkill but more homework might be necessary. 

 

ask JK about this.  I think he's used the best malz smoked malt.  i think he even made a beer with pretty much all smoked malt as the base.

[Big Nake]

ask JK about this.  I think he's used the best malz smoked malt.  i think he even made a beer with pretty much all smoked malt as the base.

Dear God and for the love of man.  Can you really use 100% smoked malt on a beer?  I was having smoked malt dreams a couple of nights ago.  I brewed a Festbier today and went into my stash of malts (for aromatic and caramunich) and when I saw that bag of smoked malt I picked it up and took a big whiff!  Mmm, bacon! 

[Brauer]

Dear God and for the love of man.  Can you really use 100% smoked malt on a beer?  I was having smoked malt dreams a couple of nights ago.  I brewed a Festbier today and went into my stash of malts (for aromatic and caramunich) and when I saw that bag of smoked malt I picked it up and took a big whiff!  Mmm, bacon! 

[font="'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"]Aecht Schlenkerla Maerzen is the best my favorite Rauchbier, and that is supposed to be 100% Rauchmalt.[/font]

[matt6150]

[font="'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"]Aecht Schlenkerla Maerzen is the best my favorite Rauchbier, and that is supposed to be 100% Rauchmalt.[/font]

That stuff is really good!

[Brauer]

That stuff is really good!

It took me a while to appreciate real Rauchbier, but that's the one I go to now that I do.  Their Bock is nice, too.  The Helles is much more subtle.  

 

Supposedly, to make the Helles they just repitch the yeast from a proper Rauchbier.  Still, I suspect that 1/2# of German Rauchmalz would be below the taste threshold.

[Big Nake]

It took me a while to appreciate real Rauchbier, but that's the one I go to now that I do.  Their Bock is nice, too.  The Helles is much more subtle.  

 

Supposedly, to make the Helles they just repitch the yeast from a proper Rauchbier.  Still, I suspect that 1/2# of German Rauchmalz would be below the taste threshold.

So a half-pound in 10lbs for 5 gallons of beer would not be detectable?  Clearly I want to be able to taste it... I just don't want it to knock me over.

[Brauer]

So a half-pound in 10lbs for 5 gallons of beer would not be detectable? Clearly I want to be able to taste it... I just don't want it to knock me over.

I can only go by what I've been told, since I haven't used the malt. The general consensus seems to be that 5% is undetectable and 10% is in the Tumbler neighborhood, which is undetectable to me. You may be more sensitive to the flavor, than me, and be less tolerant to phenolic flavors. My preference is mostly for brown and black beer, so I probably favor roasty/smokey flavors, in general. You could start with 5% and use more the next time, if it is too subtle. As long as you like the base beer and the subtle smoke doesn't just come across as a vague off-flavor, you can always drink it as a regular beer.

[Big Nake]

Okay, so I am starting to put a recipe together here and honestly, I found myself a little lost.  I'm not sure how I want this but I do have a vision so I'll just throw this out there and you guys tell me if I went wrong somewhere.  I opened my sealed container of specialty malts yesterday when I made an ESB and the smoke wafted out of there and smelled awesome. 

 

Smokehouse Amber Ale

 

8 lbs Rahr Pale Ale Malt

12 ounces Best Malz Smoked Malt

8 ounces German Munich 10L

6 oz Crystal 60L

4 oz Crystal 20L

.45 oz Magnum pellets @ 14.1% for 60 mins

 

OG: 1.055, FG: 1.014, IBU: 27, SRM: 8, ABV: 5.3%, SMOKE: YES

 

The smoked malt comes to 7.6% of the grain bill.  I would mash around 150-151° for 60 minutes and use either Wyeast 1272, 1764 Pacman or maybe the 1469 W. Yorkshire which just started working yesterday on the ESB.  Thoughts?

Edited by KenLenard, 07 September 2013 - 10:58 AM.

[Big Nake]

Has anyone made a beer like this and then tried to reharvest the yeast?  If so, does some amount of smoke come with the harvested slurry?  I'm trying to plan the timing of this to either reuse the yeast or retire it when I'm done with the smoked batch.  Thanks gang.

[positiveContact]

Has anyone made a beer like this and then tried to reharvest the yeast?  If so, does some amount of smoke come with the harvested slurry?  I'm trying to plan the timing of this to either reuse the yeast or retire it when I'm done with the smoked batch.  Thanks gang.

 

i have not but i have to think it would be undetectable.

[Big Nake]

i have not but i have to think it would be undetectable.

That sounds reasonable and I was thinking the same thing.  I typically add any kind of 'flavoring' to secondary where the yeast is not involved at all and that way I can reuse the slurry.  I might just move this beer to the end of the line for this yeast and retire it after this batch.  I also suppose it depends on the beer I make afterwards if I reuse it... a wimpier beer might have a whiff of smoke while a bigger pale ale or something could cover it up. 

[johnpreuss]

FWIW, in the past I once used a slurry of 1056 from a dry stout in a cream ale and there was no carry over.

[Mya]

FWIW, in the past I once used a slurry of 1056 from a dry stout in a cream ale and there was no carry over.

I used a slurry of 1028 from a Stout in a bitter this summer. no detectable carryover

[Big Nake]

Making this beer right now.  Had a couple of small changes but it's looking (and smelling) very nice right now.

 

Final Recipe

 

8 lbs Paul's UK Pale Malt

1 lbs Weyermann Smoked Malt

8 ounces Best Malz Munich 10L

6 ounces Thomas Fawcett & Sons Dark Crystal #1

4 ounces C20

.45 oz Magnum pellets @ 14.1% (6.3 AAU)

Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire Ale Yeast

 

OG: 1.057, FG: 1.013, IBU: 26, SRM: 8, ABV: 5.5%

 

It's much more British than I originally designed but I like this better.  The color is outstanding with the red from the British crystal.  The smoked malt came in at 9.9%.  I decided to just use the whole pound because there were 4 ounces left in the bag and I thought, What am I going to do with that?!  Nice smell in the garage at the moment and I will update later.  Cheers.

[Big Nake]

This beer has been bubbling away since Friday night.  Any and all traces of smoke have disappeared for the moment.  The smell coming from the airlock is of "clean beer" but no real smoke.  I realize that may change when the beer is served so I'm not concerned about it.  After realizing how many different kinds of smoked malt there was out there, I rechecked my Rebel Brewer order and saw that this was actually Best Malz Smoked Malt.  After some searching, I could not find anything suggesting a percentage of smoked malt to get "low smoke", "medium smoke", etc.  So this was a shot in the dark and we'll just have to see how well it comes through.  I will say that this smoked malt has the most delightful smoke character... not intense, not artificial, not in-your-face.  It's got a very nice smoke profile and it may just turn out that more of it is necessary to come through if the final beer doesn't have any smoke to it.  I plan to get a sample when it goes fro mprimary to secondary and I will update then.  Cheers gang.

[positiveContact]

This beer has been bubbling away since Friday night.  Any and all traces of smoke have disappeared for the moment.  The smell coming from the airlock is of "clean beer" but no real smoke.  I realize that may change when the beer is served so I'm not concerned about it.  After realizing how many different kinds of smoked malt there was out there, I rechecked my Rebel Brewer order and saw that this was actually Best Malz Smoked Malt.  After some searching, I could not find anything suggesting a percentage of smoked malt to get "low smoke", "medium smoke", etc.  So this was a shot in the dark and we'll just have to see how well it comes through.  I will say that this smoked malt has the most delightful smoke character... not intense, not artificial, not in-your-face.  It's got a very nice smoke profile and it may just turn out that more of it is necessary to come through if the final beer doesn't have any smoke to it.  I plan to get a sample when it goes fro mprimary to secondary and I will update then.  Cheers gang.

 

at 1lb i'm guessing you'll detect it but it will be minimal.