DIY Smoked Malt

I smoked 4# munich to make a dark lager with an 11# total grain bill. I used cherry pellets in my A-MAZE-N smoker for an 8 hour smoke at 90F. The layer of grains was about 1/2" thick. I sprayed with distilled water and stirred the grains every 30-60 minutes. At first the smoke was so strong smelling that I almost scuttled the whole batch, but I left the malt it in a paper bag to dry and mellow for a few days and then put it into tupperware for a few more. After this it started smelling awesome. I could have snacked on it. The smokiness in the brew was subdued. If I did it again I'd use maybe even twice as much of the smoked malt - 70% instead of the 35% I used.

 

This is good stuff right here. Thanks man!

I was debating doing a mix of oak and hickory. Hickory works wonders on a brisket, so I can see it tasting great with smoked malt. I'm actually a huge fan of Schlenkerla's oak-smoked beers like their dopplebock and the marzen. Those are beers that I would love to try and replicate some day. I figure I'll take baby steps with this process, and only do 2 lbs of heavily smoked malt. I can always adjust on the next batch.

 

Maybe you already know this, but Schlenkerla Maerzen and Urbock rauchbiers aren't made with oak-smoked malt. The 'regular' examples are brewed with beech-smoked malt, and they are on my short list of favorite beers. The oak-smoked version I mentioned not enjoying is a different beer altogether - released only around Christmas.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/263/54731/

If you want to brew their other beers, stick with large amounts of German rauchmalz from Weyermann.

 

Yea, that's the doppelbock I was referring to. I'm a big fan of that one. I didn't realize that the marzen was not oak-smoked though. I've never tasted Grodzisky before, but I'll have to give it a try if I come across it.

 

So I ended up smoking some Weyermann wheat malt this past weekend. 4 lbs in my smoker. Just laid a small window screen over the top opening, laid the malt on it, and put the lid over the top. Fed smoldering hickory chunks into the bottom, and made sure the temperature didn't get over 120-130F. Produced some good smoke for 2 hours. Was getting a little worried though, cuz a few times the wood would start firing up, and I would pull it out right away. The screen may have gotten charred a bit cuz I was smelling some gross plastic-y smells from the screen frame. I really hope that didn't mess with the overall flavor... I'm wondering if I should re-do it, or risk it on a batch. I also tend to overthink things

I only smelled it for about 1-2 minutes so hopefully it didn't infuse any of those flavors into the malt. Have you ever noticed any off smells coming from the screen you use?

 

Hmm. I've always used aluminum as a base for the grains. I've seen a lot of DIY stuff on people building wooden framed screens, (similar to the ones they'd use to dry whole hops), and they put those on their grill for grains. (People don't grill hops, as far as I know). I'm assuming that the screens are aluminum or some sort of lightweight steel screen. I've also seen people poke holes in aluminum pans with a brad nail. I did this once. For the half hour I spent with a nail in my hand, I'd rather just tend a fire for a little longer.

As for a plastic smell on your grains, I wouldn't be afraid to feed a handful to the neighbor kids and see how they react. Go by smell and taste and if they are off at all, I'd toss them and start over. Aluminum has always worked for me, and I'm certain that you'll get hot spots on your grill, even if you cold-smoke. I've accidentally melted smoked cheese with pellets, an ice bath, and a block of cheddar before. Ambient temp was in the 50s I measured a temperature of about 100 on my grill. It's just part of the game if you're not piping smoke into a separate smoke house or from a side-saddle on a grill.

 

I use metal screens. Did you not use metal?

 

I used an actual window frame, and I think some of the adhesive on the plastic frame may have burned a little. I purchased some straight up aluminum screen material at Home Depot and I'm doing a re-smoke tomorrow. The first batch was a good trial run.. At least that's what I'm gonna say

 

My first at

My first go at it got dumped due to big flames. I now pay attention, with a spray bottle of RO water at my side.