Smoked Beer Appreciation Thread (2023)

My local German-inspired brewery has done it. Three years ago they smoked some malt on an LP-gas grill and used it in their Kenny Smoggers rauchbier which was based on their Kenny Lagers Helles recipe. It was pretty good, but they haven't brewed it since. I don't know what variety of wood they used for the smoking, or how long they did it. Their brewing system is small, so the grill was adequate to produce enough malt for the recipe.

 

I personally have never smoked my own malts and I personally do not know any homebrewer who has but I have read a bit on the topic.

One article:

“Procedure

Smoking the malt: Beech wood may be hard to find, but you can use oak, hickory, apple, mesquite, or any other type of hardwood chips. Do not use chips made from softwoods such as pine and spruce, which produce intense pitch flavors.

Soak the uncracked dark Munich malt in cool water (60–70 °F [16–21 °C]) for 5 minutes. Drain off the water and arrange the grains on a wire mesh that fits inside your barbecue gas grill or smoker — the thinner the layering the better. Arrange a layer of wood chips over the flames of the grill (never use lighter fluid to start the flames) and place the wire mesh above the fire. If the flames and wood can be kept to one side and the grains to the other, that’s even better — remember, you want to smoke the grains, not heat or cook them. Try to keep the wood from burning too quickly; douse the flames with a light spray of water, if necessary. (Some heat will inevitably be transferred to the malt, and one of the reasons only 5 lb of grain is smoked is to reduce the risk of killing all the enzymes in the Pilsener malt that are necessary for starch conversion.)

After about 15 minutes’ exposure to a good quantity of smoke, the grains should achieve the right intensity. Try sampling a few kernels; the smoke flavor should be apparent. Remove the grains from the smoke and allow them to cool. Some brewers suggest storing the grains, uncracked, in a Tupperware-like container for a few weeks to let the smoke flavor soak into the kernel.”

https://www.morebeer.com/articles/brewing_with_smoked_malts

One aspect that I find intriguing about smoking your own malt is that you can experiment with a variety of hard woods to see if there is a ‘sweet spot’ here. If I were to ever smoke my own malts the first wood I would try is apple wood.

Cheers!

 

Excellent! Thanks. It’s gotta turn out better than my attempt at Gotlandsdricka. What a waste THAT was.

 

I have been doing it for a decade or more. Keep it under 100F. Do it for 2 hours at least. I'm going to try 3 next time. Use RO or distilled water to wet the malt, you don't want any chlorine.

I smoke mostly Pils malt, and 10 to 15% Munich malt for a classic Rauchbier. For the classic style I use Beechwood.

In the past I've smoked with other woods. Those have been apple, pear, alder (for a AK Porter), and oak. I'm probably forgetting some woods. I've got some Post Oak to try, lowest acid of the Oak family.

 

We have apple chips, from one of our trees. I might try a second batch with peat moss, from a bog just north of us. And will definitely share the results. Our hops are almost ready to harvest and there is just enough time to have it ready for my uncle/aunt’s 50th anniversary, in the Poconos.

I even have a song on hand for the event. I love Hans Zimmer’s work. This piece is called “Time”.

 

Let me know on the Peat moss. You might like peat, I don't, we all have our own sense of taste.

Edit - the woods for smoking are often aged a few years, otherwie they produce a "green" aroma and flavor. Schlenkerla uses Beecwood that has been aged for three years.

 

Being a person who collects Scotches like Octomore, I enjoy almost anything smoked, including beer. Having a nice Grodziskie today. More pronounced smoke than what I typically find in this style, but I'm not complaining.

 

Finally remembered to ask my friend where the brewery was that would serve you a beer under a dome filled with smoke. Silver Harbor Brewing in St. Joseph, MI.
https://silverharborbrewing.com/
For a measly $2.00 you too can have any smoked beer (of theirs) that you want.
Other than looking pretty cool, I don’t think it would impart much flavor. But what do I know.
Cheers!

 

Yep, that's the place. I just looked at my review of my brewery visit (https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/46531/?view=ratings&show=poohbahs#navigation) and I made mention of the smoking feature in it. It must have been a beer at the neighboring table instead of a cocktail as I mentioned in my earlier post.

 

I found this Waypost beer as a single at the Kalamazoo Mega-Bev in case you're interested. They only had it in singles, and there was only one left (in the chilled singles cooler) as of last night. I'll drink mine later today.

Also found a smoked helles by Schilling Brewing, also in single cans only. (I didn't even know Schilling distributed to Michigan.) There was only a couple of those left too, and also in the chilled singles cooler. There was also a couple other beers from Schilling too.

 

I drank my can of this Waypost Helles Rauchbier tonight along with a smoked honey-infused brat. Good drinking and eating!

A modest amount of smoke is right in my ballpark for love of the flavor. I get a nutmeg character and wonder if the brewer added some. I'm giving the beer a 4.25 rating.

 

I haven't seen it, but my two favorite stores don't have much of an import section.

 

I just did a website search of this location and came up with 5 Fantome offerings. The Portage location had none. The search function can be rinky-dink to use, as well as slightly wrong (it said there were 4-packs of the Schilling beers, but there are only singles available). I don't know how to comment on 2011 prices. MegaBev prices beers higher at this store than the store that I use, so there's that for a comparison comment.

 

Schlenkerla anounced the next new beer will be an Alderwood Smoke Schwarzbier.

 

Fair warning!

 

I'm having difficulty finding ANY Schlenkerla at the moment. Really wanna try the Cheerywood and now the new Schwarzbier. I'll pick up a good lode if poss when I locate it and fire off my boat safety flare gun when I put it in my truck! Mark your charts and sail towards it.

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/35844/163255/
Kind of an entry level smoked lager, but pretty solid nonetheless. A flagship beer from this brewer who has had smoked beers in their lineup from day one.

 

And this means that I plan on buying as much as I can, right off the bat.

At the moment I'm clearing the shelves of the Weichsel stragglers.

 

Sticking to bottles I see. Would you buy Weichsel cans if that’’s all they still had at the store?