Booth: Wolf's Ridge Brewing

Sandlot makes some of the most balanced smoked beers around!

 

Jack's Abby has some great smoked beers!

 

Wow very Interesting no head or Lacing very bacony
Having it with veal cutlets

 

no no no ...thank you Edgar...

 

I got huge head, and great lacing on mine!

 

Will you tell us how to get to discord?

 

Alaskan has a great smoked beer, also, for those interested in trying more of the style

 

We ferment this with White Labs WLP830 (German Lager).

 

I've never seen red oak used in beer before but would be curious to learn more. I wouldn't put tri-tip in the beer but would certainly pair the beer with the tri-tip!

Tri-tip! haha, but really any smoked foods are the first place to start. Like Todd said, smoked fish - could be smoked salmon or trout or a spread or pate. BBQ and smoked/frilled meat in general are great for this style. Miso soup and soba comes to mind as well. This style also pairs very well will all sorts of strong cheeses: smoked gouda, sharp cheddar, gorgonzola or shropshire, etc.

 

Dope dope...would definitely like to see what a thiolized strain would do with a smoked lager. We've been playing around with a modified German Lager strain that can process thiols, and it definitely amps up the flavor of the beer.

 

Thank you! We pride ourselves on our selection and trying to execute on every style. But in truth, my team and I always prefer the traditional styles and lagers over most other things we make.

Yeah this beer is normally much smoother on the finish. Such is the risk I took with incorporating the pecan wood smoked malt in this batch. I think I will keep some of it, but reduce it next time to bring the beer back into balance. I think I would like to let the malt age a little longer before using as well to let any harsher edge die off a little before going into the beer.

Balance is the key, and as noted above this batch isn't as well balanced as I'd like, but it does have the most characterful aroma we've seen yet. When we brew with Weyermann smoked malts you can't overdo it really, the beer used to be 85% or more smoked malt and we wished for more smoke character. So quality grain from a known entity is paramount. The quality we got from Sugar Creek was great but it was not a known entity for us. Next time we work with their product we'll dial things back more to maintain balance.

Also don't skimp on lagering time. The bigger the smoke profile you aim for the more you might need to balance in other ways like reducing IBUs or adding caramel malt to help preserve mouthfeel and drinkability.

 

Interesting. I'd honestly be afraid to incorporate that into a beer like this, but that does remind me of a Lichtenhainer we brewed years back that had a lovely fruity profile alongside the smoke presence. A pale beer that wasn't 100% defined by smoke might be the perfect place for a thiol processing strain.

 

The more I drink it the less I like it maybe just not my style

 

It was one of our team's all-time favorite projects. We used I think 40% beechwood smoked malt in the recipe. It was a collab with Little Fish called Litany Against Fear. We KO'd direct into barrels we'd previously fermented mixed culture rye beer in, rinsed those out and added the Little Fish house culture. Light, crisp, and with notes of pear and apple with a light smoke on the back end. It's been my goal for years to rebrew it into some Mezcal barrels but I haven't made it happen yet. With Dune coming out soon maybe it's time...

 

Definitely not a style that's for everyone, I respect that and I don't mind. As per Todd's commentary, part of the fun in including this in the box was to shake things up and offer something different (and for many a first-time experience). Next year if this fest comes back I'd happily commit to sending something a little less divisive like doppelbock!

 

Best beer of the night for me.

 

I got a decent head and lacing. Type of glass might make a difference but more than anything, try a more aggressive pour and definitely use a "beer clean" glass.