Smoked Beers

Smoked malt has a perception of sweetness to it and this varies based on the wood used. For example: Cherry wood smoked malt comes off sweeter than Beechwood.
*This doesn't take into account a recipe or process which could be another reason that X smoked beer is sweet. However, the above statement is true on it's own.

 

I get more phenolics from the Briess Cherry wood smoked malt. I don't get more sweetness. YMMV.

 

Jeff, are those phenolics reminiscent of medicinal flavors?

Cheers!

 

I've brewed a couple Smoked Helles and they were very slightly sweet, likely due to the Munich malt. I don't think it comes from the smoked malt.

It's all about balance. I think most quality smoked beers have a balance of sweetness.

 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/263/727/

This schlenkerla rauchbier marzen is definitely delicious and somewhat sweet.

I (and people I shared it with) think it tastes exactly like a good holiday ham, even down to some clove.

really great if you're in the mood for it.

 

Not really. If you look around, you will find that smoke flavor is a phenolic, but there is a big difference in the quality of Weyermann and Briess, and at the top are the peat smoked malts. Yuck!

 

In Bamberg it tastes like clean smoke. Ham and meaty flavors are a sign it is old and going off. Go to the source someday.

 

“smoke flavor is a phenolic” There is no doubt about that but there are a number of phenols. Some phenols can be clove like (think about hefeweizen beers as an example), some phenols can be bacon or ham like, some phenols can be band aid like, and some phenols can me medicinal (have you ever had a squirt of Chloraseptic in your mouth?). Not all phenols are ‘created equal’.

Cheers!

 

Yes smoke is a phenolic flaovor. it is about the level and quality. If I got a band aid, clove, spice, or medicinal in a smoked beer I would not like it. I do not like peat smoke do to the high phenolic levels.

 

That's my feeling as well. Maybe there aren't new exciting beers in the style, which seems to lower the hype.

 

Our favorite smoked is Three Feet Deep from Furthermore, though Lava (an Icelandic smoked stout) is definitely givingTFD a run for its money. Good stuff!

 

I agree! Also, another style that seems to get no love are rye beers--which I love but hardly see on store shelves. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough. I did recently try Bell's Golden Rye, which while a tasty beer didn't really satisfy my rye-craving taste buds.

 

Have not tried a rye beer yet but it's on my list. I might try that Red's Rye by Founders. Have you tried it? Does rye work better for certain styles or does it really matter?

 

Either you or @savagewhisky might want to start a thread about Rye beers if you want 'answers' from folks who drink Rye beers.

Cheers!

 

thanks, we'll keep that in mind.

 

Never tried it in Bamberg, but the bottles we get around here are fairly fresh. The comparison to ham (Schwarzwälder Schinken we would say here) seems appropriate to me. It's not actually the flavor of the meat itself, although one thinks of this, but just of the fir or spruce smoke, that brings the same aromas to the malts as it does to a smoked ham.

 

Schlenkerla uses beechwood for most of their beers, oak for one. Smoked ham in the states uses maple, hickory, apple or other hardwoods. Beechwood is like a milder hickory to me.

Do not use conifer or spruce to smoke meat or grains.
http://brinkmann.net/recipes/smoking_guide_wood_chips.aspx

 

The only smoked beers I've had that weren't incredibly sweet were Stone Old Guardian 2013 Odd-year (the smoked wheatwine variant), which was in true Stone fashion a hop bomb; and Dogfish Head Immort Ale, which was a war crime on my tongue. Most tend to be sweet. I do not know whether or not this is a function of the smoked malt itself or a function of the type of base beer most ideal for smoking.

I like most of the ones I have tried.

 

Try the Jacks Abby smoke & dagger, sort of a black lager/ smoked hybrid. Nicely balanced and very delicious.

 

I find that smoked is more of a characteristic these days than an actual style. You can smoke any kind of malts & use them in any kind of beer as such nothing definitive can be said about the “style”. I have had smoked saison, IPA & pilsner.

As with most USA (inspired)-interpretations, I find the original ones to be more about balance & the modern USA-inspired ones to be more about being in your face. You could describe the more traditional ones as having more sweetness, being there for balance.