Smoked Beer with Extract?

blisterman · 10-20-2008, 05:41 PM

I'm a big fan of Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbie Smoked Bock.
I'd love to make something like it myself. Is there any way of making a smoked beer using Extract? Does anyone have any recipes?

**Chriso** · 10-20-2008, 06:16 PM

I don't have a recipe, but I have a minor ingredient note to throw in:
Peated Malt and Rauch malt = very different ingredients.

Pretending this were an all-grain recipe, you would likely use 2-3 pounds of rauchmalt to get a fairly strong smoke presence. However, if you used peated malt, more than 2-3 ounces would get out of control.

Many people have called Schlenkerla a bit of a "bacon beer" in reference to its taste. So my hint, as to a recipe, would be that you will probably want to steep 2-3 ounces of crushed peated malt, I would say absolutely no more than 6 ounces, TOPS.

I say that you will want to use peated malt because trying to use the amount of rauchmalt necessary to get a good smoky presence will result in a couple pound grainbill, which approaches partial-mash territory, and you mentioned specifically extract, which leads me to infer extract plus steeping grains. If you were planning a partial-mash all along, then I'd go with the rauchmalt for the authentic route.

Now, hopefully someone else can help with the rest of the recipe - I've never done a bock, nor been a huge bock fan. (I likes my bitters and my porters too much.

)

**Revvy** · 10-20-2008, 06:24 PM

I just took a stab and googled, and evidently Rachmalt is steepable...So you could conceivably steep a couple pounds of it with the rest of your grains.

Chriso's right that they are 2 different malts, and peated is waaaay stronger, so you should make sure you know the different charcteristics/smokiness of both maults before you commit to it in a recipe..

I found this thread from last years, and hehehe. it's Chriso's!

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/peat-vs-smoked-vs-rauch-48099/

Some good info in there.

**the_bird** · 10-20-2008, 06:29 PM

Rauchmalt's not steepable. It's a base malt that needs to be mashed. Good news is that partial mashing is easy; if you can hold temperatures at 150°-155° for forty-five minutes, you're golden.

**Revvy** · 10-20-2008, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_bird

Rauchmalt's not steepable.

I beg to differ, according to this, it is. I googled before I posted that info.

Rauch Malt (German Grain) (Beer Brewing / Grain)

Quote:

Rauch Malt (German Grain)
smokey flavor, use in Rauchbier (price/lb)

Purchase Rauch Malt (German Grain)

Can be used as steeping grains.

Purchase Rauch Malt (German Grain)

It's even mentioned in the instructions for a brewhous extract w/grains kit.

http://www.thebrewhouse.com/resource_center/the_inner.htm

Quote:

* For a smoked porter, use the basic recipe and add 8 oz. of any one of the following crushed grains: distiller's (peated) malt, German rauch malt, or home-smoked pale malt. Smoked porters take a little getting used to, but they have an elusive, delicious quality that makes them "more-ish." You can add more smoked malt, but remember that the smoky quality should complement the roast grains, not overwhelm them.

**the_bird** · 10-20-2008, 06:39 PM

Tell that to JZ and whoever wrote the book on smoked beers (Geoff Larson?) then. I've read and re-read these books, listened to JZ's podcasts on smoked beers, read JZ's book on all beer styles; it's the one beer in JZ's whole book where he says basically "you need to do a partial mash unless by some miracle of God you can find a rauchmalt extract." JZ's not infallible, but I trust him in these matters.

I mean, you might wash off alittle bit of some smoked flavor, but you're also going to end up with a crapton of unconverted starches.

For as easy as a partial mash is, why not do that?

**Chriso** · 10-20-2008, 06:44 PM

I agree w/ both of you. The point I was making is merely IF you can do a PM, then use the real stuff. If you need to "fake it", so to speak, then do a small quantity of the peated.

@ the quote from the Brewhouse ... yeesh. I can't imagine 8 oz of peated malt in ANYTHING. Guh-ross.

**Revvy** · 10-20-2008, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by the_bird

I mean, you might wash off alittle bit of some smoked flavor, but you're also going to end up with a crapton of unconverted starches.

For as easy as a partial mash is, why not do that?

I agree it's better to PM it....and that all it would do in steeping would wash off some of the smokiness flavor as opposed to converting it to starches (I used it yesterday in a PM)....But I was just saying I checked online and came up that you could steep it if all you wanted to was to do it.... Kinda like victory, it's a dual purpose grain as well (and most people don't know that either, but I discovered that it was awhile ago.)

It's all good!

**the_bird** · 10-20-2008, 06:47 PM

Our own wiki says it needs to be mashed (and I didn't write that)!

Never, ever, ever, EVER substitute peated malt for rauchmalt, even in small quantities. They are wholly, wholly different malts, wholly different characters. It's like saying, "hey, you like smoked salmon, how'd you like to chew on this cigar butt?"

I mean, I love smoked salmon, I love a cigar (not a cigar butt), but the flavors have absolutely nothing in common. Peated malt can work OK in VERY small quantities in a dark beer (Stone Smoked Porter), but it's terrible either in excess (more than a couple ounces) or when it's not used in a beer with a strong foundation.

PseudoChef · 10-20-2008, 06:56 PM

...well, to add to argument's sake, if you're going for the Aecht-type smoked beer, you're looking at > 50% of your grainbill in Rauchmalt. 2-3 pounds won't do it. For the Ur-Bock, I think Aecht may even use 90% smoked malt. So, it is very much a mostly mashing/AG type recipe.

I have made a smoked Dunkel with only 26% Weyerman smoked malt and the smoke was still almost undetectable.