where'd all the smoke go?

Well I excitedly took my first pull of my smoke ale tonight. When I racked it to the keg it smelled deliciously smoky, and tasted perfect. Having never brewed with smoked malt before, I didn't know how smoky the recipe would turn out.

Well tonight she is nicely carbed, but all hints of smoke aroma are gone. Also there is almost zero detectable smoke flavor. If I let the beer warm up considerably I can taste the slightest smoke flavor.

What happened? Where did it all go? The beer spent 3 1/2 weeks in primary, then rack to a keg. The keg spent a week in fridge chilling, then two days at 30 psi for carbing. I don't understand why the smoke is gone? can anyone give any insight into this? Has anyone else brewed a smoke ale and notice a difference in smoke flavor and aroma going from fermenter to being chilled and carbed.

Ingredients:

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Amount Item Type % or IBU

8.25 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 68.75 %

1.50 lb Smoked Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 12.50 %

1.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 10.42 %

1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 8.33 %

2.00 oz Saaz [3.20 %] (60 min) Hops 20.9 IBU

1.00 oz Cluster [8.90 %] (60 min) Hops 29.1 IBU

0.50 oz Cluster [8.90 %] (15 min) Hops 7.2 IBU

1 Pkgs Safale US-05 (Fermentis #S-05) Yeast-Ale

You need to take the smoked malt up to 40+% to get it noticeable in the end product

It's beer though

i used he same amount last year in a smoked weizenbock type beer and too got nothing just like you did.

couple of things i picked up on shortly after my 1st mishap where. that for starters the smoke malt from LHBS's may not be the freshest as its not really a malt that is flying off the shelves and as it ages the smoke can all but go away. this and the malt is best used at like said above at a very high percentage or even as the base malt completely, And i read here and there that if you want that punch in your face smoked malt character your really not going to get it from store bought, you need to smoke a portion on your own.

We brewed a smoked porter last January. 40% smoked malt (Weyermann rauchmalt). That beer tasted like bacon at bottling time. Just had one about two weeks ago. Still pretty smoky but the flavor is starting to get phenolic.

A buddy brewed the same recipe about 3 months ago. He smoked his own malt one evening - crushed it and used it in the brew the next day. That brew is even more smoky - takes about a half a pint to get accustomed to the taste.

I would try smoking your own grains - then you know how fresh the malt is. I have read that you should let the grain sit for a couple of weeks before using it - that's what I plan to do this winter for another batch of smoked porter.

Well it sounds like more smoked malt would help, and that makes sense. Where my confusion lies is that it had a great smoke aroma and flavor 10 days ago, when I racked it to the keg.

somehow in those 10 days, while it chilled and carbed, that smell and flavor vanished. That is where I am lost. i know that beers change as they age, but I wasn't expecting all of the smoke flavor to disappear.

You definitely did not use enough smoke malt. There was a lengthy discussion about it here.

Consensus is that just below 50% smoked malt is the minimum to give you a smoked beer.

My recipe drop down has a fantastic smoked porter recipe that I'm sipping right now.

The main difference (I assume) between when you racked and after you carbed/chilled is that the beer is no longer at room temp. Temperature makes a huge difference to perceptible flavor.

GNBrews said:

The main difference (I assume) between when you racked and after you carbed/chilled is that the beer is no longer at room temp. Temperature makes a huge difference to perceptible flavor.

Click to expand...

Wow. An exhumation.

Wow, no kidding. Oops.