Help me make full use of some smoked malt I got!

I recently got my hands on some of the new Briess cherrywood smoked malt. Ideally, I'd like to put it to optimal use so I thought I'd consult the hive mind.

What should I do with it?

I'm thinking about doing one of the following three things:
1. Smoked stout
2. Smoked stout with cherry additions in secondary
3. Smoked stout with cherry additions in secondary, soured

I was thinking about using Jamil's dry stout as a base for this beer, but bumping the gravity up to 1.070 just for kicks. His recipe:
70% pale malt
20% flaked barley
10% roasted barley

East Kent Goldings hops at 60 minutes to yield 40 IBU

WLP002 English Ale yeast

Mash 152°F

Except, replacing a sufficient quantity of the pale malt so that the smoked malt constitutes 30% of the overall grainbill.

If I use cherry additions, I was thinking about doing the Randy Mosher thing and adding 2 lbs in secondary.

Finally, the idea of making a sour cherry beer seems like it could be appealing. The way that seems most interesting to me is to rack some unfermented wort into one of my 1 gallon jugs with some grain on the bottom, tasting it periodically, and pasteurizing the portion before adding it back to the main batch.

What do you think I should do?

Bump.

I have 5# of this cherrywood Rauch. Anyone make a beer with this yet? How did it taste?

I have made beechwood rauch's, which I love. My plan is to make a 100% rauch with (maybe) 50% beechwood and 50% cherrywood. Probably lager it.

86 the cherry additions; do a smoked porter or smoked robust porter, and use the cherries with a dry stout. Don't confuse the beer, at least on your first pass with the new ingredient. It's not like the cherrywood smoke tastes like cherries.

I'd do more of a RIS or a robust porter with that malt (which I'm DRYING to try). Don't be afraid of Munich malt and some crystal with the rauch; I like my smoked beers to be full and smooth and round. I love dry beers, but this isn't the time to be dry.

the_bird said:

It's not like the cherrywood smoke tastes like cherries.

Click to expand...

Actually, food smoked with cherry wood has a very distinct sweet cherry flavor. I smoke meats all of the time and people ask me if I baste with cherry juice all the time.

The cherrywood smoked grain smells quite like bacon, but sweet. If I had to put a finger on it, I'd say a sweet bacon bbq sauce smell. I'm somewhat reluctant to use it, really.

I have the same malt and I am thinking of a Smoked Heff or Porter.