AHS Alder Smoked Munich

Hey guys. Just used this in a smoked porter today and wanted to report back on my impression of this malt since I hadn't really seen it discussed much.

Basically its smoke character is extremely mild. I used around 3lbs in a 6 gallon batch and really had to bury my nose in the mash tun and take a huge whiff to get the faintest hint of smoke. I actually ended up adding a lb of rauchmalt to bump up the smoke character (I was afraid you wouldn't be able to tell it was a smoked beer).
I'll probably give it another try sometime but next time I'd use it for 100% of the base malt(or so I'm thinking-I'll have a better idea after the beer is done).

Timely post. I just brewed a 5 gallon batch with 2lb (25% of the grist) of this same malt and my impression was the same as yours. I was concerned that the smoke would get lost and I certainly could not smell it in the mash. I just tasted a 4-day old gravity sample and the smoke is detectable but not overpowering. I'll reserve judgement until the beer is carbed but so far I think there will be smoke in the pint glass.

So just an update:
The beer has finished fermenting and I'm gonna keg it when I get back from my holiday travels (in about a week).

Even after adding a lb of rauchmalt the smoke character is very faint. You really have to be looking for it on the sip but it's slightly more perceptible on the exhale after the sip. I think it'll come through a little better after it's carbed. Either way, it's still a tasty brew but I was hoping for a touch more smoke.

Next time I try this malt it will be used for 100% of the base. I had originally given that a thought when formulating my recipe as I've heard that that is exactly what Alaskan does with theirs. But because of my experiences (limited) with Briess cherrywood smoked malt and rauchmalt, both of which are more aggressive (particularly the Briess) I thought that I'd take the cautious approach on this one.

I've been meaning to try the alder smoked grain. I tried smoking two pounds on a stovetop smoker and I am pretty happy with the flavor I got. The only disadvantage is that you are heating the grains, but 2lbs is a dark beer didn't seem to make any difference.


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Cold smoking can be done insanely cheaply: Soldering Iron Cold Smoker