Peat vs Smoked vs Rauch ?

I searched the archives and didn't find much at all... Found a lot of warnings about going over 1/4 lb quantity of peated ..... but not much to distinguish what the other two are ..... I have 4 lbs Peated and 2 lbs Smoked (Briess) and need to know ....

What's the definitive difference between Peated Malt, Smoked Malt, and Rauchmalt?

Thanks,
CS

Rauch malt is smoked malt. peated is nasty. If you want that nice smoked ham flavor in your beer then by all means add 1/2 lb of peated malt. Peated malt is very very distinct. pop a few grains of each in your mouth and notice the difference.

Ugh, i want to eat a handful of dirt just to get the idea of peated malt out of my mind.

Peated malt is smoked with Peat from a peat bog. It's what is used in making Scotch whisky. Smoked Malt is smoked over a hard wood of some sort. Rauch malt is a german smoked malt. Not sure what the difference is between Rauch and Smoked other than Rauch is German. You'll be able to tell the difference between the Peat and the Smoked/Rauch pretty easily. The difference between Smoked and Rauch may be more difficult.

You have FOUR POUNDS of peat malt? FOUR POUNDS?

Dude, that's enough for like... thirty-two batches!

"Rauchmalt" and "smoked malt" are quasi-synonymous; rauchmalt is technically beechwood-smoked German lager malt, which I suppose "smoked malt" could be anything (home smoked, or there are a couple of places to get apple- or cherry-wood smoked malt).

Peated malt is harsh and not something you really want to taste in the finished beer; its aromatics are OK in a smoked porter or maybe in a Scottish Ale, although it's really not to style to include it in Scottish beers. Still, we're talking two or three OUNCES of peat malt, whereby rauchmalt can easily be used for 10% - 15% of a recipe, and rauchbiers will often go up to 50% (or more) rauchmalt.

the_bird said:

Rauchmalt is harsh and not something you really want to taste in the finished beer; its aromatics are OK in a smoked porter or maybe in a Scottish Ale, although it's really not to style to include it in Scottish beers. Still, we're talking two or three OUNCES of peat malt, whereby rauchmalt can easily be used for 10% - 15% of a recipe, and rauchbiers will often go up to 50% (or more) rauchmalt.

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Don't you mean Peat Malt is harsh?

Oops, yup. Fixed.

Or you could use about 1 tsp of Liquid Smoke for a 5 gal batch...

the_bird said:

You have FOUR POUNDS of peat malt? FOUR POUNDS?

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Yep. My fears are concerned. I'm gonna be picking this stuff outta my crack for the next 4 years.

Thanks for all the info, everyone, this helps a lot. Thank god I have 2 lbs of Smoked to go with it. After all, I could have.... 6 POUNDS of peated to deal with.

I think I bought the peated because I didn't see smoked malt on the website I was on. Forgot who I bought it from. Oh well. At least it wasn't very expensive. Probably 8 bucks total.

If anyone needs 2 lbs of peated malt, PM me.

I'd say one ounce of peat is about the same as a pound of rauch. I used 8 ounces in a big barleywine and it was a year before I could drink any without coughing. Used 4 ounces in the next batch & that was plenty.

Peat malt would probably be a good addition to jerky marinade. In small quantities.

I shudder at the thought of Peat malt as I always think to my one and only experience with Laphroaig.

I've used peat malt for a few batches and it turned out great (in my opinion). However, it didn't exceed 4 ounces. Like all the others who posted, rauch and smoke are the same thing, both smoked somehow. I have used smoke malt (40% in one batch) and it was a little too much smoke flavor for me. I would suggest starting small (about 1 #) and working your way up. I made one batch with 1# and it wasn't quite enough for my tastes, so I jumped up to 4#, which was too much.

Rauch malt is exclusively smoked over beech-wood, whereas "smoked" malt can be smoked over any type of wood. Good choices for smoking include alder (my favorite), cherry, apple, hickory and other flavorful hardwoods. Good indicators of smoked flavor are foods like, smoked salmon or smoked pork, they should give you an idea of the taste you might be expecting.
Using peated malt in small quantities can be interesting; a good example is Stone Smoked Porter. Don't be afraid to use it, just go easy on it and I'm sure you can make a good beer with it. In my opinion peat malt has no place in brewing Scottish style ales, it is not an authentic ingredient and it doesn't taste good in them. You will not find peat malt it in any good examples of Scottish ales.