Other wood flavors

This thread:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=7856

got me wondering about other wood flavorings in beers. I have a bunch of mesquite chips in my shed for barbeques. Could mesquite or maybe hickory other other types of woods be used in a brew? A bunch of people actually used oak - I am curious if anyone tried mesquite or hickory or other aromatic woods, and if so, how much, at what point in the process, and how it came out.

That got me wondering a bit, too. My only experience was adding 1 oz of Cherry wood chips to a Cherry Wheat. Unfortunately, that was my first Cherry Wheat, so I don't have a point of comparison on how or if the wood changed the flavor. I recall being pleasantly surprised that I liked the beer - I typically can drink one CW before heading back to the fridge for something else.

Having smoked with various woods, I would guess that mesquite would be too strong for most beers. Otehr threads have indicated oak is too strong for some, so mesquite would likely be overpowering. Hickory could work, as would apple/ peach/ pecan or anything mild.

I would start slow...add 1 oz to secondary or something like that and see how it goes.
I am thinking of getting a few smaller jugs to experiment with, that way I don't have to risk an entire 5 gallon batch.

I recently had a Schlenkerla (sp?) which is a beechwood smoked beer...didn't really go for it all that much, though I liked the concept. I think it was the beechwood smoke that put me off that particular beer. I think if it tasted more like bacon I would have liked it more (because who doesn't like bacon). I think a pound or two of 2-row smoked on hickory would be a great experiment.

I oak up pale ales and hop the hell out of them. Seems to work.

Spruce bud beer is supposed to be really good... not so much a woody as a sweet aromatic addition I would think.... once my spruces bud this year I'm going to give that a run.

I'm also going to give spruce beer a shot this spring, sounds awesome and is supposed to taste like pepsi-beer. I have been thinking about other woods to age with as well. Holsten makes a beer called Duckstien which is a red ale that has been aged in beechwood, and it's totally awesome.
What other woods could we use? I absolutely love the greek wine retsina, which is white wine agend in pine casks, and served really cold. I wonder how different aging with pine would be as opposed to brewing with the buds?

Rewster and I just made a porter flavored with applewood smoke. Out of curiousity, we steamed a bunch of the leftover smoking chips and tossed them in the secondary. It added a nice sharpness that complimented the smoke flavor very nicely.

Beechwood was used for aging pilsners, way back when real pilsners were being made.

My two cents: As I've already stated, I'm using Hickory chips in place of oak in my next IPA and also in the Imperial Hellfire Ale thats about to go to the secondary this weekend. From my research they should still do pretty well. They aren't that strong in the nose, though, but I like them I think they might impart less of a flavor than oak and more of an aroma than anything else. They kind of remind me of when my dad owned a deck business...

I'm adding 2 oz. That should do it.

On another note, I really like the idea of adding oak/hickory/beachwood etc. to beers because it really imparts that barrel age feel and flavor. Its like paying homage to the brewers of the past.

I bottled my smoked, wood aged porter one week ago and it really tasted great warm and flat so I have high expectations for this one.

I added 1.25 oz of medium toast french oak chips (soaked 24hrs in water before hand to let any astringency mellow out). I steamed them real good over their own oakey juices and then tossed them in and left the oak water behind. They sat in there with the chips for 2 weeks before bottling.

I can't really be sure what flavors are from the wood and what flavors are from the smoke but the beer is good.. that much I know. So, the way I see it you have two choices:
1. put some of the hickory chips in the beer (I don't know how this would work or how much to use.. and everyone has their opinions about soak vs. no soak or whether to throw the water in, chips in, or water and chips in). I also get the feeling that you should probably toast the wood chips before you toss them in.. I'm not sure if raw would would be right.. but hey, I'm no expert

2. smoke your malt over the hickory wood - this sound pretty tasty to me. I used rauchmalt which is beechwood smoked but I think hickory would be just great.

or..
you could do both.

I was going for a good campfire beer with this porter and I think I nailed it.. but what you do with your hickory wood I think depends on what type of beer you're making (i.e. would smoke be appropriate) and what flavors sound good. Happy brewing

Toasting the chips in the oven actually sounds like a good idea. I'm thinking maybe I should toast them in the oven for a few minutes and then soak them for 12 hours, then steam in the microwave and toss them in the secondary.

Thanks for the tips!

Why don't you try smoking your own malt on a smoker with various types of wood? In other words - Mesquite smoked malt, Cherry Smoked Malt, Apple Smoked Malt, etc. Who knows . . . you may create a new market for specialty, smoked malts.

As for me . . . I will stay clear of the rauchbiers . . . I'll take my smoke flavor in the ribs I am enjoying along with a good non-smoky homebrew.