Rauchbier: 3 gall recipe

The good news -- my local home brew shop in the UK has some rauch malt from Bamberg, Germany.
The bad news -- it is twice the price of normal UK pale base malt.

So, I am thinking of brewing an "experimental" 3 gallon batch of smoked beer using:
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pale malt
rauch malt
munich malt or vienna malt maybe?
carapils

northern brewer (bittering)
fuggles (aroma)

Nottingham or Safale dry ale yeast
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Comments please. What percentage of rauch malt do I need in the grain bill?

Thanks
Mike

I haven't made one, but I decided to look at the BJCP guidelines since you made me curious:
www.bjcp.org/styles04/Category22.htm
They suggest 20-100%! Guess you better be sure how much you like it first? Mmmmmm....bacon beer....mmmmmm.

I've drunk rauchbier in Bamberg.
First mouthful, you don't like it much.
Second mouthful, mmm...not bad.
By the time you have finished the pint you have a craving for the stuff.

I walked into my home brew shop, smelt the smoked malt and have been counting down the days to brew day ever since!

I'd start with 20%. I'm use the stronger peat smoked malts and only use 4 oz. in a batch. Actual rauch malt is much milder, so you need more.

I agree with starting at 20% rauch malt. It will be way more subtle than 100% and if you don't care for it it may still be drinkable, but at 100% if you don't like it you may not be able to drink any of it.

I just got finished kegging a Rauch with about 20% German smoked. I could hardly pick out the smoke until it it was carbonated and ready to drink. Now I can smell and taste the smoke without it being too overpowering. I have one lagering that was brewed the first of this month with 85% smoked malt. This one does have an intense smoke aroma but I would not say 4X the amount over the first.

mike004 said:

I've drunk rauchbier in Bamberg.

Click to expand...

I worked in Bamberg for 5 years and have been to the Schlenklera a hundred times and the first beer is always hard to swallow...but I still went back.

I was there this past July and had 3-4 of them.

I just did a porter using 5 lbs. of rauchmalt (40%) and honestly, I'd even consider using more next time. The porter has a definite smoky flavor though.
Not subtle--it is definitely there.
Next time I think I'll smoke some grain myself.

It's been a while since I had a Rauch. I think I now know what my next batch will be.

I read today that traditional German Rauchbiers could contain 100% of the grainbill as smoked malt. I'd actually consider doing that when I do my next smoked porter.

The person I got that recipe from smoked all the malts at home, using alder wood. He even smoked the munich malt!