Smoked stout

This is what is on my mind and honestly I cannot tell if its a good idea.

A sweetish mild stout (probably oatmeal) with grains that have been applewood smoked. If this sounds good which should be the grains that I smoke? This is a recipe I founf at BYO:

3. Oatmeal Stout
OG = 1.042 to 1.046 -- FG = 1.011 to 1.014 -- IBUs = 24

Ingredients:
* 5.5 lbs. dark liquid malt extract (Muntons, John Bull or Edme)
* 0.5 lb. flaked oats
* 0.5 lb. crystal malt
* 0.25 lb. roasted malt
* 0.25 lb. chocolate malt
* 5.5 AAU Fuggles (bittering) (1.1 oz. of 5% alpha acid)Ê
* 2 tsp. gypsum2/3 cup corn sugar for priming
* English or Irish Ale Yeast

Now I may want a bit of added sweetness should I add lactose? How much?

Is a smoked stout madness?

I'd sub out some of the extract and do a mini-mash with a couple pounds of smoked base malt. Mini-mashes are really easy, you can do them with virtually no other gear other than a grain bag and a collander.

I haven't heard of a smoked stout, but smoked porters are pretty common (I did one not too long ago). Sounds like it should be pretty good.

the_bird said:

I'd sub out some of the extract and do a mini-mash with a couple pounds of smoked base malt. Mini-mashes are really easy, you can do them with virtually no other gear other than a grain bag and a collander.

I haven't heard of a smoked stout, but smoked porters are pretty common (I did one not too long ago). Sounds like it should be pretty good.

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I see so smoke the base malt. Are there detailed instructions for a mini-mash? I assume its just a swap out of malted grains for malt extract but what would the quantities be? Then boil say 1.5 gallons and rinse with 170 water say 1/2 gallon? If everything is in a grain bag what is the collinder used for? And if I do add lactose how much would get me a mild sweetness?

Thanks

Fish said:

I see so smoke the base malt. Are there detailed instructions for a mini-mash? I assume its just a swap out of malted grains for malt extract but what would the quantities be? Then boil say 1.5 gallons and rinse with 170 water say 1/2 gallon? If everything is in a grain bag what is the collinder used for? And if I do add lactose how much would get me a mild sweetness?

Thanks

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As a rule of thumb, 1# base malt = .75# DME = .6# LME. I'd go with probably two and half pounds of base malt to be smoked, so drop back your LME by a pound and half or so. Maybe not quite that much, maybe drop back by a pound or so; efficiency with a mini-mash is likely to be not all that good. So, yeah, 2.5# smoked base malt, drop your LME by a pound. You might end up a little bigger, but that's fine.

The collander is so that you can rinse the gains (sparge) with hot (170ish) water, get all their sugary goodness out. Just steep the pale malt (and your other grains) in water that's as close to 154 as you can get it for an hour, then rinse. There are lots of threads around here on mini-mashes, look around for a bit; it's pretty straighforward.

I once unintentionally made a smoke stout. I had some LME burn to the bottom of my brew pot. The beer tasted like someone emptied an ashtray into my primary.

That said, an intentional smoke stout would likely be leagues better.

When I come up with a new beer idea I actually loose sleep. I was up last night thinking about this. I need to try just to get it out of my system.

I would like to clarify - is a mini mash the same as a partial? And

The difference between steeping and a mini mash is time and sparging with 170degree water? Is that right?

Rather than be redundant, read Fiery Sword's excellent post about mini mashing here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=202802&postcount=12

In short, yeah - more precise temperature control, for a longer time, and sparging somehow.

Great! Thanks for that awsome info!

I used to work at a resturant that smoked with tea. We would take tomatos usually and use tea smoke for flavor it was very smelly but pretty good. Has anyone ever tried smoked hops? For a flavor in smoking a grain - I imagine people have tried smoking hops.

No one has tried smoked hops? May have to burn a few to see what they smell like.

Fish said:

No one has tried smoked hops? May have to burn a few to see what they smell like.

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*shrug* I have had Lapsang Souchong (pine smoked tea) before. Definitely an acquired taste imo. You could try the smoked hops. Thing is, what I have found with smoke flavor is that it doesn't matter all that much what ingredient is the vehicle for it. In the end the smokiness is pretty much it's own component. I smoke Chilis when I harvest at the end of the summer, when I add them to something I get the smokiness but there is little way of telling in the end where it came from.

Just "smoked" a Chinook pellet. Sure reminds me of ...



something. Really light little buzz. I would fear that this may add a bit of a ashtray taste.

I guess zoe's point was that smoke adds a smoke flavor. I would think hickory adds a more bbq flavor, bah maybe it don't matter. bit hungry now.

I went had an order with Br & more Br and while the first order I had with them was sent within the same day I cancelled this order because 4 days later the order had not been filled. I went to the LHBS and bought a Sweet stout kit and a few other things so I am hoping to modify the kit. It comes with 1.8 lbs of grains (I think there at least 3 different grains a light a brown and a dark) and 7# of malt. I smoked the grains. I was going to go by my recipe but I was shopping with the 3 year old and it was quiker this way. My main question is should I use the lactose with the smoked grains? Any thoughts?

Just tried a sample while I racked it and wow! It is yummy.