Stone Trip i.e. why I want to make a smoked porter

Saturday was a lot of fun. Was able to take a tour of the Stone Brewery down in Escondido. Naturally I was about two hours early, so I sat at the bar and had a few pints. Tried the 2004 RIS, the newly released Double Bastard, the Smoked Porter, and to end things I wanted the Kostritzer Schwarzbeir, but they were out, and replacement the bartender recommended (which was also what I was going to order if they didn't have the Schwarzbier) was the Schlenkerla Rauchbier.

The Rauchbier was a little too harsh, at least for now. It would take some getting use to, and I don't want to commit a keg entirely to a rauchbier quite yet. I did rather enjoy the Smoked Porter, however, and after chatting it up with one of the brewers, I decided that I had to brew one. A little looking around once I got home and here is the recipe that I came up with (I threw it into Qbrew before, and supposedly it fits the styling of a Robust Porter):


10.00 lb English 2-row
0.50 lb German Munich (Light)
0.50 lb Crystal 120L
0.50 lb Black Patent
0.25 lb Peated Malt

1.00 oz Chinook (60 min)
0.75 oz Mt. Hood (20 min)
0.75 oz Mt. Hood (5 min)
(All are whole hops, pending what LHBS has stocked)

Nottingham Dry yeast
Expected Gravity: 1.061 ABV: 6.1%
Recipe Bitterness: 54 (Not sure if this is in IBU's)
Recipe Color: 28º (Not sure if this is in SRM)

Single infusion mash at 155

I have a question about the peated malt though. I'm fairly confident the LHBS has rauch malt in stock, but I'm not sure about the peated malt. Would it be a decent replacement to use rauch malt instead of peated malt? If I remember reading the Schlenkerla bottle correctly, rauchbier is smoked with beechwood and not peat, so I was wondering the main difference I would be experiencing.

Thanks

IMHO I would not use peat malt in any beer, either beechwood malt or home smoked malt. Alder is my number one choice for smoked beer, with beechwood at a close second. Peat malt is earthier than rauch malt, it is phenolic and I feel that it can be a little acrid and harsh.

The main reason I went with the peat malt was the description I received from the brewing staff this weekend.

"Stone Smoked Porter is dark, rich and complicated. A porter is substantially darker than a pale ale, but not as black or opaque as a stout. Our Stone Smoked Porter has a captivatingly deep mahogany color, complimented by silky dark tan head. Rich, full bodied and robust. Smooth, with chocolate and coffee-like flavors balanced by the subtle "smoky" character of just the right amount of peat-smoked specialty malt."

But I am absolutely open to suggestions.

I know they use peat malt, it's just I'm not a fan of it, I prefer rauch malt. Sometimes it can make a good beer, like Stone's Porter, but other times it can ruin a beer, for example when it is used in Scottich ales. If you want to try peat malt, go for it, just don't use too much, but I'm sure you know that.
Try to get your hands on an Alaskan Brewing Smoked Porter, they use alder. I think you might like it.

Yeah, I was unsure about the smoked malt, that's the reason it's the smallest quantity. I'll look into getting the Alaskan Brewing Smoked Porter. I'd like to get something brewed this weekend, and since I don't think the LHBS has peated malt, rauch malt seems to be the way I'll go.

Go for it, I'm sure you will like the rauch malt. Two things I might suggest: one, move the mash temp down to 153-154F to make the beer little dryer; two, use the American ale dry yeast instead of the English, because it will make the beer cleaner and allow the smokey character to shine.

Drop the mash temp and then try using something more along the lines of US-56?

I think I can do that.