Smoked Blonde ale advice

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brewsnthelou

brewsnthelou

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I'm interested in doing a smoked blonde ale this fall, any advice on how to incorporate the smoke flavor? I use kits. I've heard about people smoking the grains but wonder if you have any tips on how to? Also what about using an additive like liquid smoke? Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
 
Everyone notable in the homebrew world recommends not using liquid smoke. There are several smoked malts available on the market - most readily available are German beechwood smoked barley, German oak-smoked wheat and American cherrywood smoked barley. The latter is very potent! All are base malts and technically need to be mashed, but simply doing a regular extract steep at 150 degrees will get you at least partial conversion (i.e. do the same thing you always do, at 150 degrees, and you'll be fine).
 
In addition to ArcaneXor, peated malt lends a smoke flavor in VERY small amounts. I did a pale ale with 0.5 oz. of peated malt and you could taste the smoke on the finish. I'm guessing an entire ounce or more would create a very noticeable smoke flavor.

There's a thread on here somewhere about smoking your grains at home, I'll see if I can find it.

Edit: This should get you headed in the right direction: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/smoking-grain-64935/
 
I agree with both of the previous posters. Use grain of some sort, not liquid smoke. I would lean towards the peated malt simply because you can steep it with any specialty grains you may have in your kit. I wouldn't use more than 4 or 5 ounces for a 5 gallon batch. You can always crank it up some next time if you think you need more smoke flavor.
 
ArcaneXor said:
Everyone notable in the homebrew world recommends not using liquid smoke. There are several smoked malts available on the market - most readily available are German beechwood smoked barley, German oak-smoked wheat and American cherrywood smoked barley. The latter is very potent! All are base malts and technically need to be mashed, but simply doing a regular extract steep at 150 degrees will get you at least partial conversion (i.e. do the same thing you always do, at 150 degrees, and you'll be fine).
Click to expand...

:mug:

Thank you for the information, I have a blonde ale extract kit & I have 5lbs of Briess smoked malt grains...should I just add the smoked malt w/ the other specialty grains in the kit? I didn't know if adding too much "specialty" grain could alter the beer charateristics (Ibu's, gravity, etc) I wasn't planning on using all 5lbs of the smoked malt but I do enjoy a strong smoke flavor, any suggestions on a quantity?

Thanks Again!!
 
The Briess smoked malt is very potent - steep/mash them along with the other grains (to mimic a mash, you can use somewhere between 1.5 and 2 quarts of water per pound of grain, and keep the temperature somewhere in the 150-158 degree range). In a blonde, I would probably use 1 pound or less.
 
ArcaneXor said:
In a blonde, I would probably use 1 pound or less.
Click to expand...

Ditto,
I used 6oz Peated in a Porter and it was not noticeable.
My Smoked Rye uses 2# smoked on a smoker at home, 2-4 hrs. Longer = Smokier. Playing with different woods.
Good Flavor!
 

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