Classic Style Smoked Beer Loon Lake Smoked Porter (Award Winner)

I posted last December on this and said the smokey flavor wasn't coming through. It did improve after a little more time in the keg. I got a lot of compliments from this one.

todd_k said:

I posted last December on this and said the smokey flavor wasn't coming through. It did improve after a little more time in the keg. I got a lot of compliments from this one.

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Would you change the ratio and add/remove smoked malt? I'm still undecided, but going to brew this on Monday... need to pick up ingredients in a bit.

Edit: Going to pump this up a touch and make it 6.5lbs of Smoked, 3.5lbs of Munich II, 1lb of the other three. 1.062 SG and 5.6ABV -- will see how well that works out

IanJ said:

Would you change the ratio and add/remove smoked malt? I'm still undecided, but going to brew this on Monday... need to pick up ingredients in a bit.

Edit: Going to pump this up a touch and make it 6.5lbs of Smoked, 3.5lbs of Munich II, 1lb of the other three. 1.062 SG and 5.6ABV -- will see how well that works out

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I made my first batch with 7 lbs smoked, 2 lbs Munich, everything else the same. It was Briess smoke malt. Very intense smoke flavor. I really enjoyed it!!

IanJ said:

Would you change the ratio and add/remove smoked malt? I'm still undecided, but going to brew this on Monday... need to pick up ingredients in a bit.

Edit: Going to pump this up a touch and make it 6.5lbs of Smoked, 3.5lbs of Munich II, 1lb of the other three. 1.062 SG and 5.6ABV -- will see how well that works out

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If I brew it again I would add to the smoked malt. So many people had different experiences with the smoke so I made the original, just to see. I would prefer it to be more smokey but I'm not one to add stuff like liquid smoke.

todd_k said:

If I brew it again I would add to the smoked malt. So many people had different experiences with the smoke so I made the original, just to see. I would prefer it to be more smokey but I'm not one to add stuff like liquid smoke.

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Guess I'll just have to find out, ended up changing it again to about 52% smoked malt.

I brewed this last Saturday Oct 18. I went with some of the previous recommendations and upped the smoked malt to 7# and added 1# of flaked wheat. Everything else I kept the same as BM's recipe.

Got 5.5 gallons at 1.062 and the primary appears to be done already although I need to check the gravity.
It looks like a final gravity of 1.024ish is where folks were coming in. Does that sound about right?

I hit 1.026 (from 1.060) and thought it was way off. BeerSmith calculated FG at 1.019. Mashed at 157. However if others are hitting that mark, then maybe it's not?

Have mine sitting at 70* for week 3 and was hoping it'd drop a bit

Edit: after getting it kegged and carbed it smells slightly metallic, I'm wondering if that's due to the yeast or I really screwed something up. Certainly must be a few things wrong with this batch, will have to try again and run some pH tests along the way.

I finally got around to kegging my 2nd batch of this and it's been on the gas for about a week and a couple days. I'm in that in between zone where I don't know if I like it or not and should just leave it alone but with company coming on Saturday, I want it to be ready. An extra 2 weeks would have been better, IMO, but it's too late now!

I've read through all of these posts and I plan to brew this guy up for a friendly competition in a couple weeks. The winner of the comp gets to brew with a micro brewery and age it in a barrel (not sure what kind unfortunately). I was thinking I'd brew 10 gallons and leave half of it as-is and then throw some whiskey soaked chips in the second carboy and let it age for a bit. Thoughts on this?

HiImBrian said:

I've read through all of these posts and I plan to brew this guy up for a friendly competition in a couple weeks. The winner of the comp gets to brew with a micro brewery and age it in a barrel (not sure what kind unfortunately). I was thinking I'd brew 10 gallons and leave half of it as-is and then throw some whiskey soaked chips in the second carboy and let it age for a bit. Thoughts on this?

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This is a great beer!! Ive used the Briess smoked malt and I would'nt use anything else... One batch I even went as high as 70% smoked malt.. It was intense!! Ive thought about letting some rest on charred white oak cubes, but I'm not for sure if whiskey soaked chips would be good, but maybe it would.. I doubt it would ruin it..

It sounds like S-04 is the most commonly used yeast for this brew, but I don't see any mention of how much to use on a 10 gallon batch. Think if I make a starter that one pack of S-04 will suffice, or should I play it safe and do two?

HiImBrian said:

It sounds like S-04 is the most commonly used yeast for this brew, but I don't see any mention of how much to use on a 10 gallon batch. Think if I make a starter that one pack of S-04 will suffice, or should I play it safe and do two?

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S-04 is my go to yeast. I only need one packet for a ten gallon batch. No need for a starter. Just hydrate the yeast in 8 ounces of luke warm water (and loosely cover) at the beginning of your brewing session. You'll be chugging along inside of 1 hours. Give the yeast a stir with a spoon about 2 hours into its hydration period.

Sounds good thanks man! Btw your blonde has been one of the favorite beers on tap at my place for a while now! Can't wait for this one!

This one is next on my list after the pumpkin pie ale scheduled for tomorrow. Its been a while since I made a porter - too long - and a smoked porter is just perfect with colder weather approaching. Really looking forward to it.

I ended up adding some raspberries to one of my kegs and I loved it! Just figured I'd throw that out there.

just brewed a 4 gallon batch this afternoon. i am in the camp of no smoke aroma during the mash/boil, but i'm not too worried after reading through the thread, the grains themselves definitely had the smoke aroma present. all my LHBS had was briess cherrywood smoked malt, so i'll post back in a few weeks about how it turned out. going to be bottling this one instead of kegging so i will have to wait just a little bit longer

I've been itching to try a smoked porter, been doing one porter a year since I started brewing 2 years ago. I think my LHBS also might only stock the cherry wood smoked malt, otherwise if they have another variety I'll have to try a different one.

Plugged everything into Beer Smith, also switched the hops to .5oz Northern Brewer, and 1oz Fuggles. Going for more of a English flair/style. Also will use Thames Valley from Wyeast I'm going to reclaim from my hard cider.

Finally picked up the grains/hops/yeast today! Hopefully get this one in the fermenter by Sunday night. The smoked malt smelled glorious at the shop. Pretty fresh for sure. Big fan of bold smoky flavors, so this should be right up my alley. Went with 6 lbs smoked malt.

Came in at 1.055 with a little extra smoked malt. Good brew day, hoping this is drinkable for a Thanksgiving gathering although I know its a tad early. Great smoke aroma - thanks BM!

*update - 1 reydrated packet of S-04 has airlock blurping vigorously the next day

Thinking of adapting it as follows:

Using my Bradley electric smoker to cold smoke the malt with cherry or alder (I have tons of both types of pucks) rather than buying pre-smoked beechwood malt.

Also thinking of adding some fresh raspberries into the secondary for a spell along with 2-3 vanilla beans to make it a smoked raspberry vanilla porter.

Not exactly sure on the raspberry and vanilla bean amounts but seems averages are where I'm targeting from pursuing recipes found around these forums and the web.

Here's my changes from the original, however slight they may be

Loon Lake Smoked Porter

Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.57 gal
Estimated OG: 1.050 SG
Estimated Color: 22.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 24.6 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Time: 75 Minutes

Ingredients:
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5.00 lb Cold Smoked Cherry wood Smoked Malt (9.0 SRM
3.00 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
0.75 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM)
0.75 lb Chocolate Malt (250.0 SRM)

0.50 oz Northern Brewer [8.50%] (60 min)
0.75 oz Williamette [5.20%] (60 min)

Safale-04 (Might use Danstar Nottingham based upon where I have to store during fermentation and the fact that my temp range seemed to work good with this on a dark brown I just finished fermenting this week - thoughts?)

2-2.5lbs crushed raspberries (Secondary)
2-3 Vanilla Beans (Secondary - sanitized in vodka couple days prior)

suckerpunchltd said:

Thinking of adapting it as follows:

Using my Bradley electric smoker to cold smoke the malt with cherry or alder (I have tons of both types of pucks)

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Wow, smoked raspberry vanilla porter. Sounds complex. I would not have thought of raspberries and smoke together. As far as the self-smoked I thought about that too but went with some really fresh grains that must have just come in - cherry smoked. The smoke profile from hydrometer was massive at 6 days (gravity - 1.012). I'm excited about it but I know it will be too much for some folks. That's OK though. Trying to picture how raspberry and vanilla would come through on mine...it might be pretty subtle (not a bad thing), just hard to say.

Malty_Dog said:

Wow, smoked raspberry vanilla porter. Sounds complex. I would not have thought of raspberries and smoke together. As far as the self-smoked I thought about that too but went with some really fresh grains that must have just come in - cherry smoked. The smoke profile from hydrometer was massive at 6 days (gravity - 1.012). I'm excited about it but I know it will be too much for some folks. That's OK though. Trying to picture how raspberry and vanilla would come through on mine...it might be pretty subtle (not a bad thing), just hard to say.

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Ya I've had raspberry porter, vanilla porter and smoked but not all together and I think just a hint of each should balance nicely. There was a mention of raspberries and I was like, hmm...let't put them all together and do it. I will likely brew this by the end of the month and let it age until about February.

Just 2 weeks old (bottling day) and I can tell this one is going to be special. Big smokey/rich quality while already awfully smooth. I think a major aspect of this beer is the fact that the smoke is allowed to play a prominent role and is not overshadowed by too much dark acrid roastiness. The grain bill is indeed mellow, slightly sweet, and just so porter-ish. Very excited to be drinking this around the fire with friends in the coming weeks. Thanks BM.

I have a bunch of washed wlp 002 yeast, would it work for this recipe?

Madmannvan said:

I have a bunch of washed wlp 002 yeast, would it work for this recipe?

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So the 002 is the Fuller's strain and the S-04 is a Whitbread strain from what I read. The 002 is a lower attenuator, leaving more residual sweetness, so perhaps dropping the mash temp several degrees from the OP? Otherwise they are both English Ale with similar flavor profiles apparently.

What I found on S-04:
"Clean, highly flocculent, and highly attenuative yeast. This yeast is similar to WLP002 in flavor profile, but is 10% more attenuative. This eliminates the residual sweetness, and makes the yeast well suited for high gravity ales. It is also reaches terminal gravity quickly. 80% attenuation will be reached even with 10% ABV beers."

BTW, I am loving this brew more by the day

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1449216246.227278.jpg Brewed on Nov 29 in 19 degrees and snow. Hit pre boil of estimated 1.038 and had OG of 1.058. It was damn cold out, but from the brewing I can tell this will be worth it. Actually hit all numbers and only missed volume by about .2 gallon. I could have topped up and hit volume with a lower OG, but decided not to.

On day 4 in primary using Nottingham, airlock has stopped but giving it it's due time. I used my SafAle in my blonde ale prior to test it and never made it back to LHBS to get another and had Notty on hand. Notty works since I wanted just a bit drier and Notty seems a bit more attenuative; I also did a slightly lower temp mash than the original recipe which along with the Notty should end at 1.010-1.012 from estimates, but hoping maybe for 1.014+/-.

Taking first FG on Sunday 12/6 and will be at 7 days primary. If FG holds for a few days will rack with vanilla tincture and priming sugar in bottling bucket and bottle for a few weeks. Skipping the raspberries and secondary as I am gifting this to a buddy deploying soon and want a few weeks in the bottles so we can enjoy before he leaves.

Cold smoked my own malt using whiskey soaked oak and alder; the grain had one helluva great smoke smell, that went away during mash and boil, but I can be sure it will be there flavor wise once done from what others have said.

Very excited for this one and will update on bottling day and when we enjoy it.

suckerpunchltd - quick question: how close was the time you smoked the grains to when you performed the mash? Same day? A few days? Longer? Just wondering as I have a book on smoking grains and am wondering about real world homebrewing experiences. BTW, your choice of wood for smoking sounds amazing.

Thanks malty I'll mash a little lower[emoji482]

Malty_Dog said:

suckerpunchltd - quick question: how close was the time you smoked the grains to when you performed the mash? Same day? A few days? Longer? Just wondering as I have a book on smoking grains and am wondering about real world homebrewing experiences. BTW, your choice of wood for smoking sounds amazing.

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I actually put the grains in a sealed container for nearly 2 weeks - I smoked them on Nov 16 and brewed on Nov 29, so 13 day aging. When I opened up the container they smelled amazing.

I cold smoked them much longer than most recommendations I read as well in a Bradley electric smoker - I did 4 hours smoke, but I had all 5lbs of grain in an aluminum pan. I stirred them around about every 30 minutes to attempt a uniform smoke on them. Had I had a finer screen instead of a pan and/or less grain I would have cut the time dramatically.

Cracked some of these open to celebrate with a friend who's leaving for a spell and I will just say this - one of, if not the, most amazing smoked porters I've ever had, one of the top porters in general I've ever had and I do believe it will become a regular to have on hand in this porter and stout loving house I live in. Kudos to BM for posting this up and sharing back when - simply fantastic even after only a short primary and bottle stage.

Somehow it all just fell together even in the short time - brewed 11/29, bottled after stable FG for 3 days using Notty on 12/6 and enjoyed on 12/13, fully carbed and amazing.

Only changes I would make would be to do an upgrade on my vanilla extract (used a mid-range brand - or just use real beans in vodka) and bump the amount from 2oz to 2.5-3.0oz.

Just brewed this but didn't want to wait to age the smoked grain so went to nearest LHBS and they were out of smoked pale malt but suggested trying oak smoked wheat malt as that's what they had in stock. (They also made me a killer deal on it so why not?!)

So I have 5 gallons fermenting away using the oak smoked wheat so we shall see how that changes things on this batch.

suckerpunchltd said:

Just brewed this but didn't want to wait to age the smoked grain so went to nearest LHBS and they were out of smoked pale malt but suggested trying oak smoked wheat malt as that's what they had in stock. (They also made me a killer deal on it so why not?!)

So I have 5 gallons fermenting away using the oak smoked wheat so we shall see how that changes things on this batch.

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Sounds good, I'm curious how it turns out for you. Can't imagine it would suffer replacing reg smoked malt with smoked wheat. Is that cherry smoked? Or some other smoke variety?

Man, this beer has turned out great. Really hitting its stride after 8 weeks, mellowing smoke (its still very apparent, just more of a piece of the whole thing rather than totally dominating). Rich, dark, chewy porter as per Biermuncher's OP. I absolutely love it.

Taking a shot at this soon! There is an awesome lager-only brewery near me that does a FANTASTIC rauchbier, so I am going to try and replicate their approach. It's not thick or boozy (5.5% ABV if I remember correctly), just an awesome flavorful quaffer.

So I am planning on modifying the recipe slightly:

5 lb Rauchmalz
3 lb Munich
1.50 lb Pils
0.75 lb Caramunich
0.25 lb Chocolate

1.0 oz Northern Brewer FWH

W-34/70 slurry

Malty_Dog said:

Sounds good, I'm curious how it turns out for you. Can't imagine it would suffer replacing reg smoked malt with smoked wheat. Is that cherry smoked? Or some other smoke variety?

Man, this beer has turned out great. Really hitting its stride after 8 weeks, mellowing smoke (its still very apparent, just more of a piece of the whole thing rather than totally dominating). Rich, dark, chewy porter as per Biermuncher's OP. I absolutely love it.

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Just seen this, been so busy haven't checked in. Using the Oak smoked wheat was fantastic. This batch had a slightly heavier smoke flavor, but not over the top. It was a bit more potent too because I hit the numbers right on from previous note taking and refining my process. Definitely a keeper and everyone who tried was very keen on me making more.

wanted to swing by and thank the OP for the wonderful recipe!! beer came out fantastic, I switched it up a bit but nothing drastic.

For 5.0 gallons

4lbs Smoked malt
3lbs Munich
1lb Cara Pils
1lb Marris otter
12oz Chocolate Malt 350.0 SRM
12oz Crystal 40L

.9oz of Northern Brewer @60
Safale S-04

My favorite Part of the Beer is the Color and Clarity I find myself just holding it up to the light in awe!! I would say this is my first truly clear beer so pretty excited.

Looks great.

I will have a few pounds of smoked malt left over from a Smoked Black Rye IPA and think I will use it for this.

I also have about 10lbs of Oaked Smoked wheat malt.
The internet shop sent me that by mistake instead of the smoked malt and said I could keep it for free after sending me on 10lbs of the proper malt.

Any opinions on adding some of this to the recipe?
Maybe sub the carapils with the smoked wheat?

Or else I'll have to brew a Gratzer.