Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier

[Brewing Clamper]

Ok, I know someone posted an extract recipe for this Here and I know some of you have been to Bamberg. So what I'm wondering is, is that recipe their flagship beer?
When I was in Germany I rented a car and just drove all over the place. I bumped into Bamber and went in for a brew. Having no knowledge of the language, I ordered a beer and the brought it to me... and it was awesome... so which of their beers would they most likely have given me by default? Basically I'm just looking for that recipe... but I'll definitely try this one.

Wow, that was a long winded post!

 

[homebrewer_99]

Let me get this straight...you "bumped into" Bamberg and went right to the Schlenklera? If you went to the Schlenklera and your beer tasted like a well used BBQ grill then you had a Rauchbier.
I lived in Bamberg for 5 years...OK, I bumped around a lot too...to all 9 breweries! ... plus another 100 within a 25 mile radius then there were 2 less than a mile from my place and they were next door to each other. In Bamberg the Fassla and Special Breweries are right across the street from each other. Did you make it up the hill to the Greifenklau (Griffin's Claw)? Great beer also. I've been to Maisel's gasthaus a thousand times for lunch...OK maybe only 2-3-4 times a week for 5 years for sure.

What was the question...?

Not my recipe, BTW...

7 pounds, light dry extract
1-1/2 teaspoons, liquid smoke
1-1/2 ounces, Tettnanger hops (boil)
1 ounce, Tettnanger hops (finish)
1/2 teaspoon, Irish moss
2 packs, Red Star lager yeast

Boil extract, liquid smoke, and boiling hops in 2-3 gallons of water for 45 minutes. Add Irish moss and finishing hops and boil 5 more minutes. Strain into fermenter, add cold water to make 5 gallons, pitch yeast. After 3 days rack to secondary. Allow to ferment an additional 3-4 weeks.

Primary Ferment: 3 days
Secondary Ferment: 3-4 weeks

This is basically a nice light beer, but with a definite smoke aftertaste. Mainstream, but with a non-commercial twist.

I do have a Rauchbier recipe in a pdf file that's all grain, but it's in German. If anyone is interested send me an email and I'll send you the file: [email protected]

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

I was all ready to brew this last year until I had it...I was thinking bacon beer, but I guess the Bamberg malt wasn't exactly hickory smoked and it just tasted different. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't have wanted 5g of it plus I didn't have the facilities to lager at that time.

Here's a recipe I acquired...you'll have to do some conversions/translations but it's pretty straightforward and actually uses an ale yeast (so it's not exact, but it is easier):

Bamberger Smoked Ale / Allemagne Schlenkerla Rauchbier
Og 1054 25 litres
Fg 1013 ABV 5,5%
IBU 30 EBC 52

Rauchmalt (malt fum&#233 6010g
Chocolate Malt 105g

Mash 50°C - 20 minutes
65°C - 60 minutes
Début du boil Hallertau 52g
15 dernières minutes Irish Moss
Boil Time 90 Minutes
10g Top Working Ale Yeast

 

[homebrewer_99]

That's from a French recipe...

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

That's from a French recipe...

Did the French give it away?

It's actually an excerpt from a list of recipes, primarily German in origin, but French in language. I brewed the Aventinus recipe from the list and it was pretty close IMO.

 

[Brewing Clamper]

Thanks a bunch guys! I knew you'd come through. I'm ready to make this.. all I need is a temp controller for my fridge to make the lagering easier...

 

[Brewing Clamper]

After careful examination of everyone's comments, along with some complete guesswork, here's the recipe I came up with to try to make my Rauchbier. I guess it's somewhere between the recipe that was posted and the specs for Alaskan Brewing's smoked porter. SO, wadayathink?


A ProMash Recipe Report

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------

22-A Smoked Flavored/Wood Aged, Classic Rauchbier

Min OG: 1.050 Max OG: 1.056
Min IBU: 20 Max IBU: 30
Min Clr: 14 Max Clr: 26 Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Extract (Lbs): 9.00
Anticipated OG: 1.071 Plato: 17.29
Anticipated SRM: 27.7
Anticipated IBU: 39.0
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
66.7 6.00 lbs. Generic DME - Light Generic 1.046 8
5.6 0.50 lbs. Chocolate Malt Belgium 1.030 500
5.6 0.50 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8
16.7 1.50 lbs. Smoked(Bamberg) Germany 1.037 9
5.6 0.50 lbs. CaraMunich Malt Belgium 1.033 75

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.50 oz. Tettnanger Tettnang Pellet 4.50 30.1 60 min.
1.00 oz. Tettnanger Tettnang Pellet 4.50 5.3 15 min.
0.50 oz. Hallertauer Tradition Pellet 6.00 3.6 15 min.


Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.10 Oz Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil)


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP820 Octoberfest - Marzen

 

[ruppe]

I had a "eureka moment" a couple years ago reading about adding chile peppers to beer in BYO while smoking some fish in the back yard. I figured, why smoke the malt when you can smoke some pepper. So I made myself a brown ale, and when it was ready to transfer to the secondary, I cut up 3 sweet green bell peppers small enough to fit through the neck of my carboy, and smoked 'em. I put them babies in my second and transfered and couldn't wait. Man, I'd never tasted a real rauchbier before, but I was in heaven when I tasted mine. I understand not everyone likes it, but I love smoked food. And the pepper justs adds to the flavor.

If you don't have a smoker, try this. Soak a big piece, or several small pieces of hickory or cherry wood in water for at least 30 minutes before smoking. Put your charcoal on one side of the grill. and get a hot fire going. If you have a gas grill, turn it on. Put pepper on a piece of punctured foil on the cool side of the grill. Add your wet wood to the fire (on a picece of foil for you gassers), and let the smoke infuse the peppers. Let them sweat, but don't let them blacken. When the peppers have sucked up a good amount of smoke, let them cool, then transfer your primary on top, finish, and bottle accordingly.