Game of Thrones Smoked Beer

[TheDPR]

Thoughts on the below as a Game of Thrones inspired beer? Want something smoky, but not overpowering. Plan to brew sometime in September and age it until the next GoT season.

5.25 Gallon Batch
1.080 OG
1.022 FG
7.72% ABV
21.1 IBUs
16.1 SRM

8lb Maris Otter
5lb Smoked Malt
2.5lb Amber Malt
13oz Brown Malt

.8oz Northern Brewer (8.5%) (60 minutes)

WLP006 Bedford British Ale

 

[SpeedYellow]

Smoked beers really want a high level of fullness/maltiness and low levels of hops and anything that could be perceived as acrid. So I'd ditch the Brown Malt and replace with a darker crystal/cara malt, like caramunich 3, cara-amber, etc.

 

[TheDPR]

Makes sense. I will definitely do that.

 

[Derek1985]

What makes it GoT inspired? Just the waiting?

 

[giraffe]

I dont know when the next got season is, but amber malt at those rates is going to take months and months to mellow out, its quite unpleasantly aggressive young IMO. (which if you are aging it 6 months, id up the ibus to 35-40+, as they will drop off with aging.)

 

[TheDPR]

What makes it GoT inspired? Just the waiting?

Ha, the waiting and trying to create something similar to what medieval/Renaissance beer may have been like.

 

[SpeedYellow]

Well if you want it historical, the you should smoke your malt with straw, which is how it was done in Westeros, errr Brittain.

 

[TheDPR]

Well if you want it historical, the you should smoke your malt with straw, which is how it was done in Westeros, errr Brittain.

I am entirely too lazy to do that. I want similar to historical...not motivated enough to make it actually historical.

Just trying to make something you could imagine drinking in a cold northern castle with zombies potentially coming to attack you.

 

[rhys333]

I've been staring at 2 lbs of peated malt I picked up up at the LHBS on a whim some time ago. Scared to use it since I can't find any reliable data on how much to use. Some say 2%, others say 5... 8.. and so on.

 

[TheDPR]

I've been staring at 2 lbs of peated malt I picked up up at the LHBS on a whim some time ago. Scared to use it since I can't find any reliable data on how much to use. Some say 2%, others say 5... 8.. and so on.

I've never used but have always read to be cautious as peat malt can overwhelm. That's why I'm going to use a rauchmalt as I don't love the flavor of peaty beers (or whisky).

Some tweaks I've made to my recipe:

Amber Malt down to 1lb
Took out the brown malt and added 1lb Crystal 120.

Looking to brew in early September and bulk age for 2 months. Then will sit in bottles until the next GoT season around late March.

 

[rhys333]

I've never used but have always read to be cautious as peat malt can overwhelm.

There's a wee heavy recipe in an BYO article calling for 2 lbs of the stuff! Crazy.

http://byo.com/water/item/858-hot-tips-for-making-great-smoked-beers

 

[TheDPR]

There's a wee heavy recipe in an BYO article calling for 2 lbs of the stuff! Crazy.

http://byo.com/water/item/858-hot-tips-for-making-great-smoked-beers

Yikes, that seems excessive. Even a quick perusal of the Scottish recipes on HBT show a range below 1lb per 5 gallons.