Dan_Scott
Member
I’m far too new to brewing to be doing this, but I can’t get it out of my head. I got into the hobby in June, have brewed a couple beers, and have mostly been making a lot of fast ale-style ciders (Kveik and saison yeasts, carbonated, most of them dry, etc). I’ve been intrigued by the concept of a graf and am going to play with normal ways of doing that soon.
But.
Ever since I discovered the existence of peated malts, I’ve been plagued by the thought of making a graf that might have come scotch-like qualities and would go nicely with a cigar. Some peat, some Hungarian oak perhaps, some…. Something; I’m not entirely sure what other malt to use, or what hops (if any) to implement – and some crisp apple flavor. Inhibiting this project is that the only smoked beer I’ve managed to get my hands on was a dark, and I haven’t managed to find any properly peaty beers to drink. Now have I ever had a graf (working on it, working on it). On top of this, I’m not even a huge peat head in scotch - Lagavulin 16 hell yes, especially with a cigar, but Laphroaig is not my jam.
Still though – my (absolutely inexperienced and lacking in knowledge) bones tell me there’s something here that should be drinkable, and might even be delicious. My goal so far with cider has been producing something tasty in a short period of time (4-8 weeks) but this I’d be willing to let age to get right. Maybe even freeze-concentrate the juice to increase the flavor and sugar, as I suspect a higher alcohol content may be needed to stand up to the additional peat/oak flavors and to make it worth drinking with a smoke.
Anyway, if anyone has any experience using peated malts they could lend me, or any ideas or suggestions in general, they would be much appreciated! And I’d be more than happy to report back on the results.
But.
Ever since I discovered the existence of peated malts, I’ve been plagued by the thought of making a graf that might have come scotch-like qualities and would go nicely with a cigar. Some peat, some Hungarian oak perhaps, some…. Something; I’m not entirely sure what other malt to use, or what hops (if any) to implement – and some crisp apple flavor. Inhibiting this project is that the only smoked beer I’ve managed to get my hands on was a dark, and I haven’t managed to find any properly peaty beers to drink. Now have I ever had a graf (working on it, working on it). On top of this, I’m not even a huge peat head in scotch - Lagavulin 16 hell yes, especially with a cigar, but Laphroaig is not my jam.
Still though – my (absolutely inexperienced and lacking in knowledge) bones tell me there’s something here that should be drinkable, and might even be delicious. My goal so far with cider has been producing something tasty in a short period of time (4-8 weeks) but this I’d be willing to let age to get right. Maybe even freeze-concentrate the juice to increase the flavor and sugar, as I suspect a higher alcohol content may be needed to stand up to the additional peat/oak flavors and to make it worth drinking with a smoke.
Anyway, if anyone has any experience using peated malts they could lend me, or any ideas or suggestions in general, they would be much appreciated! And I’d be more than happy to report back on the results.