Rauchbier recipe assistance

[Bear979]

Hey all!
This is my first recipe creation so I would love some input.
I am calling this brew "Baldr's Pyre", so named after the Norse God Baldr, the only one who died, and the epic scene of his funeral pyre.

Anyways! any and all input would be great!

5 Gal batch:
5 lb - 2 Row
3 lb - Vienna
2 lb - Cherry smoked malt (from Briess)
0.75 lb - Biscuit malt
0.5 lb - Crystal 40L
0.5 lb - Carapils

1oz Hallertau (60 min)
25g Juniper Berries (30 min) (dried and whole)
1oz Hallertau (15 min)
Whirlfloc @ 10min

As for yeast I was thinking of using WLP830 (german lager) but I'm really not committed to it, so I'm open to suggestions!

Thanks in advance for any and all help....and yes I can answer questions about the Norse Gods!

-Bear

 

[kh54s10]

That one looks pretty good to me. I have used Cherrywood Smoked malt. It is very nice. Not harsh like I have heard that some other smoked malts are.

Are you going to make this a lager?

I haven't tried a smoked lager. The smoke flavor might fade some if you do a long lager fermentation.

 

[Bear979]

The smoke flavor might fade some if you do a long lager fermentation.

Never thought of this....so maybe kolsch yeast would be better? Allow that cherry smoke to pull through more?

 

[Quaker]

Traditional rauchbiers are lagers. Check out http://www.schlenkerla.de/rauchbier/sorten/sortene.html

I have a 3.5 gallon batch in primary made with 3 lb Pilsner, 2 lb Dark Munich, 2 lb Beechwood smoked malt and 2oz CaraAroma for a touch of color. It's fermenting with WLP830 as well. I used an ounce of Hallertau Mittelfruh at 60 minutes.

 

[kh54s10]

Something a bit quicker than a lager, or more smoked malt?? Although I have not done a lot of them and never a lager. It makes me want to try one.

I did a version of John Palmer's Elevenses. I added .1 pound of peat smoked malt. I called it Shire Ale after J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. It was amazing.

I am also putting together a recipe using rye and Cherrywood smoked malt. I thought of calling it rye field wildfire, as in a burning rye field. But then decided I will call it "Arson in the RYE" Get it?

 

[MaxStout]

I brewed one with 95% Rauchmalz (Weyermann), and a little Melanoidin and Carafa II, for body and color, respectively. I used Wyeast 2308--big starter. Fermented 2 weeks at 50, a few days diacetyl rest, then 60 days lagering at 35. I repitched with CBC-1 at bottling. Very clean with a good smoke flavor, though not as smoky as the Schlenkerla Rauchbiers I've had. It's only bottle-conditioned about a month, so it might develop more over time (I hope). Still, I'm pleased with it.

I'm not sure if lagering will diminish the smoke flavor, as the original Bamberg Rauchbiers are lagers.

 

[kh54s10]

Traditional rauchbiers are lagers. Check out http://www.schlenkerla.de/rauchbier/sorten/sortene.html

I have a 3.5 gallon batch in primary made with 4 lb Pilsner, 3 lb Dark Munich, 3 lb Beechwood smoked malt and 2oz CaraAroma for a touch of color. It's fermenting with WLP830 as well. I believe I used an ounce of Hallertau Mittelfruh.

Ah yes, I was looking at traditional rauchbier recipes recently. Forgot that they were lagers. I see that yours used a bit more smoked malt.

Just bought a bunch of Cherrywood smoked malt. I may have to do a traditional rauchbier with it.

 

[MaxStout]

Never tried the cherry malt. Might have to use that for the next Rauch.

I'd love to get my hands on some oak-smoked malt, but I've never heard of it being distributed here in the US. IIRC, Schlenkerla smokes their own malts, and I'm not sure if Weyermann makes an oak malt. BTW, If you find bottles of Schlenkerla's oak Rauchbier (Eiche), try one, it's a smoke monster. Very tasty!

 

[Bear979]

You could always try making your own oak smoked malt...just a thought anyways.
Not sure how much flavour the oak would impart on the malt though. Would be interesting to try...

 

[kh54s10]

I don't remember where I did buy it, but here is a link to Oak Smoked Wheat malt that I used in my version of John Palmer's Elevenses.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/weyermannr-oak-smoked-pale-wheat-malt.html

 

[Samuelouellette]

I tried cherrywood smoked malt from briess (40% of recipe) and beechwood smoked malt from bestmaltz (56% of the same recipe). Fermented with WY2206 and found that it was too bacony/Smoked ham for me compared to Schlenkerla, witch has a more clean smoky flavor. I think it's the cherrywood malt and I've heard that bestmaltz is more smokey than weyermann's.

Don't be afraid to add more Rauchmalt if you really like the smoke!

 

[MaxStout]

I don't remember where I did buy it, but here is a link to Oak Smoked Wheat malt that I used in my version of John Palmer's Elevenses.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/weyermannr-oak-smoked-pale-wheat-malt.html

OK, that's interesting. Maybe I'll have to brew an oak Weizen Rauchbier.

 

[Bear979]

Just looked up the Elevenses ale, it sounds heavenly! I'll have to try it after this one. Gotta love me some LOTR!

-Bear

 

[SpeedYellow]

The challenge with Rauchbiers is that if your smoked malt isn't fresh, the smokiness disappears. And smoking it yourself has challenges too. 20% Briess can be barely noticeable depending on freshness (that was my experience). And even 95% Weyermann can be subtle as another poster said above.

My advice:
(1) Simplify your grain bill. German beers use simple grain bills, and their lagers stay on the dry side. So ditch the Biscuit and Crystal. The Vienna and Carapils will add plenty of interest.

(2) Don't expect anything from the 15-20% Briess smoked except a tiny hint of smoke. If you smoke yourself, 15% is more than enough for a smoked beer, but with Briess or Weyermann it doesn't work that way.

 

[passedpawn]

• If you want a rauchbier, use at least 50% smoked malt. I think Schlenkerla starts with a light munich malt and smokes it themselves, so 100% of their malt is freshly smoked.
• Lagering is ideal. I have only lager-fermented my rauchbiers.
• OP, I'd get rid of those juniper berries. I think they will clash with the smoked flavor, especially with the cherrywood malt.
• OP, the hops look great. Yeast too.
• Cherrywood smoked malt gives a sweet bacony flavor, especially when coupled with the maltiness from crystal or munich malts.

I've made a bunch of rauchbiers. Here's the recipe I've settled on. It's a mix of beechwood and cherrywood malts. Some guys have won awards with this recipe, so that should say something. Maybe you can get some ideas from it.

Cherry Beech Smokebeer

 

[Bear979]

Ok, simplify grain bill, got it. I'll drop out the biscuit and crystal. Thanks!

As for the juniper berries I was interesting in the Viking metal clone recipe that uses gin barrels for aging, which is where I got the idea. Maybe I'll just add a few berries to a few bottles and see if I like that or not. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Quaker]

I have a 3.5 gallon batch in primary made with 3 lb Pilsner, 2 lb Dark Munich, 2 lb Beechwood smoked malt and 2oz CaraAroma for a touch of color. It's fermenting with WLP830 as well. I used an ounce of Hallertau Mittelfruh at 60 minutes.

I just took a gravity reading and tasted the hydro sample. Now I have been racked with a horrible sour throat and cold up until the past couple days; however, I detected no distinct smokiness in mine. I expect with a better palette later that I'll be able to pick it out, but definitely not what I was going for. Next time I'll sub all my Pilsner base for the Weyermann rauchmalt for 71% instead of the 28% I used.

 

[MaxStout]

I just took a gravity reading and tasted the hydro sample. Now I have been racked with a horrible sour throat and cold up until the past couple days; however, I detected no distinct smokiness in mine. I expect with a better palette later that I'll be able to pick it out, but definitely not what I was going for. Next time I'll sub all my Pilsner base for the Weyermann rauchmalt for 71% instead of the 28% I used.

My hydro sample didn't have much smoke aroma or flavor, and I was concerned. But after a month bottle-conditioning the smokiness started to pop.

With 28% Rauchmalz, yours won't be a smoke bomb, but you should have some good smokiness once it's aged a bit.

 

[Quaker]

Huh. Counterintuitive. 3 Floyds had a delightful smoked lager on their menu a while back that paired perfectly with their sausage sandwich. It wasn't a smoke bomb either, but a shade more than subtle. That was my goal. I guess we'll wait and see.

 

[Bear979]

I'm kinda with Quaker on this one. I think I want a subtle smoke, not one that tastes like liquid bacon....so I guess calling it a Rauchbier is a bit misleading

 

[Quaker]

My hydro sample didn't have much smoke aroma or flavor, and I was concerned. But after a month bottle-conditioning the smokiness started to pop.



With 28% Rauchmalz, yours won't be a smoke bomb, but you should have some good smokiness once it's aged a bit.

Racked from primary today into a keg for another month of lagering. You were right, the smoke now comes through. A bit more subtle than intended, but now I know.

Had a Schlekerla Eiche - their oak smoked doppelbock this weekend. It was superb. I would sub all my pils for rauchmalt next time.

 

[chisena]

I don't remember where I did buy it, but here is a link to Oak Smoked Wheat malt that I used in my version of John Palmer's Elevenses.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/weyermannr-oak-smoked-pale-wheat-malt.html

Do you remember what your FG was on that Elevenses? Mine seems to have stalled out at 1.02... Seems high.