Rauchbier Urbock recipe?

[MikeFallopian]

Does anybody have a clone of, or a recipe similar to, Schlenkerla's Rauchbier Urbock?

It is a delicious beer (and by far the best of Schlenkerla's range of Rauchbiers, in my humble opinion!) and would love to brew something similar myself.

Thanks!

 

[PeterF]

Hi Mike!

Did You find a good clone recipe?
-Peter

 

[GoeHaarden]

Holy Necropost Batman!

Mr. Fallopiantube hasn't been online in over a year so you may be waiting a while for a response...

In the meantime...I've read that Schlenkerla uses close to 100% beechwood smoked malts. Not sure how true that is!? If you like intense smoked flavor then try 100% with some noble hops. I personally prefer ~75% smoked malts and thats pushing it. Oh yeah, the freshness of the smoked malt matters!!

 

[PeterF]

I visited Schlenkerla brewery a month ago, and we talked a bit with the brewmaster himself - wow
He said "einhundert prozent Rauchmalz" meaning: 100% smoked malt.

The "problem" is that they smoke their own malt, so maybe its more or less "smoky" than the beech smoked malt from Weyermann.

 

[Vale71]

It's also probably a bit darker then Weyermann's Rauchmalz. If you use 100% of that you'll get a light amber lager, to get the deep dark color of a Schlenkerla you'll need multiple decoction and also quite a lot of dark specialy malts, which will definitely impact taste. According to their specs their (meaning Weyermann's) Rauchmalz is somewhat lighter in color than their Vienna malt.

 

[Miraculix]

@Schlenkerla would be the person to talk to, I guess.

 

[Miraculix]

@Schlenkerla would be the person to talk to, I guess.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I have a recipe I can post later this evening when I get home. It's close to the Urbock, since that's what I was going for, but the real deal is smokier, likely due to the fact, as mentioned above, Schlenkerla smokes all the malt in the recipe, whereas with mine, only the Weyermann Rauchmalt is smoked. If you have the means to smoke all of your malts it will get you closer to the real thing and if you did that, I would suggest you also re-smoke the Rauchmalt (or save some $$$ and smoke your own pils malt). My recipe does make a nice Urbock, though, IMHO.



UPDATE: Recipe added...

Recipe: Rauchbier Urbock
Style: Rauchbier
TYPE: All Grain

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.059 SG
Estimate FG: 1.013 SG
Estimated Color: 28.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 28.2 IBUs
Estimated ABV: 6.0% ABV
Est Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type %/IBU
9 lbs Beechwood Smoked Malt (Weyermann) (2.0 SRM) Grain 74.2 %
2 lbs Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 16.5 %
6.0 oz Black (De-Bittered) Malt (550.0 SRM) Grain 3.1 %
6.0 oz Carafa Special III (Weyermann) (470.0 SRM) Grain 3.1 %
6.0 oz Caramunich III (Weyermann) (58.0 SRM) Grain 3.1 %
1.00 oz Sterling [7.90 %] - Boil 90.0 min Hop 28.2 IBUs
Bohemian Lager (Wyeast Labs #2124) Yeast -


Mash Schedule: BIAB, Light Body
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs 2.0 oz
----------------------------
Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Saccharification Add 8.52 gal of water at 152.8 F 148.0 F 90 min

 

[Schlenkerla]

It's also probably a bit darker then Weyermann's Rauchmalz. If you use 100% of that you'll get a light amber lager, to get the deep dark color of a Schlenkerla you'll need multiple decoction and also quite a lot of dark specialy malts, which will definitely impact taste. Acoording to their specs their (meaning Weyermann's) Rauchmalz is somewhat lighter in color than their Vienna malt.

Late edit!!!!

....WAIT!!! ....

My post directly below is for their standard Marzen. I have a few recipes in the thread below for a bock rauchbier. The recipe for a bock is basically this with 20% more of the base malts.

A Schlenkerla Marzen grist needs a rauch malt and black malt. 4-8 oz black to 10 lbs base malt.

I a do 10lb, 8oz grist.

10lb base malt
- all rauch
Or
- 50/50 of Rauch and Munich malts.

4-8 of black malt.

I hop with 2 oz of hallertauer at 60 minutes. Mt Hood or Liberty are good subs.

I smoke my own malt. It's easy and freshness makes a difference.

The Schlenkerla recipe calls for a double decoction. It's not required. The authors of Smoke Beers says you can do a simple infusion mash.

You can also boil the first runnings too. It gets some of that mallard caramelized taste of a decoction.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Check out this thread...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/index.php?threads/637254/

 

[Schlenkerla]

I chatted quite a bit with the owner of the Schlenkerla last year. I specifically asked if he used black malt. He said no emphatically. It's 100% smoked rauch malt.

The rauch malt is kilned over a wood fire. The kilning process makes some of the grain quite dark. So the Schlenkerla gets a mix of highly roasted grains into the their beer just doing it to old traditional malting method they have used for hundreds of years.

Truth be told English ales were like this too. Old brown ales used brown malt that was smoked until they invented the black patent barley roaster.

I have several recipes posted in the above thread and the smoke beers book if anybody wants more info.

 

[Schlenkerla]

This was last night's beer...

This is almost 100% home smoked Beechwood smoked rauchbier. I used 8oz of black malt.

Before this I was drinking an Irish Red with 3lbs of the base malt having rauch malt smoked with pistachio shells. It's a pretty mellow smoke. So are are peanut shells.

Oak is really nice smoke for malt.

It's good in Bock and Grätzer (oak smoked wheat beer). Grätzer is a great beer for Easter. Tastes like light beer with ham. LOL.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I visited Schlenkerla brewery a month ago, and we talked a bit with the brewmaster himself - wow
He said "einhundert prozent Rauchmalz" meaning: 100% smoked malt.

The "problem" is that they smoke their own malt, so maybe its more or less "smoky" than the beech smoked malt from Weyermann.

According to Smoke Beers authors (Geoff Larson & Ray Daniels) they both use the same method for smoking grain.

Weyerman's is going to be aged much longer. Aging is good but it diminishes the smoke flavor over time.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I have a recipe I can post later this evening when I get home. It's close to the Urbock, since that's what I was going for, but the real deal is smokier, likely due to the fact, as mentioned above, Schlenkerla smokes all the malt in the recipe, whereas with mine, only the Weyermann Rauchmalt is smoked. If you have the means to smoke all of your malts it will get you closer to the real thing and if you did that, I would suggest you also re-smoke the Rauchmalt. My recipe does make a nice Urbock, though, IMHO.

View attachment 596312

If you want to smoke malt, don't do rauch malt. Just do pale malt. It's not worth the extra cost. I have instructions in my thread for doing this.

 

[LLBeanJ]

If you want to smoke malt, don't do rauch malt. Just do pale malt. It's not worth the extra cost. I have instructions in my thread for doing this.

Yeah, that makes sense. I bought a 55 lb sack of Weyermann Beechwood Rauchmalt I'm currently working through. Will definitely try smoking my own at some point.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Yeah, that makes sense. I bought a 55 lb sack of Weyermann Beechwood Rauchmalt I'm currently working through. Will definitely try smoking my own at some point.

It's awesome... It allows you tons of flexibility.

Buying grain in bulk is great. You can make a lot of specially malts.

This morning I'm making my own 10L crystal malt in my instant pot.

 

[MaxStout]

Smoking your own malt would be the way to go, if you have the resources. I just bought the Daniels & Larson book, and smoking malt is on my agenda soon.

My experience with Weyermann beechwood rauch malt is that it's not all that smoky. My rauchbier, using almost all Weyermann beech, just didn't have that beautiful campfire-in-the-mouth flavor like the true Bamberg rauchbiers. My brew was good, but not as smoky as I would have liked. I also brewed a smoked porter with about 20% Weyermann in the grist. I could barely make out the smoke flavor. My guess is that the malt loses some smokiness during the long shipment. And possibly sitting for months in the LHBS.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I want to point out a mistake I made in post #9.

I cited a recipe from memory but it's the Marzen that I make all the time.

You can use that grist bill with an adjustment to just the base malt be it rauch or 50/50 rauch/Munich to hit the original gravity for the bock style guidelines. Keep the black malt at 4-8oz. Hop the same. Thinking 44 IBU.

This is what Larsen and Daniels recommends for rauchbock

 

[LLBeanJ]

Recipe added to post #8 above.

 

[Protos]

Necroposting again.

Schlenkerla's website mentions they store their Urbock in oak barrels.
Those who have tasted the real thing, what's your impression, is it oaky in any way?
I'm going to brew this soon and now I'm weighing options for adding oak cubes to the lagering vessel.

 

[Vale71]

No, it isn't. Beer barrels are always (with the exception maybe of Belgian sours) pitched so that there is no direct contact between beer and wood and no particulare taste is imparted to the beer. It's more about tradition than anything else.