Red/Smoke Ale Partial Critique

[Silikyan]

I hope everyone's fall brewing is in full swing! I've got a Pumpkin Spiced Porter hanging out in my secondary right now, but I'm already itching to put another brew together.

This time of year always makes me think of the warmth and smell of a fire on a cold fall day, so I got to thinking about a nice Amber Ale with a bit of that smokiness that I love so much about Fall.

Here's what I've got, any feedback would be great:

Fireplace Red

Fermentables:
Munich Malt - 2lbs
US 2-Row - 1lbs
Roasted Barley - .4lbs
Crystal 60L - .25lbs
Rauch (smoked) Malt .25lbs

Hops:
1 oz Amarillo 60 min
.5 oz Amarillo 30 min
.5 oz Amarillo 15 min

Yeast:
White Labs WLP060 American Ale Blend

If you've got experience using smoked malt, I'd love to hear about it. I'm not going for a really heavy smoke favor, just enough to be noticeable.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

That sounds very very tasty

Just make sure it isn't peat smoked =(

 

[Jebu1788]

It seems like you left something out. How much, and what type of extract are you using? My guess is .4lbs of roasted barley (check the lovibond I've seen 350-500!) may leave it quite dark. And mostly: 0.25lbs of beechwood smoked malts would be on the edge of not even detectable smokiness I would think. If you want it to be noticeable as smoke, but still subtle, I'd suggest maybe a pound. (but as Reno pointed out, make sure it's not peat! Stick to beechwood when you want rauch malt.)

 

[Silikyan]

Damn, you're right. I left off 4lbs of Extra Light DME. I was wondering about the amount of smoked malt (definitely not peat!) to use. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Meh, if you're only using 4# of extra light and ~4# of grain then I think 0.25 - 0.5# of rauch malt will be just fine for subtle notes. Use a full pound for "hmm, this is a bit smokey"