Roast 'em, Toast 'em, Smoke 'em If you Got 'em

[triethylborane]

The oak finally arrived. Lol @ amazon prime two day shipping, that nonsense took over a week.

I talked with my LHBS owner, he is cool with me purchasing grain, smoking it, then coming back to mill . . . I dont own a mill nor do I buy bulk grain so this is how its going to go.

@Schlenkerla have you drank the Lentbeer? I asked my liquor store to get it in when it is available.

 

[Blackdirt_cowboy]

I’ve got my starter spinning away in preparation of brewing a rauchbier this weekend. The plan is to use all munich malt and tettnanger hops to try and simulate a rauchbier Eiche. Schlenkerla’s website says the Eiche uses 100% smoked malt. Am I correct in assuming that y’all think that because of the differences in Shlenkerla’s process and home smoking, that 100% smoke malt will be too much? If so, where do y’all recommend that I start, 50% smoked?

 

[Schlenkerla]

I’ve got my starter spinning away in preparation of brewing a rauchbier this weekend. The plan is to use all munich malt and tettnanger hops to try and simulate a rauchbier Eiche. Schlenkerla’s website says the Eiche uses 100% smoked malt. Am I correct in assuming that y’all think that because of the differences in Shlenkerla’s process and home smoking, that 100% smoke malt will be too much? If so, where do y’all recommend that I start, 50% smoked?

I'd say for your first beer with your process to make it at 50%, since you don't know how pervasive the smoke is in your malt. You don't want to make something you can't drink.

My cold smoked apple pellet beer with 50% malt is nearly that way. I've aged the malt and the beer a good long time. I smoked it in October. The beer has been done before Xmas.

It's pretty smokey with a bit of harshness. I'm on the fence about it, if it had more smoke malt it would be too much. I think that's an aspect of cold pellet smoking. It's really smoked profusely. More so than wood chips. I'm thinking pellets while good with food is not a good idea with malt. At least how I did it. Smoking slowly and gradually is the way to do it. Possibly use less pellets, so it's less smoke over a shorter time.

I'd go 50% until you know how strong your malt is with smoke.


Late Edit: I've been pleased with my malt at 50% using wood chips smoking about two hours. Using apple and then maple. The Apple pellets could be suitable but I'm thinking it's not at the same rate as I'd use wood chips. This is the first beer with pellets cold smoked about two hours. The beer is flat so I've been tasting relatively flat beer without having a full glass. My judgement is it's much more smokey than my wood chip beers.

The maple was smoked for like four hours and at elevated temps and is not as strong as the pellet. Maple is supposedly harsher too. What I read after the fact it's suggested to be used as a blend. It's not too much for me.

50% smoked malt is cautionary approach.

 

[Schlenkerla]

The oak finally arrived. Lol @ amazon prime two day shipping, that nonsense took over a week.

I talked with my LHBS owner, he is cool with me purchasing grain, smoking it, then coming back to mill . . . I dont own a mill nor do I buy bulk grain so this is how its going to go.

@Schlenkerla have you drank the Lentbeer? I asked my liquor store to get it in when it is available.

Yes I had the lent beer it's very similar to the Weizen and Marzen. Same smoke flavor. It was some time ago that I bought it. I can't recall if was closer to one or the other by memory. I'd have to look it up on their website.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Bagged some of my home roasted malts tonight. 5 lbs of Chocolate and 2lbs of Black malt.

Chocolate

Black

Bagged...

 

[Schlenkerla]

Closer look at the black malt...

It's essential for your Schlenkerla clones.

 

[triethylborane]

Smoked 3lbs munich dark and 3lbs of vienna with beech. Max temp was 92f. Used DI H20 @ 144ml/lb of grain, but for the cold smoke this is probably high. Smoked for 3.5 hrs and the grain was damp. Plenty of smoke though. So I brought the racks inside and let the downdraft dry it out overnight. Dry as a bone this AM and now in paper bags for 2weeks of aging in the basement.

With respect to the water volume used, I think I would halve the volume to 72ml/lb for cold smoking. At 90f there is substantial smoke being generated, though not the quantity of gases if the heat was higher. Hmm. Have to think about this one after seeing how this turns out.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Smoked 3lbs munich dark and 3lbs of vienna with beech. Max temp was 92f. Used DI H20 @ 144ml/lb of grain, but for the cold smoke this is probably high. Smoked for 3.5 hrs and the grain was damp. Plenty of smoke though. So I brought the racks inside and let the downdraft dry it out overnight. Dry as a bone this AM and now in paper bags for 2weeks of aging in the basement.


View attachment 556568 View attachment 556569

With respect to the water volume used, I think I would halve the volume to 72ml/lb for cold smoking. At 90f there is substantial smoke being generated, though not the quantity of gases if the heat was higher. Hmm. Have to think about this one after seeing how this turns out.

The water 3 cups per 5 lbs of grain was the "Smoked Beers" recommendation. Its barely enough to wet the grain in my opinion. I wet them for 15 minutes and flip the water-tight tub every 5 minutes. When I transfer the grain to the baskets there's no liquid left in the tub. The water is just a way for the smoke to stick to the grain. Low temps is good for minimal amounts undesirable elements coming in contact with your grain. Not everybody gets the same temp in their smoker, they don't have the same CFM flow, wood burn rate, volume of smoke and quality of smoke (free of resinous crap). That's kind of why I say it depends how much smoke your grains take up as to how much to add to your beer percentage-wise.

Glad you got it done without issue and that it dried quickly. If it didn't dry quickly then I'd think questioning the water would be advised. You could always add a low heat source. Like putting it in an oven with the light bulb on. My oven hits 145F with a 60 watt incandescence bulb. Your down draft was from forced air from your HVAC? Remember what your houses relative humidity is now, it will dry fast if its pretty dry. If its pretty humid maybe not so much. Its typically very dry in cold weather. Dryness of your grain can be quantified with weighing before and after smoking/drying.

Liked the pictures you posted!

 

[triethylborane]

The water 3 cups per 5 lbs of grain was the "Smoked Beers" recommendation. Its barely enough to wet the grain in my opinion. I wet them for 15 minutes and flip the water-tight tub every 5 minutes. When I transfer the grain to the baskets there's no liquid left in the tub. The water is just a way for the smoke to stick to the grain. Low temps is good for minimal amounts undesirable elements coming in contact with your grain. Not everybody gets the same temp in their smoker, they don't have the same CFM flow, wood burn rate, volume of smoke and quality of smoke (free of resinous crap). That's kind of why I say it depends how much smoke your grains take up as to how much to add to your beer percentage-wise.

Glad you got it done without issue and that it dried quickly. If it didn't dry quickly then I'd think questioning the water would be advised. You could always add a low heat source. Like putting it in an oven with the light bulb on. My oven hits 145F with a 60 watt incandescence bulb. Your down draft was from forced air from your HVAC? Remember what your houses relative humidity is now, it will dry fast if its pretty dry. If its pretty humid maybe not so much. Its typically very dry in cold weather. Dryness of your grain can be quantified with weighing before and after smoking/drying.

Liked the pictures you posted!

Ill tinker with the moisture level a bit in the future. In CO relative humidity trends towards dry, during the winter it is very dry. Summer in CO is not humid either, I lived in Michigan and St Louis, that is fookin humid.

So for sure, since this is my first go at brewing a rauchbier or even smoking malt, I will have to make adjustments . . . or maybe not and things are dialed in from the get go (doubt it).

The rear downdraft is a ventilation system for my rangetop. The design of the house would not permit installation of a hood in that location so the downdraft is required. It is a standalone system, just sucks away at the atmosphere, no heat. My oven has a proofing temp, but ive never used that feature and I dont know what temp it is. Ill have to look at that, but the procedure used yesterday worked.

Thanks for the tips knowledge etc!

 

[triethylborane]

Checked on the smoked malt today. The smell has intensified over the past week and there is a certain sweet scent from the beech that is developing. The grain is dry and I plan on brewing this upcoming weekend. Getting starters prepped this week so there are no issues.

Also confirmed with my liquor store they will be getting a case of the Fastenbier.

 

[Schlenkerla]

This bitch is smokey....

....but tasty.. Apple pellet smoked.

 

[Schlenkerla]

This Apple pellet smoked beer is rather smokey, it's much smoother with time and carbonation.

- Or -

I'm getting used to the amount of smoke. I will say it's smokey from top to bottom. The smoke taste doesn't fade much.

I think a beach smoked beer is next with a lot of black malt. Possibly a stout with some left over maple smoked malt and a pound of home roasted black malt. Decisions, decisions..... Hmm.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Drinking two fisted tonight.

My rauchbier against Schlenkerla...

Funny thing, the vintage Miller High Life (my Rauchbier) pint is very similar to the Schlenkerla glass and bottles. It was unplanned, more of a coincidence.

View attachment 558916

 

[Schlenkerla]

Surprisingly, both beers are very similar. My rauchbier is spot on for the Marzen. By the way, Urbock is virtually like the Marzen with the exception of a 20% grain boost. Both Munich & Black Malts

 

[RevKev]

Surprisingly, both beers are very similar. My rauchbier is spot on for the Marzen. By the way, Urbock is virtually like the Marzen with the exception of a 20% grain boost. Both Munich & Black Malts


View attachment 558920

Damn you. Now I need to try these beers I will be licking up at least a marzen tomorrow

 

[Schlenkerla]

Damn you. Now I need to try these beers I will be licking up at least a marzen tomorrow

I know you're a foodie...

Make sure to have something smokey for dinner to go with these beers. A smoked ham is an easy option. If its lunch, a club BLT with hickory smoked bacon. I personally prefer ham or smoked pork chop. Smoked kielbasa is very good too. Add German potato salad to that.

Rauchbier goes good with anything grilled, smoked or stir fried and a little spicey. Country style BBQ, grilled Mexican, Asian hibachi or wok. Something that's been browned well.

I have a maple smoked brown ale that was made with maple-brown rauch malt, amber and pale malt. Then I added maple syrup to the lauter to dry out the beer. For that beer I made maple breakfast sausage, with a potato, onion and pepper medley. That was a pretty good combo. I made the medley spicy with black pepper. The maple sausage wasn't smoked, I just browned it well. Open baked at 325F in the oven for an hour. Uncovered then covered for the last 30 minutes.

If you like Mexican, try a puree of chipotles in adobo smeared over flank steak or milanesa, possible boneless skinless chicken or thin cut pork chops. Then broil or grill to perfection. Afterwards I like to chop them up and serve them on tacos with caramelized onions. It's freakishly amazing with this beer.

 

[RevKev]

I know you're a foodie...

Make sure to have something smokey for dinner to go with these beers. A smoked ham is an easy option. If its lunch, a club BLT with hickory smoked bacon. I personally prefer ham or smoked pork chop. Smoked kielbasa is very good too. Add German potato salad to that.

Rauchbier goes good with anything grilled, smoked or stir fried and a little spicey. Country style BBQ, grilled Mexican, Asian hibachi or wok. Something that's been browned well.

I have a maple smoked brown ale that was made with maple-brown rauch malt, amber and pale malt. Then I added maple syrup to the lauter to dry out the beer. For that beer I made maple breakfast sausage, with a potato, onion and pepper medley. That was a pretty good combo. I made the medley spicy with black pepper. The maple sausage wasn't smoked, I just browned it well. Open baked at 325F in the oven for an hour. Uncovered then covered for the last 30 minutes.

If you like Mexican, try a puree of chipotles in adobo smeared over flank steak or milanesa, possible boneless skinless chicken or thin cut pork chops. Then broil or grill to perfection. Afterwards I like to chop them up and serve them on tacos with caramelized onions. It's freakishly amazing with this beer.

You have given me so many ideas................ Yes.

 

[Schlenkerla]

This is;

This is a bowl of black peppered bacon, a medley of potatoes, onions and peppers topped with a blend of Monterey Jack, and Asadero cheese.

The medley is fried in bacon drippings.

Drinking a Apple smoked rauchbier.

 

[Schlenkerla]

 

[Schlenkerla]

Dinner Tonight;

Apple smoked rauchbier, Chipotle Turkey-Tit Medallions with stir fried Hickory Smoked Bacon, Onion, and Green Beans.

Cheers with Rauchbier!!!!

 

[Schlenkerla]

I’ve got my starter spinning away in preparation of brewing a rauchbier this weekend. The plan is to use all munich malt and tettnanger hops to try and simulate a rauchbier Eiche. Schlenkerla’s website says the Eiche uses 100% smoked malt. Am I correct in assuming that y’all think that because of the differences in Shlenkerla’s process and home smoking, that 100% smoke malt will be too much? If so, where do y’all recommend that I start, 50% smoked?

Have you tasted your beer yet?

Checked on the smoked malt today. The smell has intensified over the past week and there is a certain sweet scent from the beech that is developing. The grain is dry and I plan on brewing this upcoming weekend. Getting starters prepped this week so there are no issues.

Also confirmed with my liquor store they will be getting a case of the Fastenbier.

How'd brew day go? I bet you liked stirring the smokey mash.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Damn you. Now I need to try these beers I will be licking up at least a marzen tomorrow

Did you find these at your local liquor store?

 

[Blackdirt_cowboy]

I just got around to brewing my beer yesterday. It is fermenting nicely at 48°. I took y’alls advice and used half of my home smoked malt and half of the regular malt. It smelled wonderful. If it tastes half as good as it smells, it will be awesome. I overshot my OG just a bit. I was aiming for 1.081, but actually hit 1.084. Can’t wait for this one to finish up.

 

[RevKev]

Did you find these at your local liquor store?

All versions didn't know what to try.. They have the doppelbock, urbock, marzen and other 4 styles..

 

[Schlenkerla]

All versions didn't know what to try.. They have the doppelbock, urbock, marzen and other 4 styles..

Try all of them!

They are pricey. You could get two of one beer just to get a good judge of the beer or get the top two, drinking the Marzen first. Like I said, have it with something smokey to eat. If you're just snacking, smoked sausage, or fresh smoked ham and cheese would be great.

The Urbock is the best, most liked by me and my friends. It's the Maltiest and smokeiest beer. A good drinker at 6.5%

Nearly all of their beers are smoked with beech. The only ones not smoked with beech is the Helles and the Doppelbock. The Helles is smokey from the plumbing alone. The Doppelbock is oak smoked.

The lent beer might be the freshest beer. I imagine the top three move though their inventory the most.

My favorites are in this order.

1) Urbock
2) Marzen
3) Doppelbock
4) Weizen
5) Lent or Fasten
6) Helles
7) Krausen - I haven't tried.

http://www.schlenkerla.de/rauchbier/sorten/sortene.html

 

[RevKev]

Try all of them!

They are pricey. You could get two of one beer just to get a good judge of the beer or get the top two, drinking the Marzen first. Like I said, have it with something smokey to eat. If you're just snacking, smoked sausage, or fresh smoked ham and cheese would be great.

The Urbock is the best, most liked by me and my friends. It's the Maltiest and smokeiest beer. A good drinker at 6.5%

Nearly all of their beers are smoked with beech. The only ones not smoked with beech is the Helles and the Doppelbock. The Helles is smokey from the plumbing alone. The Doppelbock is oak smoked.

The lent beer might be the freshest beer. I imagine the top three move though their inventory the most.

My favorites are in this order.

1) Urbock
2) Marzen
3) Doppelbock
4) Weizen
5) Lent or Fasten
6) Helles
7) Krausen - I haven't tried.

http://www.schlenkerla.de/rauchbier/sorten/sortene.html

What do you think is the most palatable without having much smoked beer experience the doppelbock or helles?

I will make my way through them eventually [emoji16]

 

[triethylborane]

Have you tasted your beer yet?

How'd brew day go? I bet you liked stirring the smokey mash.

Actually didnt brew it yet. Wife came down with a virus and then I got it, its been a shi tty couple of weeks. Went down yesterday to check on the smoked malt after seeing your quote notification, very smoky. Its only gained intensity.

 

[Schlenkerla]

What do you think is the most palatable without having much smoked beer experience the doppelbock or helles?

I will make my way through them eventually [emoji16]

The Doppelbock is more malty and has a good oak taste. Whereas the Helles is without the malt backbone to go with the smoke.

Try the Doppelbock. The Helles is for a day of busy drinking since its a session. I would not want Helles to be your first exposure to Schlenkerla.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Actually didnt brew it yet. Wife came down with a virus and then I got it, its been a shi tty couple of weeks. Went down yesterday to check on the smoked malt after seeing your quote notification, very smoky. Its only gained intensity.

Hope you get to feeling better. Aging your malt mellows it, so it's a good thing for your planned beer.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Random thought of the day.......

I think I need to take my Miller light clone and make it with rauch and black malt.