Smoked IPA? A little scared.....

[ZmannR2]

So I took the austin homebrew recipe of their Texas Inpendence Ale and added to the hops on it.

The grains include 1 lb of Mesquite 2 row malt and this is for a 5 gallon batch.

The original recipe called for
1.25 oz amarillo bittering,
1 oz Amarillo aroma, and
1.75 oz Amarillo dry hop

That makes it about 29 IBU's if I remember correctly.

I changed it and made it
1 oz amarillo - 60 mins
1 oz columbus - 30 mins
1 oz amarillo - 15 mins
1 oz amarillo - hop stand for 15 mins
1 oz columbus, 1 oz citra - dry hop

LOL!! I increased the IBU's to 63.

However I have since read that smoke and hops tend to clash, has anyone ever experienced that? I'm worried my beer won't be any good.....it was kegged yesterday and will be carbonated fully by a day or two from now. I'll find out soon and will update this thread, I'm just curious what you guys think I should be expecting? I did sample it prior to kegging and can taste the smoke but still can't decide if it's good or not. Tasted like a good IPA but with something different.

Any thoughts?

 

[kh54s10]

I have never read that smoked malts and hops will clash. Maybe certain varieties. 1 pound of mesquite is not a lot, IMO. I have made quite a few smoked beers and all of them used some amount of hops. Some a fair amount. Some of the smoked malts are intense and others not so much. One for instance that you want to use in small amounts is Peat Smoked Malt. I typically use only about 1/10th of a pound. Sometimes along with larger amounts of milder smoked malts.

Not to sure on your hop schedule change but the smoked malt should not be a factor. Just the IBU level.

 

[ZmannR2]

Looking back, I don't think the citra was a good idea. At least it was just a dry hop and will only affect aroma.....we'll see!

Thanks tho

 

[passedpawn]

One of my favorite beers in the whole world is Cigar City's Humidor-series IPA. I think it's just their wonderful Jai Alai IPA, but aged on spanish cedar (which is what cigar boxes are made of, and is VERY aromatic). I've made a clone too.

So, do hops and wood aroma/flavor clash? Nah.

 

[kh54s10]

Looking back, I don't think the citra was a good idea. At least it was just a dry hop and will only affect aroma.....we'll see!

Thanks tho

Why do you think the Citra was a bad idea? I have seen a lot of recipes using Amarillo and Citra. Probably a lot of those used Columbus also.

 

[ZmannR2]

Why do you think the Citra was a bad idea? I have seen a lot of recipes using Amarillo and Citra. Probably a lot of those used Columbus also.

I guess in my mind a citrusy aroma wouldn't go well with smoke. But then again, you're right, Amarillo is a bit citrusy

 

[passedpawn]

Woops, nevermind. I just realized I posted about wood aging, not smoked malts. Derp.

 

[kh54s10]

Columbus - "Earthy, spicy, pungent with some citrus overtones.

I think a smoky, citrusy beer would be nice.

I made a Brown Ale "Cascade Wildfire".

6.75 Maris Otter
1.65 C-75
1.05 Oak Smoked Wheat Malt
.5 C-120
.5 Roasted Barley
.2 Peat Smoked Malt

.5 Columbus 60 min
1 oz Cascade 0 min
1 oz Centennial 0 min.

BRY-97 yeast

It was great!

 

[Abilor]

Columbus - "Earthy, spicy, pungent with some citrus overtones.

I think a smoky, citrusy beer would be nice.

I made a Brown Ale "Cascade Wildfire".

6.75 Maris Otter
1.65 C-75
1.05 Oak Smoked Wheat Malt
.5 C-120
.5 Roasted Barley
.2 Peat Smoked Malt

.5 Columbus 60 min
1 oz Cascade 0 min
1 oz Centennial 0 min.

BRY-97 yeast

It was great!

I recently added 0.1 pounds of peated malt and .1 pounds of Beechwood malt to a Scotch Ale. How pronounced was your smoke flavor? I'm looking for a big blast of smoke in mine...

 

[ZmannR2]

Thanks for making me feel more at ease guys! I'll be sure to report back

I recently added 0.1 pounds of peated malt and .1 pounds of Beechwood malt to a Scotch Ale. How pronounced was your smoke flavor? I'm looking for a big blast of smoke in mine...

I had a very tiny sample so not 100% but it was definitely there....on blacklands malts website, which is the malts that were used, they have these as descriptors of what the flavors are:

Mesquite: Texas Brisket
Oak: Classic Campfire
Birch: Pine & Resin
Cherry: Sweet & Spicy
Apple: Sweet & Clean

And I won't lie, this mesquite in mine kinda did add a flavor of brisket to it! Weird but didn't seem bad....I'll know more soon

 

[kh54s10]

I recently added 0.1 pounds of peated malt and .1 pounds of Beechwood malt to a Scotch Ale. How pronounced was your smoke flavor? I'm looking for a big blast of smoke in mine...

It was not too extreme. I would use more of most smoked malts except for peat smoked malt. It gets overwhelming pretty easily.

Another one:
Mesquite Smoke

7 lb Rahr 2 row
2.5 lbs Mesquite Smoked Malt
1 lb C-40
1 lb flaked oats

.5 oz Nugget 60 min
1 oz Cascade 15 min
1 oz Cascade 0 min

US05

Again not excessively smokey - very good.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I once brewed a Scotch ale that contained a small, but noticeable amount of peat smoked malt and at the last minute decided to make it "hoppy." Totally ruined the beer. I drank it, but didn't really enjoy it. My takeaway from that was that hops and smoked malt are not a good combo.

 

[ZmannR2]

Ugh! Being torn in two directions now! Lol

 

[Abilor]

I once brewed a Scotch ale that contained a small, but noticeable amount of peat smoked malt and at the last minute decided to make it "hoppy." Totally ruined the beer. I drank it, but didn't really enjoy it. My takeaway from that was that hops and smoked malt are not a good combo.

Yeah, I heard that. I felt heavy handed adding an oz. of Kent Goldings at 15 minutes left. That should be pretty mellow though. No dry hopping for sure.

 

[kh54s10]

I once brewed a Scotch ale that contained a small, but noticeable amount of peat smoked malt and at the last minute decided to make it "hoppy." Totally ruined the beer. I drank it, but didn't really enjoy it. My takeaway from that was that hops and smoked malt are not a good combo.

I think there would be a big difference between a "hopped" smoke beer and a "hoppy" smoked beer. For me I would want the smoke to be the dominant sensation. A little amount of hops would not overpower the smoke flavor. Too much and you might get a "burnt hop" flavor.

As you can see from the 2 recipes I posted, they had hops, but not a huge amount.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I think there would be a big difference between a "hopped" smoke beer and a "hoppy" smoked beer. For me I would want the smoke to be the dominant sensation. A little amount of hops would not overpower the smoke flavor. Too much and you might get a "burnt hop" flavor.

As you can see from the 2 recipes I posted, they had hops, but not a huge amount.

I should've been more clear. I when I say "hoppy," I'm talking about hops in the finish, specifically late hops that contribute more to flavor and aroma than bitterness. For the brew I experienced, both flavors were prominent and did not complement each other in any way. Of course, this was my own opinion and I would not expect everyone to share it. Some folks may actually really enjoy that combination, but I can say with a high degree of certainty that I don't.

 

[ZmannR2]

Well I just tasted it.....but I'm recovering from a cold and my throat is a little harsh. I can say the hops flavor is VERY present and the only hint of smoke I get is at the very end.....like way past swallowing. Just kinda comes around and says hi after a good while......it's not bad!

But I really gotta get over this cold to really tell. I'll try again next week