smoked mead

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alaktheman

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So a good friend of mine really likes scotch and the smokiness of it. I was wondering if anyone here knew of a good recipe for a good smoked mead. I'm looking for something that doesn't require me to add liquid smoke. I'm looking for more of a smoked peaty thing.
 
Been considering much the same thing... But have pegged my hopes to Lapsang Souchong smoked black tea as my 'smokiness' source.
Maybe that smoked peat would work better.. I dunno anything about it, whereas I know I like a cup of Lapsang.
 
 
How much smoked peat malt would be recommended for a medium smokey flavor for a 5 gallon batch of Mead?
 
I experimented with different levels of toasted oak. My recommendation is simply make a mead, then Oak it with Heavy Toasted Oak.

Use about 1-2 oz of heavy toasted oak left in prior to bottling for about a month. I like to put it in a mesh bag so that you can remove it easier.

Not sure about the peat taste but this will get the smokeyness in there.

Matrix4b
 
Smoked my own grains a while back and used part of them to make a smokey braggot. It turned out a little too smokey, but great thing about meads is they blend well. I usually also have some plain mead on hand for blending. Blended it down a bit with the plain mead and it was delicious.
 
alaktheman said:
How much smoked peat malt would be recommended for a medium smokey flavor for a 5 gallon batch of Mead?
Click to expand...


I mentioned peat malt, because that's typically used in scotch (which I assume based on your first post you may be wanting to share this mead with the scotch loving friend of yours). I've seen some recipes (again, only beer, not mead for my own experience), use anywhere from 2-4 ounces for a 5 gal batch, and others use a lot more. I believe there's an all-peat-malt thread somewhere on here.

I'd recommend picking up a bottle of something like Laphroiag scotch (which for some might taste like liquid smoke). It's on the very high end of the peaty smokey flavor. If that's overwhelming to you, I'd start with 1/4-1/2 lb and go from there. For some 1/2 lb in a 5 gal batch might be too much, and for others its nominal. It's one of those flavors you either love or hate, although it can effectively be used as an accent malt. I've done a pale ale recipe a couple times (AHS's summer Irish ale) that uses 2 oz peat malt that you can't really pick out the flavor in particular, but it definitely adds some complexity to it.
 
Laphroiag scotch cost about $50 a bottle so I went with Mc'Clellands Islay which was $20. So I'll taste that to see what it's like.
 
alaktheman said:
How did you go about smoking your own grains?
Click to expand...

Easy. Roasted base 2-row first in the oven to Amber color. Then smoked on the BBQ using Kahun nuts (a palm nut which is small and rock hard with a meaty core that is like oily and very intense coconut (tons of them at my place in Guatemala). Very intense so have to use it sparingly.

There is a thread here on smoking grains. Also a good little Kindle book on Amazon by a homebrewer.
 
alaktheman said:
Laphroiag scotch cost about $50 a bottle so I went with Mc'Clellands Islay which was $20. So I'll taste that to see what it's like.
Click to expand...


Lol. Good call. Pretty much most Islay scotches will be heavy on the peat malt. I had one called Smokey Joe once (a gift from someone, so not sure how much it was, but assuming it was cheaper), but was equally strong in the peat category. All you need is a reference point.
 
OK Mc'Clelland's is way to smokey and peaty. I do like the smokiness and peaty flavours but just not in those quantities.
 
alaktheman said:
How much smoked peat malt would be recommended for a medium smokey flavor for a 5 gallon batch of Mead?
Click to expand...

Depends on how much smoke/peat flavor you want. I'd start with 4 oz & go from there. If it's not smoky enough, you can always add more. You could simply steep the smoked malt in the water then add the honey to the hot water & mix well. You'll have to taste the wort to see if it's smoky enough. Steep at 158*F for 30 min - 1 hr.
Regards, GF.
 
gratus fermentatio said:
Depends on how much smoke/peat flavor you want. I'd start with 4 oz & go from there. If it's not smoky enough, you can always add more. You could simply steep the smoked malt in the water then add the honey to the hot water & mix well. You'll have to taste the wort to see if it's smoky enough. Steep at 158*F for 30 min - 1 hr.
Regards, GF.
Click to expand...

Interested in seeing how this turns out.

Just want to clarify the instructions, since it seems like the OP might only have experience with mead, not beer brewing.

- Measure and crush grain. LHBS could crush it for you, if you don't have a mill. For this purpose, you could probably also use a food processor for this small amount, since you're just steeping it.
- Place grains in steeping bag (muslin sack, large strainer bag, etc). If you don't have a bag to steep in, you could add crushed grain directly to water, then run the water through a mesh strainer to filter out the grain.
- Steep grain in hot water as specified above (158F for 30 min-1 hr). Exact temperature is not super critical here.
- Mix your honey into the hot water
- Proceed with other additions (nutrients, yeast, etc) as normal
 
alaktheman said:
OK Mc'Clelland's is way to smokey and peaty. I do like the smokiness and peaty flavours but just not in those quantities.
Click to expand...


Yeah, they're not too subtle. As mentioned, it would be recommended to start small (4-6 oz) and go from there. I suppose, though I've never tried this so this may be a bad idea, you could also add a shot (or few) of the heavily peated Islay scotch to the finished mead if you need to "adjust" the smoked peat flavor. Probably a couple shots wouldn't affect the overall ABV in the whole batch by too much. I occasionally blend a very small splash of Islay malt to other scotches (if I end up with a bottle of something I'm not too fond of, or that is too bland for my tastes) to bump up the peat flavor. A little goes a very long way.
 
I'm not a huge fan of blending spirits into my meads. But as for adding that smoked peat flavour how much would need to be added to achieve a strong smoked peat flavour like in the scotch? I have no reference to know what is a lot of smoked peat malt vs a low quantity.
 
I had asked a similar question about that 100% peat malt ale. Sounds like the results from the above noted post were strong peat aroma, but not necessarily the same intensity in the flavor dept. I've personally only used up to 4 oz in a light colored but full bodied pale ale (5.5% ABV). It is hardly noticeable as a distinct ingredient, but it does add some nice character. If you want to notice it, I'd start at least 6-8 oz, and experiment from there.
 
Well my plan is to make a Mead or braggot with peat malt. So I'm not sure how many oz I will need for a medium smoked peat flavour.
 
alaktheman said:
Well my plan is to make a Mead or braggot with peat malt. So I'm not sure how many oz I will need for a medium smoked peat flavour.
Click to expand...

You could always do some taste tests. Try steeping a 1/2 oz in a 1/2 gallon of water @ roughly 158*F for 1 hour; then taste it & see if that's smoky enough for you. If not, steep another 1/2 oz in the same water at the same temp for the same time, then taste again. Keep doing this till you get the level of smoke flavor you like. You'll likely want to cool your tasting sample before tasting, at least to room temp. This will give you a pretty good idea as to how many oz per gallon of smoked and/or peated malt to use in your mead.
Regards, GF.
 
Maybe consider making two meads, 1 with enough to notice (say 1-2 lbs), and one with the same recipe but without any peat. If the peat batch is too much, blend with the non-peat batch (maybe like 1/4 gal at a time), which should give you a rough idea of how much to add or take away the next time around. It's all about experimenting. Peat malt seems to be a very personal taste. Some love it quite strong, others are disgusted by the flavor and/or aroma of an Islay scotch. I'm somewhere in middle, and not sure how this would translate to meads. Blending two meads may be a decent way to find your sweet spot.
 
I made a smoked jalapeno braggot a number of years ago, using smoked malt picked up at Home Brew Party in San Antonio. A word of caution--just a little bit of smoked malt goes a long way. The resulting smokiness overwhelmed everything. Not a good drinker at all, but it turned out to be great to cook with.
 
jblaschke said:
I made a smoked jalapeno braggot a number of years ago, using smoked malt picked up at Home Brew Party in San Antonio. A word of caution--just a little bit of smoked malt goes a long way. The resulting smokiness overwhelmed everything. Not a good drinker at all, but it turned out to be great to cook with.
Click to expand...

Try blending it down with a plain mead. Worked great for me when I overshot smoked malt.
 

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