Smokey Dry Stout?

[Mattbastard]

I put this on the NB forum because it's really buggin' me and I want to put out a couple feelers for more coverage.

6# Rahr 2-row
1# Flaked Barley
.5# Chocolate malt
.5# Roasted Barley
.8oz NB 10.4% at 60 min
1pk rehydrated US-05

Pretty standard recipe, right? Well, it's been out of the primary for 2 weeks now and the smokey taste hasn't gone anywhere. With about 15 of my last beers if I've had a "flavor" out of the primary, it ain't going anywhere in the duration it takes me to drink it. Most of my beers aren't cellar beers so the taste it's got stays until it's gone as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, rather smokey flavor and slight aroma. Is this normal with the grains I've used? Last time I used RB was in Jamil's McQuaker OS, and that used a whole pound, but it wasn't even close to this flavor. This flavor came from something and I'd like to know. It's almost like a burnt flavor, but I didn't boil any different from the last 15 er so beers.

Could old grain do this? It's been over a year since I used my surplus of RB. It stays in tupperware containers, but my basement isn't all that dry in the summer.

 

[kanzimonson]

I've definitely gotten a little bit of smokey flavor from darker malts, though I'm usually using more like a full pound of chocolate.

I notice this flavor disappears in my beers at about the 4 week mark, but that's weird you see it lingering throughout. Maybe it's some sort of oxidation? The flavor that most people describe as cardboardy tastes more like overly toasty, grainy, husky flavors to me - it took awhile to realize that's how I perceive oxidation. Maybe those old grains are throwing the flavors off.

 

[Mattbastard]

Bump for the weekday crowd