Spider's Tongue German Rauchbier

[Qeelin]

Has anyone brewed this from Papazian's "Joy of Home Brewing"? Here's the recipe:

10 lbs German Rauchmalt
1/2 lb Crystal Malt 40L

1 oz German Hersbrucker-Hallertauer
3/4 oz Crystal hops
1/4 oz Crystal hops (for dry hopping)

O.G. 1.052-1.056
F.G. 1.012-1.016
22 IBU
14 SRM

My question is this. Doesn't 10 lbs of smoked malt seem a bit much? All the other recipes I've come across have half as much Rauchmalt as this. I love anything smoked (including beer) but I don't want to over do it. The book says that it is equal to the best you can find in Bamberg, Germany (where this beer is a tradition). It also says that it may seem like a lot of smoke but it is quite close to the recipe used in Bamberg. I'm a budget brewer and I don't want to waist almost $30 on the ingredients for a beer that is undrinkable.

 

[ghpeel]

There's a lot of variability in the intensity of smoked malt. Maybe Pap's version used smoked malt that was many months old, and therefor weaker in smokey strength. Remember, there was no "NorthernBrewer.com" back in his day when those recipes were formulated and he probably was mail-ordering his malts from god-knows-where.

I'd say use 1/3rd Weyerman Smoked and 2/3 Weyerman Pilsner as a starting point. If you're using your LHBS to get your malt, find out how fresh their stuff is. Factor that in if you repeat the recipe and want to increase the % of smoked malt.

 

[Qeelin]

That's a good idea. I also read that each maltier smokes their malt differently so it would depend on where the malt came from as much as how old it is. I'll take your advice and lower it for my first batch.