# Smoking Malts/Grains



## goingcamping (Oct 29, 2013)

Howdy all!

Okay, so a few months back one of my neighbors and I talked about making a smoked beer. Traditionally, in Germany anyway, there's a type of beer called Rauchbier. It is a traditional German smoked beer, it utilizes Beechwood smoked malt (most of you home brewers probably know it better than I?)

Well I had maple wood pellets and at that time was in a love affair with everything I smoked with it...butt, brisket, ribs, peppers, etc...

So we smoked about 8.5 lbs of Vienna malt for about 4 hours @ 140*F. Anyway, the beer had a great smoked flavor (reminiscent of bacon) and it has mellowed over time! It's still a great smoked beer and according to my neighbor (he's a certified beer judge...and maybe a little biased?) it really hit the mark; although, because of the wood choice, it might be a tad sweeter than a traditional Rauchbier??

So, you might ask, why am I telling you this? We are gearing up for another beer...most likely a very heavily smoked porter! I'm looking for insight/ideas?

I do know I want to lightly mist the grist with purified water prior to smoking...making sure the grains are dried prior to grinding?!

Thing is...I love beer almost as much as I love smoked stuff!

~Brett


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## venture (Oct 29, 2013)

This forum is just a trip!

I always thought smoked beer was what I got from standing by the smoker so long.

Now somebody takes it to the next level?

Good luck and good smoking.


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## tc fish bum (Oct 30, 2013)

try adding this; up the hops, make a heavy porter- high malt bill, and oak age it for about 2wks-mth in secondary. if you can get your grain to hop profile on you will end up with a funky smoky farm housey porter. i do a pretty  infamous porter for my friends but i have never smoked it. thanks for the idea , ive gotta try it now.


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## ibbones (Oct 30, 2013)

I just read an article in Brew Your Own about this same topic and I had the same idea.  I have some bulk 2 row with about two ounces of hops and was thinking about misting the grain, then smoking it for a while the day before I brew.  I even thought about adding some hot peppers to it to get a smoky, spicy beer.


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## bdawg (Oct 30, 2013)

Ah - Rauchbier!  One of my favorites!

Smoking low at 140 with beechwood using a flavorful malt like Vienna is about as traditional as you will get.  It is the formula for Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, world famous as the best example of the style..

Alaskan Smoked Porter is another fantastic beer, so I agree, there is NO problem making a nice big smoked porter like that at all.

I would not smoke the hops, though.  The hop resins are very heat and oxygen sensitive.  (In fact, you should store them vacuum packed and in the freezer!)   Stick with smoking the malt.  Too much smoke will cause harsh off flavors to emerge - like the residual from an electrical fire.

HTH-

Steve


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## goingcamping (Oct 30, 2013)

BDawg said:


> Ah - Rauchbier!  One of my favorites!
> Smoking low at 140 with beechwood using a flavorful malt like Vienna is about as traditional as you will get.  It is the formula for Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, world famous as the best example of the style..
> 
> Alaskan Smoked Porter is another fantastic beer, so I agree, there is NO problem making a nice big smoked porter like that at all.
> ...



Steve,

The title was a SNAFU...I meant hops, but my simple mind got the better of me...I 100% agree with your opinion of caring for hops and not smoking them!:cheers:

If you read the body I don't mention hops, but grains...

Sorry for the confusion!

~Brett


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