Smoking - Rauchbier Hickory

[barneey]

I'm back brewing again (tomorrow 04/01/2024), following my hiatus in 2023. This time a Hickory Smoked Beer, fairly simple recipe (except for smoking the malt )

Hickory Smoked Malt
Munich II
CaraVienna
Carafa Special 2
Hops, Tettnang flower and pellet
80% RO Water + 20% Tap Water for the Mash (My tap is circ 260 CACO3,mg/l)
Sparge 100% Ro Water.

Yeast, I would normally use a Wyeast Lager, but 1) I don't have any 2) even if I did have some I haven't made a starter, so will use a packet of Northern Europe ale and still lager after fermentation.

Grain all crushed, water to be collected tonight, equipment being cleaned, tonight, the good old trusted G30 (which is a bit like triggers broom) but is still going strong since circ 2014 so nearly 10 years old now. FV = GF

No tilts or spindles just the good old fashioned leave it for a week or so, until I have the time to keg.

Should be a straight forward easy brewday, famous last words.

[Cobnut]

Sounds rather similar to the beer I have cold crashing in my fermenter using the smoked malt you kindly sent me over a year ago, except I used Saaz hops and a lager yeast. Very much looking forward to tasting this beer in a month or two.

Cheers!

[barneey]

Give it a few months & I think a bottle exchange might be a very good idea

[barneey]

Brew day is here, everything is clean, the GFFV has also been steamed. Mash water is up to temp, just waiting for the sparge water to heat up. Grain all crushed, what very little water treatment is weighed and will be added to the liquor shortly.

As I am using a combination of FB and spring to filter, the hops will be a mixture of flower and pellet, thus enabling a quick clear up after the brew and whilst also providing a good additional filter going into the FV.

Ground water temps are low this time of year so might have to throttle back when cooling later.

[barneey]

23l in the FV, should end up depending on the yeast action at around 6%

[Jocky]

Did you smoke the malt yourself?

[barneey]

Did you smoke the malt yourself?

Yes, as far as I know you cannot buy Hickory Smoked Malt.

Its also interesting that until a few months or so a go I didn't realise that there was a Schlenkerla Weichsel Rotbier on the market. A couple of years back I did a smoked Cherry wood and then later a Smoked Apple beer, based loosely on the above recipe. Both beers were a very mild Smokey taste compared to say Beech / MisQ or Oak. Blending woods can also result in good beers.

The one big thing you need to be very careful of is smoking your own malt is any acrid flavours it might impart on the finished product / combined with careful water treatment so as not expand on any of these off flavours.

[barneey]

Yeast is also another important factor, the Wyeast would be my yeast of choice, although for best results a significant starter is required, or brew a smaller smoked beer to begin with and yeast cake it with a later one. I have used other "lager" yeast in the past but to date would recommend any others.

With an original Wyeast, I have used it with 4 subsequent smoked brews so whilst the initial outlay of circ. £10 for a pouch is somewhat @*#£ if you back to back ferments its relatively cheap.

[Cobnut]

Give it a few months & I think a bottle exchange might be a very good idea