66% - Deer Creek Pale Malt
17% - Deer Creek Alder Wood Smoked Pilsner
9% - Simpsons Medium Crystal (65L)
4% - Crisp Pale Chocolate (220L)
4% - Carafa II
24 IBU Magnum @30 minutes
10 IBU Willamette @15 Minutes
4 IBU Willamette @5 Minutes
S04
Water profile slightly favoring Cl, though minerals are relatively low.
The elephant in the room is the smoked malt. I’ve never used it before, and I highly doubt anyone has used this particular smoked malt either. Not sure how intense it will be. Tasting a few kernels gave me what I considered a mildish smoked flavor, more woodsy than BBQ, if that makes sense. The 17% equates to 24oz and that is what I have in inventory. In order to adjust the percentage of smoked malt up or down, I would essentially have to adjust the overall gravity of the beer down or up.
I also considered subbing in some Munich for the base malt but thought the grain bill was getting a bit crowded as it is. I could be convinced otherwise.
Brewing with a smoked malt, especially a new-to-you-or-others smoked malt, is always a bit of a guessing game. I think you’re probably wise to go conservative on this for the smoked malt - I did a 23% smoked malt porter some years ago, and it was good for my tastes. 17% is a great starting point. I’ve heard that smoked character can moderate as a beer ages, although I’ve never found that much moderation on the timescales in which I drink beers (a few months max).
I personally would probably sub in Vienna for the entirety of the 66% base malt, but that’s my personal taste and preference. In a beer like this, I like a base malt that can stand up to the smoke flavors without standing out too much. I agree that doing a pale/Munich split might be a bit muddled, and I think 100% Munich would be too cloying. If you don’t have Vienna, I would suggest just sticking with the 100% pale malt.
Thanks for that. I’m hoping that 17% gets me some smoke presence but nothing too “in your face”. I’d like a nice fireplace/seasonal sipper, something that subs in for that late night glass of bourbon every now and then.
Any thoughts on leaving some body behind in the beer? I’m thinking that I need to offset the smoke properly in order to tamp down any potential harshness. You mention Vienna as a malt that can stand up to the smoke, and I get that. Unfortunately, I’m without any Vienna. I’m hoping the sweetness from the Simpson’s Crystal (which I love), the dark malts that aren’t very roasty or harsh (to me anyway), the moderately attenuating S04 and the water will provide the balance I’m looking for.
I think you’ll be good to stick with the pale malt, and if you’re worried about body could mash a bit higher (maybe 156?). I agree that the crystal+chocolate+carafa will help round out the profile - you’ve chosen wisely to avoid any harshness.
I think your idea of 17% is a good starting point. Too much smoked malt can get a bit phenolic on the palate so you can adjust based on your taste. Alaskan Brewing uses Alderwood smoked malt in their Smoked Porter and I like the flavor of it. They smoke the malt themselves.
I normally use Wyermann Bamberg Smoked Malt in my smoked porter because it is easy to get. It is a Beechwood smoked malt. I stay away from Briess cherrywood smoked malt because it is way too intense for me. A little story about my smoked porter. I made one for a competition that had about 15% smoked malt in the recipe and thee judges said “needs mor smoke”. So I upped it to 50% and I got the same reaction. So just for giggles, I made one with 100% smoked malt and they said “too much smoke”. So I went back to my original recipe and never changed it again!
I just found my old smoked porter recipe which was in the venerable ProMash folder. I was a bit off on the amount of smoked malt in the recipe. I used 35% smoked malt in the beer when I first made it to complement the 2 row and Munich base malts. IIRC it didn’t come out too smoky or overly phenolic for me but still starting lower and honing the recipe to you taste with the alder wood smoked malt is still a good idea.
I put the recipe in BeerSmith and adjusted it for balance. I can share it if you want to use it as a starting point. I will probably brew it again sometime in the spring as one of my ham radio friends keeps bugging me to make it again.
No need to go through the trouble of sharing your recipe just yet as I’m already committed (ie, the grain is crushed) for that 17% recipe I posted above. I think I’m at a safe level, though I’m starting to wonder based on yours and Andy’s responses if I may have been a bit too cautious with the smoke. Again, I’ve never used this smoked malt before so I’m not exactly sure what I’ll be getting. But this batch should give me a solid point of departure for future attempts. I’ll keep this thread posted with how I make out. Thanks again.
I think I’m at a safe level, though I’m starting to wonder based on yours and Andy’s responses if I may have been a bit too cautious with the smoke.
I wouldn’t worry too awful much! There is a lot of variability between malts, recipes, and personal tastes, so I think you will be in a fine position. Always better to be on the lower end at the start.
Brewed the above recipe today and all numbers were right on target. From a post boil sample, I was able to detect some smoke in the aroma and flavor, but the wort was not smoky. I asked my wife to take a blind taste and describe the flavor, she replied, “Chocolate. Coffee. Tastes like it looks.” Then I asked her if she can pick up any smoke, and with another taste she said she definitely could, on the back end.
Should be interesting to see what fermentation does with the smoke, but right now I’d say with this malt, 17% is right near the lower end for calling a beer a Smoked whatever.
