Briess Cherrywood malt comes in a foil lined bag (or it did when a friend and I split a bag).
I will just say it is too phenolic and harsh for me. YMMV.
I ordered a couple bags a couple years back and don’t recall that. I really liked the results. I used it with a light hand.
smoke is just one flavor I cant stand in any detectable amount in beer.
OK. I have to share this story. I made a smoked porter a number of years back and made it with 20% Bamberg smoked malt. I entered it in a competition and got the feedback from the judges saying “more smoke”. I upped it to 50% for the next competition and same feedback saying “more smoke” although it did medal that time. So I said OK, I fix your wagon and made it with 100% smoked malt. It wasn’t bad but too smoky for my friends and the judges said “maybe just a bit less smoke” and gave me a bronze medal. Go figure!
Moral to the story, brew it to taste. I am going to use about 35-40% the next time I make it and should be fine. Also remember the amount of smokiness in the malt can change from year to year as well so you have to play around with it.
lol, so it sounds like ~75-80% is a good range?
i know you have a fair bit of experience with smoked malt. i’ll probably go for around 75% smoked malt in my rauchbier, 20% munich, 5% crystal and/or colourant malt
Update: I kegged the beer last night and it has mellowed a bit. It still has a strong smoke flavor but doesn’t seem hit as hard. I like it but would consider knocking the smoked malt back to 1 pound. It tastes good but the smoke overwhelms the other flavors I like in a porter. I will post another update after a couple of weeks of keg aging.
Update: After sitting in the keezer for a couple of months it has mellowed out and is quite good. Not much left after repeated sampling. For my taste I think I would still knock the smoked malt back to one pound. I will try it again this winter and start a new thread. I am also contemplating a smoked serrano pale ale!!!