[adama]

With bbq season right around the corner I am thinking to myself, what beer would go well with a nice smoked pork shoulder. The first thing that came to mind was of course something with a nice smoke character as well as a big malt backbone to complement the sweetness of the pork. The problem is, I've never worked with any kind of smoked malt before so any advice would be great. Also I was thinking about smoking my own malt so that I could use the same type of wood that i will be using on the pork. Thoughts? Recipes? Other ideas? Thanks everyone.

[jmcamerlengo]

you want to do a  rauchbier or something else, like a porter?

Check the recipe wiki in the recipes section theres lots of great ideas there!  My best advice is smoked malt can be very overwhelming on the palate.  3 lbs of rauch malt in a 5g batch is usually the high end of things. The Cherrywood stuff Briess offers is a bit stronger, maybe half as much of that as you would rauch malt.  Theres lots of good home smoker ideas around here also, people mentioning Pecan being a great wood to smoke with. Search around youll find lots of great info!

[a10t2]

The Cherrywood stuff Briess offers is a bit stronger, maybe half as much of that as you would rauch malt.

Interesting, I had the opposite experience. Was it the Weyermann rauchmalt?

[adama]

I don't want to go the porter route...I was thinking more along the lines of an amber or maybe even a  dunkel weisse to add a bit of fruity wheat character. Not really trying to follow any certain style, just looking for ingredients that will compliment the smoked meat

[jmcamerlengo]

I don't want to go the porter route...I was thinking more along the lines of an amber or maybe even a  dunkel weisse to add a bit of fruity wheat character. Not really trying to follow any certain style, just looking for ingredients that will compliment the smoked meat

what are you smoking the meat with? What kinda seasonings?

and a10t2...it was weyermann! I used 3 lbs of the briess in a porter and after a year its still overwhelmingly smoky and pretty much undrinkable.  Used 3 lbs of Weyermann and thought it was great after about 3 months conditioning.

[bluesman]

I was sitting at the same table with Randy last year in San Diego when he won Homebrewer of the Year for this recipe...and I had an opportunity to try his beer there.  I highly recommend his recipe.

Category 22: Smoke-flavored and wood-aged beer

2011 NHC Homebrewer of the Year - Randy Scorby

Gold Medal

Classic Rauchbier - "Smoke Screen"

Ingredients for 5 U.S. gallons (18.93 L)

6.9 lb (3.13 kg) Weyermann Rauch malt
1.1 lb (498 g) Weyermann pils malt
1.0 lb (454 g) Weyermann Munich II malt
0.7 lb (317 g) 51L caramel-Vienna malt
0.1 lb (45 g) Carafa II malt
2.0 oz (57 g) Tettnang hops, 4% a.a. (60 min)
0.3 oz (8.5 g) Tettnang hops, 4% a.a. (5 min)
Wyeast No. 2633 Octoberfest lager yeast blend starter
0.5 tsp yeast nutrient (15 min)
2.5 vol. forced CO2 to carbonate

Original Specific Gravity: 1.057
Final Specific Gravity: 1.013
Boiling Time: 90 minutes
IBUs: 27
SRM: 12
Primary Fermentation: 48 days at 48° F (9° C)

Directions
Single decoction mash schedule. Mash in at 122F (50C), hold for 10 minutes. Pull a thick decoction and hold at 154F (68C) for 20 minutes, and boil for 10 minutes. Return to main mash and hold at 154F (68C) for 40 minutes or until conversion is achieved. Sparge with 168F (76C) water.

 

[adama]

jmcamerlengo...I usually smoke my pork shoulder with hickory, sometimes apple or a combination and as for seasoning...brown sugar, paprika, onion, garlic, black pepper, salt.

[bo]

I was sitting at the same table with Randy last year in San Diego when he won Homebrewer of the Year for this recipe...and I had an opportunity to try his beer there.  I highly recommend his recipe.

Category 22: Smoke-flavored and wood-aged beer

2011 NHC Homebrewer of the Year - Randy Scorby

Gold Medal

Classic Rauchbier - "Smoke Screen"

Ingredients for 5 U.S. gallons (18.93 L)

6.9 lb (3.13 kg) Weyermann Rauch malt
1.1 lb (498 g) Weyermann pils malt
1.0 lb (454 g) Weyermann Munich II malt
0.7 lb (317 g) 51L caramel-Vienna malt
0.1 lb (45 g) Carafa II malt
2.0 oz (57 g) Tettnang hops, 4% a.a. (60 min)
0.3 oz (8.5 g) Tettnang hops, 4% a.a. (5 min)
Wyeast No. 2633 Octoberfest lager yeast blend starter
0.5 tsp yeast nutrient (15 min)
2.5 vol. forced CO2 to carbonate

Original Specific Gravity: 1.057
Final Specific Gravity: 1.013
Boiling Time: 90 minutes
IBUs: 27
SRM: 12
Primary Fermentation: 48 days at 48° F (9° C)

Directions
Single decoction mash schedule. Mash in at 122F (50C), hold for 10 minutes. Pull a thick decoction and hold at 154F (68C) for 20 minutes, and boil for 10 minutes. Return to main mash and hold at 154F (68C) for 40 minutes or until conversion is achieved. Sparge with 168F (76C) water.

As much as I hate doing decoctions, I'll bet it really makes a difference in this beer.

[adama]

that sounds like a great recipe for what I'm trying to achieve...I"m not set up to do lagers but a similar grain bill using an ale yeast and a single infusion would probably still yield some good results. I would still like to use my own smoked malts if possible. Has anyone done this before? Do the grains need to be moistened before hand? How long to smoke?

[jmcamerlengo]

Theres some great ideas for home smoking around so maybe try a lil home smoked malt with hickory and apple combined. The seasonings you mention are pretty versatile, so the beer style you choose can be versatile.  Id suggest something with rich caramel and toffee like notes.

Maybe a smoked imperial red ale?

2 row 60% of base malt
munich 20% of base malt
smoked malt 20% of base malt
1.5-2 lbs Caramunich III
WLP001
maybe Cascade or Amarillo hops..or both..

just a shot in the dark for what you mentioned below.

[adama]

thats what I was thinking...I have a red ale in the fermenter right now so If i like the way it turns out I'll use that as a base recipe and then just work the smoked malt in there

[jeffy]

I think I helped judge that beer at last year's NHC.  It was very nice.
I am now enjoying a smoked beer that was made with malt home-smoked over pecan and orange woods.  It was roughly in the style of a Vienna Lager, but since I dry hopped it with amarillo, it's more like an APA now.  It is possibly the best smoked beer I have made, imho.  The hops and the pecan smoke go really well together.

A general rule of thumb for the amount of smoked malt is 20%, but that depends on the intensity of the smoke.  I found the Briess cherry wood smoked malt very subdued.  I have also made a traditional Rauchbier using 100% Wyerman smoked malt, but it was a bit too intense for all but the real diehard smoke fan.

If smoking at home you'll get the best results if you keep the malt away from the heat.

[erockrph]

Maybe a smoked imperial red ale?

2 row 60% of base malt
munich 20% of base malt
smoked malt 20% of base malt
1.5-2 lbs Caramunich III
WLP001
maybe Cascade or Amarillo hops..or both..

Hmmm... this sounds pretty tasty. I've been playing around with a big Amber Ale recipe for summer grilling that I may need to adapt to include some rauch malt. I'm thinking something like:

Amber is Smokin'!
70% 2-row
15% Victory
15% smoked malt
Plus 1/2 lb Special B (for 2.5 gal batch)
Chico yeast of some sort
Hops would be some combo of Chinook/Amarillo/Simcoe/Citra
Shoot for an OG in the low 60's

[jmcamerlengo]

Maybe a smoked imperial red ale?

2 row 60% of base malt
munich 20% of base malt
smoked malt 20% of base malt
1.5-2 lbs Caramunich III
WLP001
maybe Cascade or Amarillo hops..or both..

Hmmm... this sounds pretty tasty. I've been playing around with a big Amber Ale recipe for summer grilling that I may need to adapt to include some rauch malt. I'm thinking something like:

Amber is Smokin'!
70% 2-row
15% Victory
15% smoked malt
Plus 1/2 lb Special B (for 2.5 gal batch)
Chico yeast of some sort
Hops would be some combo of Chinook/Amarillo/Simcoe/Citra
Shoot for an OG in the low 60's

Just thought that up off the top of my head...and ur right..it sounds real tasty haha. I may be brewing a recipe like that myself actually.

[narcout]

Smoked hefeweizen is pretty tasty.  You can just replace some of the pils with raunch malt or some of the wheat malt with smoked wheat malt.  I'm brewing one with the weyerman oak smoked wheat malt this weekend.