[tschmidlin]

To me, the Briess cherry wood smoked malt is overly harsh and phenolic.  At 30% I would go with weyermann rauch (beech wood smoked) instead.  For more intense smoke I would replace all of the pils malt with the rauch malt.

[Kinetic]

To me, the Briess cherry wood smoked malt is overly harsh and phenolic.  At 30% I would go with weyermann rauch (beech wood smoked) instead.  For more intense smoke I would replace all of the pils malt with the rauch malt.

Good points, thanks.  I've used both malts a few times in various quantities, but used them conservatively because I was chicken. Weyermann seems more forgiving and reminds me more of a camp fire than a smoked ham when it's fresh then it fades to ham after several months.  Breiss is piggy at 15% after a month.  I might be overdoing it with 30% Briess.  It's what I have in stock, so I will might use less than 30% of it and increase the base malt.

Aecht Schrelenka Marzen is one of my favorite smoked beers.  When it's fresh, it tastes like a campfire smells with a dusting of noble hops.  With age it tastes like smoked ham and okra. I like both versions.       

[HoosierBrew]

Turmeric might be more useful in a much lighter colored beer. They won't hardly show up in your brown beer

Yep but more importantly, being an Indian food lover, turmeric is very mild and subtle until it isn't. It gives curry a great color and subtle flavor and then gets harsh pretty quickly if you use too much. I'd use little or none.

EDIT  -  Good catch troybinso.

[Kinetic]

All of the mustard recipes I've seen use a really small amount of turmeric.  I'll probably skip it since I don't have it.

[HoosierBrew]

All of the mustard recipes I've seen use a really small amount of turmeric.  I'll probably skip it since I don't have it.

You're right, I use it in my home made mustard.  I love it in mustard and in curry in proper amounts, but I don't know I'd risk any in beer. OTOH, it might work in yours. Good luck.

[klickitat jim]

I think I understand food flavored beer. It could really be efficient.  Sometimes you just don't have the time or energy to both eat AND get drunk. It seems that pizza or doritos flavored beer might be more successful though.

[majorvices]

Smoked ham and rye and mustard .... not without the SOUR KRAUT! WTF?

[gmac]

Smoked ham and rye and mustard .... not without the SOUR KRAUT! WTF?

+1. The classic Reubenbiere.

[erockrph]

Trust me, I'm all for experimentation. I do it all the time - that's one of the main reasons I got into homebrewing in the first place (I will brew that truffle/saffron beer I've been planning one day). I have learned through much experience, that you are much better off starting on the low end of all the specialty ingredients the first time you brew something experimental. It's far easier to taste something and say "I could use a little more of "X", and a lot more of "Y", and "Z" isn't really doing anything at all", than to drink something that is just a loud shouting match between different ingredients. A) Because it will more than likely be drinkable and B) if there's way too much of an ingredient it's going to be hard to tell how much less to use, if there's not enough it's a lot easier to ballpark how much more you need.

I know you aren't looking for anything to be subtle, but you're much better off easing up to it. Nothing wrong with a bold beer, but you're still going to want some balance if you intend to choke down more than a few gulps. I'd say keep the cherry smoked malt in the 15-20% range, skip the turmeric, and go easy on the mustard (rye should be fine as it is). If you use caraway, keep that low as well.

Of course, if you know you're only going to brew this once, are fully expecting to dump the batch, and just want to roll the dice, then give it your best guess. Tell us how it works out. I doubt I want to taste it, but I certainly want to hear about it.

[Kinetic]

Smoked ham and rye and mustard .... not without the SOUR KRAUT! WTF?

I thought about splitting the batch and racking on some kraut, but was scared to tell people about it.  Maybe I will rack on some kraut if this sammich beer ever sees round two. 

[Kinetic]

I know you aren't looking for anything to be subtle, but you're much better off easing up to it. Nothing wrong with a bold beer, but you're still going to want some balance if you intend to choke down more than a few gulps. I'd say keep the cherry smoked malt in the 15-20% range, skip the turmeric, and go easy on the mustard (rye should be fine as it is). If you use caraway, keep that low as well.

I think I will use less smoke and no tumeric.  I figure if the flavors are way too strong going into the fermenter, I can add some water.  I don't have high hopes for this beer, but it is something I have wanted to try for a while.  It will be brewed this weekend.   1.5 gallon batch.

[hopfenundmalz]

To me, the Briess cherry wood smoked malt is overly harsh and phenolic.  At 30% I would go with weyermann rauch (beech wood smoked) instead.  For more intense smoke I would replace all of the pils malt with the rauch malt.

Good points, thanks.  I've used both malts a few times in various quantities, but used them conservatively because I was chicken. Weyermann seems more forgiving and reminds me more of a camp fire than a smoked ham when it's fresh then it fades to ham after several months.  Breiss is piggy at 15% after a month.  I might be overdoing it with 30% Briess.  It's what I have in stock, so I will might use less than 30% of it and increase the base malt.

Aecht Schrelenka Marzen is one of my favorite smoked beers.  When it's fresh, it tastes like a campfire smells with a dusting of noble hops.  With age it tastes like smoked ham and okra. I like both versions.       

Really old it starts to be liquid smoke. Yuck.

[reverseapachemaster]

I'm not sure it's going to taste like a sandwich but I bet you get pretty close to that mustard/smoked ham flavor combination somewhere in the beer.

[troybinso]

If it is too intense to drink I bet you could cook it down and make a really amazing glaze out of it for an actual ham.

[denny]

I don't mind brewing a gallon or two of drain pour.  Satisfying my curiosity accomplishes something.  Just curious what other people think.  It's ok to hate the idea.

It's not that it's "blasphemous" or that I hate the idea.  It's just that I can't imagine wanting a beer to have those flavors.

With odd ball beer recipes, you have to pretend it isn't beer and forget about styles, brewing traditions, etc. 

Look at it like it's just flavors.  If the flavors are good, it doesn't have to taste like a beer to be a tasty beverage.  If I could figure out a way to make a 5% abv liquid hasenpfeffer, I'd do it.  Ham on Rye with Mustard seems more attainable.

         

Yep, that's the way I'm looking at it.  But it will still taste like a beer, and I just can't imagine all those flavors going together in a way I like.