[a10t2]

Bit of a wild hair here, but I'm wondering if anyone's smoked base malt using a charcoal (or gas, I suppose) grill. It seems to me that I could just wrap the wet wood in some aluminum foil, throw it on a the lit coals (probably once the grill has started to cool down), and put the grain up top on a baking sheet for a few hours. I also saw a reference somewhere to a cast-iron skillet. Thoughts?

[jeffy]

Bit of a wild hair here, but I'm wondering if anyone's smoked base malt using a charcoal (or gas, I suppose) grill. It seems to me that I could just wrap the wet wood in some aluminum foil, throw it on a the lit coals (probably once the grill has started to cool down), and put the grain up top on a baking sheet for a few hours. I also saw a reference somewhere to a cast-iron skillet. Thoughts?

That will work and you'll get more than enough smoke flavor, but it will also roast the malt quite a bit.  Not a problem for a dark or toasty beer.  I've heard that if you smoke the malt over heat that it needs to rest and off gas for a few days.

[a10t2]

It's for an abominable pseudo-schwarzbier, and I'm low on Munich, so that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I'm going to smoke enough pilsner for 20% and maybe back off depending on how it tastes.

I was planning on keeping the temperature around 150-200°F based on some googling.

[jeffy]

The cooler the better for my tastes.

[pete b]

I have done this before for a smoked porter on the gas grill, wood in foil as you described and malt on the other on some aluminium screen. I took the grates off and put the foil wrapped chips directly on the flame disperser so that I could keep the flame real low. I kept the malt moist with a spray bottle and moved it around a lot so it didn't roast. I also put it on the grill, not the upper shelf so it wouldn't get hot. I plugged some wholes in the grill cover where there is a spot for a rotisserie so smoke would stay in. If you don't use it right away I would stop spraying part way through so it would end dry.

[majorvices]

You reallly need a smoker to do it right, and a cold smoker to do it really, really right. I built a cold smoker once that worked fairly well until it caught on fire.

[jeffy]

You reallly need a smoker to do it right, and a cold smoker to do it really, really right. I built a cold smoker once that worked fairly well until it caught on fire.

Then I guess it wasn't very cold, eh?

[pete b]

His hot smoker froze up on him.

[majorvices]

You reallly need a smoker to do it right, and a cold smoker to do it really, really right. I built a cold smoker once that worked fairly well until it caught on fire.

Then I guess it wasn't very cold, eh?

Yeah, it was not the best designed cold smoker. Back to the drawing board.