Smoked beer anyone?

[RonB]

I saw this on another site today:

https://www.foodandwine.com/best-smoked-beer-8735822

[HawkerXP]

Hell. I've been smoking my beer for years!

[DaveD]

That Howling Gale IPA might just be my favorite beer... it's fabulous.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I helped a friend make smoked beer a few years ago, it was pretty good.

Smoked jalapenos (hot smoke til they started to shrivel but not to where they became chipotles) and also half of the grains (cold smoked).

[Michael_in_TX]

I thought that was an interesting observation in the beginning of the article that all beer was probably smokey at one point due to wood fires being used to dry the malt.

[jfmorris]

I have actually had a few good rauchbier's over the years, but as a brewer, someone once gave me a 55# sack of smoked malt, from one of the local breweries (Straight to Ale, Huntsville Alabama). I liked porter, I liked smoked meats, so I opted to brew a 5 gallon batch of a smoked porter with 3-4 pounds of that smoked malt in the recipe.

It was absolutely the worst beer I ever made. The smoked flavor, which is a phenolic, was so overpowering... the phenolic compounds led the beer to have a strong smoke flavor that was reminiscent of the SMELL of a plastic bandaid. I dumped the entire keg down the driveway after letting my brewing club sample it.

Smoked malt must be used in extreme moderation, and you don't want it to comprise a huge portion of the grain bill in your recipe. And how the malt is smoked matters. I think the stuff I used must have been smoked with peat from the bogs...

[jfmorris]

58limited yes - at this point in time, 10 years post-brew, I have no clue where the smoked malt came from or how it was smoked, just that 3-4 pounds of it was VERY BAD for a 5 gallon batch of beer. I've been suspicious of anyone offering me a smoked beer ever since... that "tastes like the smell of a plastic bandaid" sticks in my mind...

[DaveD]

Absolutely, a little goes a very long way when it comes to smoked malt... I really don't care for that whole rauchbier profile at all, so I never attempted anything like that. I did use just a couple of ounces of smoked malt in a couple of super dark beers, and those were very good, you couldn't pick out the smoke on its own...

[Michael_in_TX]

"...the smell of a plastic bandaid." ::scratching brewing-smoked-beer off of my list of future culinary challenges::

[Johnny Booth]

After I open a beer, I want to drink it, not smoke it.
🤣😂🍻

[PGH_RAM]

There was a Belgian restaurant in DC that had a couple of rauchbiers on their tap list. I really enjoyed them. One definitely has to be selective about food pairings with them, though. I haven't seen them anywhere in Pittsburgh, though.

[Santamarina]

When I good rauchbier comes along I can enjoy a half-pint or so. After that it’s too much. Give me all the smoked meat I can fit in my stomach, but I generally pass on smoked beer.

Scotch, on the other hand…

[Waster]

I tried one rauchbier in my life and hated it, put me off and likely forever. If you have recommendations for a more subtle one I can try, HMU

[UncleSpike]

I love a good smoked beer. They're hard to find - but there are some good ones coming out of Europe. Brouwerij de Molen from the Netherlands is at the top of the list! https://brouwerijdemolen.nl/

[Mosca]

I’ve never been a fan. Same with Lapsang Souchon tea. It’s just not where I want my smoke.

[texastweeter]

How do you keep it lit?

[Starsky]

Many years ago I tried a smoked beer. It was as if I had licked the inside of a Weber kettle.

[RonB]

So - was it good or bad??