Help with smoked porter recipe

[cjalderman]

OG: 1.062
FG: 1.016
SRM: 35.3
IBU: 50.3
Yeast: ??
Boil Time: 60 min
Efficiency: 75%

4 lbs Maris Otter (59.3%)
1.5 lbs Munich 10L (22.2%)
0.75 lbs Crystal 80L (11.1%)
0.5 lbs Chocolate malt (7.4%)

1 oz Willamette 5.5% AAU - boil 60
1 oz Willametta - boil 15



I plan on smoking 3 lbs of the maris otter over some applewood. Also possibly aging it on some applewood chips. Does anyone have any experience with this? How are the munich/crystal percentages? Planning on a single infusion mash at 154 F to keep the FG up. Opinions?

 

[DSmith]

I brewed the following recipe and got a much higher FG than expected. The mash temperature started at 153.5F, finished at 152F; calibrated thermocouple. I think a lower FG would improve this beer. I posted my rebrew grainbill that I'd like to do within a month because the first attempt really fell short of my expectations.

Actual OG: 1.064
Actual FG: 1.022
Mash at 154F for 60 min
Wyeast 1056 American Ale, Ferment 67F

Crisp Maris Otter, 4L (54.0% of grainbill)
Weyermann Smoked Malt, 2.8L (19.0% of grainbill)
Global Malt Dark Munich Malt, 12L (6.3% of grainbill)
Briess Caramel 40L (6.3% of grainbill)
Simpson’s Dark Crystal Malt, 80L (6.3% of grainbill)
Simpson’s Chocolate Malt, 350L (4.7% of grainbill)
Simpson's Black Patent Malt, 525 L (3.2% of grainbill)

REBREW GRAINBILL

Actual OG: 1.065
Expected FG: 1.015
Mash at 152F for 60 min
Wyeast 1056 American Ale, Ferment 67F

Rahr American 2-Row, 4L (16.1% of grainbill)
Weyermann Smoked Malt, 2.8L (64.5% of grainbill)
Global Malt Dark Munich Malt, 12L (6.5% of grainbill)
Briess Caramel 40L (2.4% of grainbill)
Simpson’s Dark Crystal Malt, 80L (2.4% of grainbill)
Simpson’s Chocolate Malt, 350L (4.8% of grainbill)
Simpson's Black Patent Malt, 525 L (3.2% of grainbill)

 

[kingwood-kid]

If you're smoking it directly over the applewood, it will probably get hot enough to denature the enzymes you need to mash successfully. It will also add some roasty notes. Switching the Munich to Vienna would counteract both of these things. Another option is to add some wheat malt, which has a ton of enzymes and helps with porter/stout mouthfeel. If you do that,I would definitely trim the crystal malt back.

If you have a grill with a chimney-pipe thing, you can do what I did. I ran a dryer hose over the pipe, and ran the other end to a box I built that held my grain. All smoke, no heat. I smoked about 1/3 of my grain bill that way, and the beer ended up great. That having been said, home-smoking is a very unpredictable and uneven process.

 

[DSmith]

If you're smoking it directly over the applewood, it will probably get hot enough to denature the enzymes you need to mash successfully. It will also add some roasty notes. Switching the Munich to Vienna would counteract both of these things. Another option is to add some wheat malt, which has a ton of enzymes and helps with porter/stout mouthfeel. If you do that,I would definitely trim the crystal malt back.

If you have a grill with a chimney-pipe thing, you can do what I did. I ran a dryer hose over the pipe, and ran the other end to a box I built that held my grain. All smoke, no heat. I smoked about 1/3 of my grain bill that way, and the beer ended up great. That having been said, home-smoking is a very unpredictable and uneven process.

Would you be willing to share a recipe?

 

[kingwood-kid]

This is a 2.5G recipe. It seems my efficiency sucked (around 60%) when I brewed it, so if you just double everything, you can brew a 5.5G batch at 70%.

3 smoked rye (smoked as described in previous post)
3 2-row
1.1 dark brown malt (175L, I toasted 2-row in the oven at 400F for 50 minutes)
.25 oats
1oz Willamette (or whatever) 60 minutes
Any neutral or fruity ale yeast should be fine.
66/10/7%
40 ibu

 

[DSmith]

I had a starter of WY1056 ready to go for an amber and switched to another attempt at a smoked porter for brewing tonight because of this thread. I decided to try the CYBI Deschutes Black Butte porter but sub 60% of the grainbill as Weyermann Beechwood smoked malt. I left the hops about the same from by previous attempt and am still using the American ale yeast vs the English strain used by Deschutes, mashed lower for attenuation.

Home smoking sounds like a lot of fun.

Batch Size (Gal): 6.0
Anticipated OG: 1.059
Anticipated SRM: 28
Anticipated IBU: 35 Tinseth
Mash Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Est Final Gravity: 1.015

Amount Item Type % or IBU

8.36 lb German Rauch Malt (60%)
2.22 lb American 2-Row Malt (16%)
1.39 lb Wheat Malt (10%)
0.70 lb Crystal 80L (5%)
0.42 lb American Chocolate Malt (350 L) (3%)
0.42 lb English Chocolate Malt (450 L) (3%)
0.42 lb Carapils (3%)

1.25 oz Challenger (pellet, 6.7 %, 60 min)
0.75 oz Willamette (pellet, 5.3 %, 30 min)
0.75 oz Willamette (pellet, 5.3 %, 15 min)
0.40 oz Challenger (pellet, 6.7 %, 0 min)
0.40 oz Willamette (pellet, 5.3 %, 0 min)

Mash at 150F for 90 min
Wyeast 1056, Starter per Mr. Malty, Ferment 65F

 

[DSmith]

I had a starter of WY1056 ready to go for an amber and switched to another attempt at a smoked porter for brewing tonight because of this thread. I decided to try the CYBI Deschutes Black Butte porter but sub 60% of the grainbill as Weyermann Beechwood smoked malt. I left the hops about the same from by previous attempt and am still using the American ale yeast vs the English strain used by Deschutes, mashed lower for attenuation.

Home smoking sounds like a lot of fun.

Batch Size (Gal): 6.0
Anticipated OG: 1.059
Anticipated SRM: 28
Anticipated IBU: 35 Tinseth
Mash Efficiency: 70 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Est Final Gravity: 1.015

Amount Item Type % or IBU

8.36 lb German Rauch Malt (60%)
2.22 lb American 2-Row Malt (16%)
1.39 lb Wheat Malt (10%)
0.70 lb Crystal 80L (5%)
0.42 lb American Chocolate Malt (350 L) (3%)
0.42 lb English Chocolate Malt (450 L) (3%)
0.42 lb Carapils (3%)

1.25 oz Challenger (pellet, 6.7 %, 60 min)
0.75 oz Willamette (pellet, 5.3 %, 30 min)
0.75 oz Willamette (pellet, 5.3 %, 15 min)
0.40 oz Challenger (pellet, 6.7 %, 0 min)
0.40 oz Willamette (pellet, 5.3 %, 0 min)

Mash at 150F for 90 min
Wyeast 1056, Starter per Mr. Malty, Ferment 65F

I bottled this last night and the smoke is finally in the range I'm aiming for. The recipe was probably mashed a little low (1.012 actual FG), but it seems like a very promising beer.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Not directly on topic, but in a similar vein; I have done 2 brews with smoky notes. The first used smoked malt and turned out tasting like a drag race. The next one was a wee heavy. I did kettle caramelization of the last runnings and got a very pleasant light smokey note. When I rebrew I plan to do the same except with first runnings. Commercial smoked malt can easily overpower the rest of the ingredients. Not sure about home smoking, never tried it. You might look into kettle caraamalization if you're in a mood to experiment.

 

[DSmith]

I really enjoy Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier. The porter with 60% Weyermann Beechwood malt isn't going to be as smokey as the rauchbier, but it's definitely the same smoke flavor. It's the only smoked malt I've brewed with and imparts a smoke flavor that isn't typically associated with food/grilling.

 

[bethebrew]

I smoked some malt in a weber grill with alder wood for a porter that came out nice.

The wood I am going to smoke with next is mulberry. It is so good on BBQ, makes the alder look sick. The sweetness and richness of the flavor should be a winner. And I have about a cord of it...