Rauchian Imperial Stout
Well, I got this entry in before January, so technically I am not updating on a biannual basis. Anyway, I've been rather limited on my brewing of late, thanks in part to a horrific hop shortage that I assume is mildly inconveniencing major brewers, strongly impacting microbrewers, and giving the Unmitigated Royal Shaft to home brewers, who are of course at the bottom of the hop suppliers priority list.
But as I've been lovingly working to perfect my meat smoking/grilling techniques, I've decided to follow on my last success with the rauchweizen and do a beer that is rife with smokiness, using almost entirely German rauchmalz. Yes, I am doing a "Rauchian Imperial Stout", if you'll pardon the pun ("What pun?") ("Wasn't there one? Oh, I'm sorry."), informally titled "Grill Droppings". I haven't brewed it yet, but here's my assumed recipe:
"Grill Droppings" Rauchian Imperial Stout
14 lbs German Smoked Malt
1 lb British Crystal 90L
1 lb British Roasted Barley
1/2 lb British Black Patent Malt
1/2 lb British Chocolate Malt
Mashed medium low, 90 minutes.
Boil for 90 minutes.
90 min addition: 2oz Pride of Ringwood hops
15 min addition: 1oz Pride of Ringwood hops
Racked onto a S-04 Whitbread ale yeast cake, from an Australian Brown Ale I'll be doing first. The hops are Australian principally because of the aforementioned hop shortage. But I think given some aging this will be a nice strong, inky black stout with a potent smoke aroma and flavour, perfect for chilly fall evenings beside the grill.
But as I've been lovingly working to perfect my meat smoking/grilling techniques, I've decided to follow on my last success with the rauchweizen and do a beer that is rife with smokiness, using almost entirely German rauchmalz. Yes, I am doing a "Rauchian Imperial Stout", if you'll pardon the pun ("What pun?") ("Wasn't there one? Oh, I'm sorry."), informally titled "Grill Droppings". I haven't brewed it yet, but here's my assumed recipe:
"Grill Droppings" Rauchian Imperial Stout
14 lbs German Smoked Malt
1 lb British Crystal 90L
1 lb British Roasted Barley
1/2 lb British Black Patent Malt
1/2 lb British Chocolate Malt
Mashed medium low, 90 minutes.
Boil for 90 minutes.
90 min addition: 2oz Pride of Ringwood hops
15 min addition: 1oz Pride of Ringwood hops
Racked onto a S-04 Whitbread ale yeast cake, from an Australian Brown Ale I'll be doing first. The hops are Australian principally because of the aforementioned hop shortage. But I think given some aging this will be a nice strong, inky black stout with a potent smoke aroma and flavour, perfect for chilly fall evenings beside the grill.
posted by SQLFunkateer at 9:31 AM
7 Comments:
That went so far over my head I was unaware I was being overflown... much like the often hapless victims of an AC-130U! To complete this similitude (and possibly morph into a pun) your beer would have to blow me away.
I imagine it will be a smack-across-the-face of a beer! I've not heard of anyone else combining the rauchbier style with a RIS (we brewers have our own acronyms), but they seem like they would pair well together, given the main flavours imparted by the roasted grains. Here is how I would describe the probable flavour contributions of each element of the grain bill:
Rauch malt (base grain, around 80% of the grain bill): This will impart little colour, most of the fermentable sugars, and a HUGE woodsmoke flavor and aroma. It is normal German pilsner malt, except instead of being dried in ovens it is dried over alder or beechwood fires.
Roasted barley: this is unmalted barley, and it gives the classic stout roastiness and some flavour of coffee, along with dark, dark colour.
Chocolate malt: A medium dark roasted malt, this gives colour and a moderate roast flavour that is more like chocolate than coffee.
Black Patent Malt: The darkest of the malts, this one is known for an almost burnt (some have said charcoal) flavour with a ton of dark colour to it. Normally used in moderation, I think it will blend well with the woodsmoke.
Dark Crystal: Crystal malt adds unfermentable body and sweetness to the beer, and the darker crystal malts have a very nice flavour addition that can be described as raisiny, like a plum pudding or something like that. Great addition to an Imperial Stout, IMHO.
The hops are just there to add bitterness and a little bit of aroma, they are really in the background in general on this beer.
Must have......St..Crispin's..........dinnner......bleh....::death::
You have called and I shall answer.
One is being planned. Much delayed, but inevitable nonetheless...how could we have shown the first two movies and neglected this one? (the music on this scene is awesome)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awskKWzjlhk
Such a good scene..
How did this beer turn out? How strong is the smoke flavor?I have never heard of those hops. What other hops would you try?e-mail me @goldy2@frontiernet.net
Still haven't bottled the poor thing. I have been slacking on the brewing side.
I did taste it, and it is, as expected, big, smoky, roasted, and chewy. The hops were Aussie hops that were about the only thing available at the time...I would not recommend using them for this in particular. My only reason was economy and availability. Hop selection isn't very important here...just search out imperial stout recipes, find one that looks like it has about the right bitterness levels for you, and the hops are available, and use that. Maybe back off on aroma hops though...the smoke should be the big element of the aroma in this one.
Post a Comment
<< Home