Home Smoking Malt for Rauchbier

This seminar is an in-depth discussion and look at smoking malt for homebrewing. Learn how to make a såinn house, and how to run trials to create the perfect smoke aroma and flavor for your beers.

This seminar also discusses smoking malts at home with one base malt and different woods to achieve desired flavors. Speakers share the details of an experiment in which ten different woods were used over the same original base malt. The differences in the finished beers were staggering—some were acrid, harsh, or tannic (maple), while others had more nuanced flavors and aromas.

Learning Objectives

• Learn about the history and importance of rauchbier
• Gain the knowledge for how to build a small såinn house for smoking malt
• Walk away with recipe suggestions beyond just porter and helles

About the Speaker

John Holl is the editor of Beer Edge and the host of the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast. He’s the author of several books including the forthcoming Craft Brewery Cookbook. He is also the host of the BYO Magazine Nano Podcast and a contributing editor at Wine Enthusiast.

John Putnam has been a homebrewer for over 12 years and is a Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Certified Beer and Mead Judge with sensory training. A Past-President of Stoney Creek Homebrewers, John’s preferred styles to brew are English and Irish Ales, all Belgian Styles, and of course Rauchbier! John lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania with a very understanding wife and two rescue Newfoundlands.

Mike Bury has been an award-winning homebrewer and meadmaker for over a decade. Mike is a Beer Judge Certification Program Grand Master II judge with mead certification and is the former president of the Stoney Creek Homebrewers. As a chemist, he enjoys the complex chemistry that occurs in fermented beverages during both the production and consumption phases. Forever in the pursuit of great beer and mead, he doesn’t allow the trappings of particular styles to ruin his experience. In his spare time, Mike enjoys landscaping, woodworking, and most home remodeling projects.

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