Making Friends with Smoked Beer

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Zymurgy Magazine

By Dan Jablow

Homebrewers are known to be an opinionated group, and we are certainly not afraid to share our opinions with others. For example, we all have thoughts on dry-hopping times and amounts, extract versus all-grain, whether or not to implement secondary fermentation, or what constitutes a cold IPA. Sometimes there is a clear majority on a topic. More likely, you’ll get 10 different answers. With that said, one particularly polarizing topic is that of smoked beer. Most of the homebrewers I know say “no thanks” when one is offered. As a big fan of smoked beers, I’m clearly in the minority. One of my homebrewing friends even went so far as to say they once sampled a smoked beer that tasted like “someone had put out a cigarette” in it. That’s disappointing to hear, as I’m sure that’s not the flavor the brewer was hoping to achieve.

I can’t say I’m surprised to hear that so many folks don’t seek out smoked beer. It’s a category of beer with some historical significance that has fallen out of favor with modern drinkers. Anything beyond a very well-known smoked porter produced annually by Alaskan Brewing Company, up until recently was very hard to find in the United States. As far as I’m concerned, almost any time is a good time for a nice smoked beer. In a previous life I built a food service business that featured homemade smoked meats (pastrami, bacon, ham, and so much more, but that’s a whole ‘nother story), so it’s not surprising that I’m a bit biased towards all things smoked.

My intent with this article is to spread the gospel of smoked beer by providing some history, a few different styles and ingredients for you to consider, along with a recipe that I brew on a regular basis. As a frequent brewer of small, single-gallon batches, I’ve spent lots of time understanding how to apply a smoky flavor and aroma to a beer in a complementary, rather than overpowering, way, using these small-batch experiments as a way to overcome the obstacle that is working with a unique ingredient. I also combed through my every-growing collection of homebrewing books to see what authors like Randy Mosher, Charlie Papazian, Mike Karnowski, and John Palmer had to share on this topic.

Access the full article in the November/December 2024 Zymurgy Magazine.

This feature includes: