Batch #42: Smoked dark wheat alt

A sort of kitchen-sink brew, to get rid of a 5 pound pack of Weyermann smoked malt, a spare 5 pound pack of Weyermann dark wheat accidentally left over from a not-so-dark dunkelweizen, and the last of the sack of Durst Munich malt I bought in early 2003.

Recipe

Grain Bill

5 lbs. Weyermann Smoked Malt
5 lbs. Weyermann Dark Wheat Malt
3 lbs. 8 oz. Durst Munich 20 EBC.

Hops

4 oz. US Hallertauer (2.8% AA) @ 60 minutes.

Yeast

Wyeast 1010 top-cropped from previous batch.

Mash

Single-infusion mash, 60 minutes at 148F.

Vitals

OG: 1.054
FG: 1.014
Calculated IBUs: 38
Carbonation: 12 PSI @ 50F

Timeline

Brew day: November 7, 2004

11:15 am: Mash-in at 148F
12:15 pm: Thin out mash with 1 gallon of boiling water.
12:20 pm: Begin sparging.
12:50 pm: End sparging, collected about 7.5 gallons.
1:15 pm: Boiling.
1:45 pm: Add hops.
2:30 pm: Add whirlfloc.
2:47 pm: Begin chill/transfer.
3:06 pm: Finished.
3:12 pm: Pitched yeast. OG 1.054, 6 gallons total.
3:42 pm: Done with clean-up.

Fermented in low 60s. Pitched enough yeast for sure; the foam crawled out of the fermenter and threatened to take over basement, a la "The Blob." What a mess... but good though!

Transferred to secondary (6 gallon glass carboy, filled up to the shoulders) 11/20.

Kegged 12/21, hooked up CO2 to force carb. Quite tasty, FG 1.014 at 54F.

Tapped 1/1/2005

Tasting notes

1/2/2005

Light, warm aroma of sweet hardwood smoke, like a fall campfire. Full and smooth malt flavor with a sweet spicy smokiness, mildly bitter with a dry, sharp, lingering, smoky finish. Very refreshing and drinkable, although the perception of smoke subsides over the course of a glass. Not as smoke-dominated as a classic rauchbier, which would be based entirely on this style of smoked malt.

A very well-balanced beer considering it was mostly a home for wayward ingredients...

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