Once upon a time malted grains were either dried in the open air (wind malts) or with the heat from a fire. Malts kilned with the latter method possessed a smoky character from the wood used to fuel the fire. Starting in the 17th century maltsters invented techniques for smoke-free kilning and beers featuring smoked flavors became uncommon, but they did not disappear entirely. In this episode Chris Davison, former Wolf’s Ridge brewmaster (now blending and barrel manager at Middle West Spirits), and homebrewer extraordinaire Bill Koeppen join us to explore a diverse set of beers featuring smoked malts. We start in Poland with a Grodziskie, a low abv pilsner-like beer made with oak smoked wheat malts, then move onto Lichtenheiners, a beer style that combines smoked malts with the tartness and effervescence of a Berliner Weisse. The first half of the episode wraps up with Bill’s gold-medal winning smoked helles. In the second half, we head to Bamberg, Germany, the cradle of smoked beers for three classics from the world’s most famous producer of smoked beers, Schlenkerla – the marzen, urbock, and doppelbock. Grab a mug of beer and join us for an entertaining and informative look at these complex beers with links that extend back to the middle ages.
Don’t forget you can find this episode and earlier ones on our podcast page, as well as Apple Music, Podbean, Spotify, Stitcher, and various other podcast apps. Just search for the All Things Beer podcast, and don’t hesitate to leave a comment or a rating.
Beers Reviewed
- Piwo Grodziskie – Pat’s Pints Homebrew
- Longing for Fire (Lichtenhainer) – Pat’s Pints Homebrew
- Litany Against Fear (Lichtenhainer) – Wolf’s Ridge and Little Fish Collaboration
- Amadeus Smoked Helles – Kontrarian Homebrew
- Schlenkerla Marzen (Rauchbier)
- Schlenkerla Urbock
- Schlenkerla Oak Smoked Doppelbock
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