I'm getting ready to make a batch of faux scotch. I found a couple of sites that sell peat, one scottish peat (a little expensive) and another that sells Irish peat not as expensive) http://black-sheep-threads.myshopify.co ... -fireplace" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
I'm wondering if anyone has any experience smoking grain for whiskey. I have material to build a proper tray for smoking. My plan is to sandwich this screen with wood stripping around a 4" wood frame the size of my smoker so that most of the smoke is has to pass through the tray. I'm betting some stirring will take place at regular intervals.
I'm considering just playing it by ear and going on taste but I also realize that smoked grain flavor has a tenancy to fade a bit in time as the grain absorbs the smoke. I'm planning to smoke until its a bit over smoked but not so much as (campfire flavored) I also believe this flavor comes from smoking improperly. Not enough draft causing stagnant stringent smoke. Any input would be appreciated.
A couple of years ago, I smoked some barley on the smoker using, of all things, birch wood. I soaked the barley in a 5 gallon bucket and then scooped it out onto cookie sheets. Then I put the cookie sheets on the smoker grill. I smoked them for 30 minutes to an hour, turning with a spoon occasionally. Afterwards, I put the cookie sheets in the garage to cool. The smoked malt had some great caramelized kernals, some blackened ones and many lightly to medium toasted. Next I let the finish drying in a burlap grain sack.
They were then ready to brew with. The beer I aimed for was a traditional German Rauchbier. The beer was VERY smokey, at first. Since it was a lager, I had it in the cooler for 3 or 4 months conditioning (lagering) before I bottled any of it. But I did bottle it. And I sent it to an AHA contest. It won the region and went on to the nationals. Since the nationals was 3 weeks later, it lagered even more in the keg before bottling. This beer went on to win me an AHA gold medal in an often difficult class to compete: smoked beers.
Bottomline, you certainly can smoke your own grains, and I highly recommend it. But you should be prepared for the "dwell time" needed for the grains to season after the smoker. When they first come off the grill, they'll be acidic and sharp tasting. Of course, the smoke flavor will be the biggest. But you want them to blend and age a little. I'd suggest 30 days as a target.
So I used a wood to smoke. You certainly could use peat. I'd wet the peat a little before putting on the smoker though, as it will want to burst into flames otherwise.
Good luck, and enjoy the process. And I hope your drop wins a gold medal too. It certainly deserves it.
ss
very nice FITZ, happy to see you trying this. Ill be following your successes here. There's a fair chance your malt, smoked like that will be heaps smokier than Scotish malt. Phenols level. If you havent yet, you might want to research scotch whiskey phenol levels on google a bit. Islay is of course the highest, but the number is still I bet much lower than you get doing this. Some cherry smoked malt I bought is over the top. 1 lb in 36 total added a definite flavor of its own, along with 5 lbs of peated in that recipe.
Airflow yes. And what SS said about dwell time.
Never noticed a fading so much as a mellowing, smoothing of the grain and smoke. As should be expected in this craft some time to settle down and do some mingling always provides a superior product.
Jimbo wrote:very nice FITZ, happy to see you trying this. Ill be following your successes here. There's a fair chance your malt, smoked like that will be heaps smokier than Scotish malt. Phenols level. If you havent yet, you might want to research scotch whiskey phenol levels on google a bit. Islay is of course the highest, but the number is still I bet much lower than you get doing this. Some cherry smoked malt I bought is over the top. 1 lb in 36 total added a definite flavor of its own, along with 5 lbs of peated in that recipe.
lol... Stolen from the www "Well, technically speaking, the Scotch with the highest concentration of peat is Bruichladdich Octomore, weighing in at 130 ppm (parts per million) of peat phenols. Second would be Ardbeg Supernova at 100 ppm. Those are both quite hard to find and pricey though."
I will continue to read..
Yes I understand the dwell time. This is what I was referring to in my post.
