Rauchmalz or Beechwood-Smoked Malt is a German malt which is dried over open beechwood fires to impart a strong smoky flavor to the finished beer. It is the malt used for traditional Bamberg Rauchbier.
Extract Potential (P/P/G) | 1.036 |
Color | 2.1-3.6 L |
Requires Mashing? | TRUE |
Max in Batch | 100.0 % |
Contents
Brewing with Rauchmalz
The smoke flavor does not affect the enzyme composition of the beer, and it can convert itself and be used as up to 100% of the grist, although because of its strong flavor less is usually used. As little as ten percent in the grist can give a noticeable flavor of smoke.
Malting Process
Rauchmalz is prepared in the same manner as an ordinary base malt, except that instead of being dried in a traditional kiln, it is dried over an open beechwood fire, or in a kiln designed to draw the smoke of a wood fire over the drying malt. The result is a malt with the characteristics of lager malt but with a strong smoky flavor.
Beer styles
Rauchmalz is traditional in Rauchbier, where it can make up more than half of the grist, giving a very strong smoke character, especially in young beers.
Commercial malt analyses
This section contains information on commercially available malts, derived from the malting companies' malt analysis sheets.