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Among the American-made smoked malts, Briess Cherrywood-Smoked Malt is one of the most accessible. I love the clean, soft, pleasing smoke character that it lends to beer, allowing other ingredients to shine through.
For more about brewing balanced smoked porters and stouts, see Smoke in the Dark.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.065
FG: 1.016
IBUs: 30
ABV: 6.4%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
7.8 lb (3.5 kg) Maris Otter
2.6 lb (1.2 kg) Briess Cherrywood Smoked Malt
14 oz (397 g) Simpsons Crystal Medium (about 65L)
7 oz (198 g) Weyermann Carafa Special II
7 oz (198 g) pale chocolate
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.8 oz (23 g) Magnum at 60 minutes [30 IBUs]
YEAST
White Labs WLP007 Dry English Ale or Wyeast 1272 American Ale II
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until the runnings are free of particles, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort—or more, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. Chill to about 66°F (19°C), aerate well, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at about 68°F (20°C). When fermentation is complete and gravity has stabilized, crash, package, and carbonate to about 2 volumes of CO2.