One of the very few Pilsners that I enjoy drinking from a can

Smoking malt for a batch of Russian Imperial Stout turned out quite well.  With that success complete and now kegged, I’m happy to proceed with more smoked malts! One of my favorite smoked beers is Jester King’s Gotlandsdrika.  The recipe has been shared by owner/brewer Jeff Stuffings over at the Beer and Wine Journal.

Despite the cracks in the wood, the barrel is water tight.

I took this recipe and scaled it up for 15 gallons so I can fill my newly acquired Rye Whiskey barrel.  This time, I’m smoking 100% of the malts used.  I also decided to keep them under the smoke a bit longer to help keep the smoke present post-fermentation.

The recipe calls for using beech and birch woods.  I had access to beech wood chips but no birch.  Instead I picked up some Alderwood to smoke half of the pilsner malt.  The whiskey barrel is a bit aged, dumped in 2015.  It tested well with the swelling and holding water however, I was some what concerned about what might have found its way into the wood since it sat dry for so long.  Barrel steaming to the rescue.

DIY Barrel steamer comprised of Pressure Cooker, Quick-disconnect adapter, Pressure Gauge , Check Valve, Silicon tubing, nipple to 1/2″ NPT, 90 Deg Street elbow to 2 ft. Copper pipe with drilled holes and end-cap.

A couple of rags help keep the steam inside the barrel to raise the temperature over 212 for approx 15 minutes.

Using the steam wand, I brought the internal temp up over 212F for about 15 minutes.  I’m really excited to see how this smoked beer comes out after fermenting in this whiskey barrel.