Smoked It (Test)

Smoke the Pilsen Malts
To smoke your own malt at home, you should first moisten the malt with chlorine-free water and then smoke it over a cool fire. Your malt should be a light malt, appropriate for use as a base malt in your beer. The lighter the malt, the more the smoke flavor will be apparent.

Prepare your smoker or outdoor grill for indirect heat. The fire should be for “cold smoking”, as heat can adversely affect the malt flavors, so you want to keep the temperature as cool as possible while still generating smoke. Aim for about 120° Fahrenheit.

Make sure you have no glowing coals or flames, as flames will scorch your grain instead of smoking it. If you keep your grain in a fine mesh bag, you can also help prevent ashes from getting into the grain, as well.

Keep the grain moistened periodically throughout the smoking process, but never make it really wet. A spray bottle of non-chlorinated water is your friend here. Whenever you open the smoker to add wood or change out the water pan, you should also spray the grain some, as well. This will help the smoke adhere to the grain.

I recommend smoking the grain for about four hours at 120° Fahrenheit. This temperature can be hard to maintain on a conventional grill, and will be easier if you have an actual smoker. I use a smoker that is powered by propane, which gives me excellent control of the temperature inside.