I get a lot of strange requests

[Evan B]

So my buddy just headed off to Iraq. I told him before he went that I would brew anything he wanted and have it waiting for him upon his return. He said that he'd like to see me pull off an "Imperial Bacon Stout" and age it as long as possible.

So I think this could be an interesting project. I plan on starting with an Imperial Stout base, sub in a good portion of rauch malt, and for the rest, I'm not quite sure.

Any ideas on how to make it more.... bacony? I've been racking my brain on this for a few weeks, but haven't quite come up with anything. I'm starting to think I should just stick to the rauch malt and let his imagination do the rest. But I'm open to suggestions before I commit to anything

[Grist Licker]

The guys from http://radio.craftbrewer.org/ tried smoking their own malt on one of the shows. They say the freshly smoked malt is very strong in flavor and makes an extremely bacon-y beer. He recommended letting the malt sit for at least three weeks to mellow before using it for a mild mellow smoke flavor. I think home smoked malt is your best bet.

Another choice might be to try some liquid hickory smoke extract. You could dose a pint with drops then scale it up for a full keg.

[Nate Diggler]

Rauchmalt like you said, and Maple Syrup/Sugar (the real stuff), since some bacon is "maple cured"

[Evan B]

i had considered trying smoking my own malt. but being in an apartment, and lacking a smoker, i decided that i'd leave it to the pros. i would love to try it in the future though.

i had never considered maple syrup. do you think that maple extract would pull off the same effect?

[Blowmax10]

what about dry hopping with some of those imitation bacon bits they put in salads?

[mediumsk]

make a tincture of bacon in grain alcohol, freeze it and strain the liquid off the solids. your still going to get some oil in there but it has a huge bacon taste and aroma.

[Mylo]

Bacon is hickory smoked. If you want your rauchbier to taste more like bacon - smoke your own malt with hickory. No need to use actual bacon. I would suggest some oats in there - to give it a nice, velvety feel. You could try a secondary with pure maple syrup - but there probably wouldn't be enough cost benefit. Maple is such a delicate flavor.


Mylo

[Evan B]

Bacon is hickory smoked. If you want your rauchbier to taste more like bacon - smoke your own malt with hickory. No need to use actual bacon. I would suggest some oats in there - to give it a nice, velvety feel. You could try a secondary with pure maple syrup - but there probably wouldn't be enough cost benefit. Maple is such a delicate flavor.


Mylo

i had actually considered getting some hickory wood chips and giving them a good toast in the oven, then throwing them in a secondary. i wonder how aging on hickory would work out