Smoked beer

Lore & Background

Drying malt over an open flame in a smoke kiln may impart a smoky character to the malt, which may carry over to beers brewed with the smoked malt. Before the modern era, drying malted barley in direct sunlight was used in addition to drying over flames. Even though hot air kiln drying of malt, using indirect heat, did not enter into widespread usage until the industrial era, the method was known as early as the first century BC. Beginning in the 18th century, hot air kiln drying became progressively more common and, by the mid-19th century, had become the near-universal method, preventing smoke from contacting wet malt and causing smoke flavour in beer to become less common and eventually disappear almost entirely.

Certain breweries maintained the smoked beer tradition by continuing to use malt dried over open flames, with fires made from beechwood logs. The malt and fermenting beer are stored under the pub and brewery in a part of the catacombs of Bamberg, a maze of tunnels built from the 11th century onward, which have very stable moisture and temperature. In former times, ice was used to cool the fermenting beer tank room, locally harvested above ground in winter, or imported from as far away as Finland or Sweden. The beer is then filtered to clarify it and remove yeast remnants, and put into oaken vats. Two brewpubs in Bamberg, Schlenkerla and Spezial, have continued this type of production for more than a century. Several varieties of Rauchbier are produced by these companies, and both are still in operation today alongside seven other breweries in the same town. Since the tradition was continuously preserved in Bamberg, the style is now marketed as Bamberg Rauchbier.

Grodziskie, or Grätzer, is a smoked beer from Poland, made from wheat and highly carbonated, which saw a period of no production in the late 1990s. It is 2.7–3.7% alcohol by volume, with little to no hop flavour or aroma, and medium-low to medium bitterness, with typical colour straw to gold.

Reader's Guide

The significance of smoked beer lies in its preservation of a pre-industrial brewing method that nearly vanished. By the mid-19th century, hot air kiln drying had become near-universal, eliminating smoke flavour from most beers. However, in Bamberg, Germany, two brewpubs—Schlenkerla and Spezial—maintained the tradition for more than a century, using malt dried over beechwood fires and storing beer in the city's catacombs. Their continuous practice led to the style being marketed as Bamberg Rauchbier. In 2017, Slow Food included these two Rauchbiere in their Ark of Taste. The Brewers Association distinguishes three variations of Bamberg-style Rauchbier: Helles, Märzen, and Bock, each brewed according to the underlying style but with smoked malts replacing some or all of the mash bill.

Due to the popularity of craft beer in recent years, smoke-flavoured industrially-produced malts became available, and the style has been attempted worldwide, including in its heartland of Franconia and Bamberg. Schlenkerla and Spezial, however, use a traditional, elaborate way of smoke malting. Smoked beers are now produced in many countries, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, and Iceland, often as porters, stouts, or ales. Grodziskie from Poland, a wheat-based, highly carbonated smoked beer, saw a period of no production in the late 1990s but represents another distinct smoked beer tradition.

Did You Know?

• Hot air kiln drying of malt was known as early as the first century BC, but did not become widespread until the industrial era.
• The catacombs of Bamberg, used for storing malt and fermenting beer, were built from the 11th century onward.
• In former times, ice for cooling the fermenting beer tank room was imported from as far away as Finland or Sweden when winters were too mild.
• Grodziskie, a Polish smoked beer, is 2.7–3.7% alcohol by volume and has little to no hop flavour or aroma.