Peat smoking malt

[JohnD]

Is anyone smoking their own malt? other grains?

I'm thinking about doing some trials with 2-3% of my grain in a smoker, and looking for tips.

Thanks for any help.

[Curtis McMillan]

Hi John

We are working with a group to build a malter & smoker. If you have any questions about this send me a message with your contact. I will have Randall give you a call.

[cowdery]

Rick Wasmund (Copper Fox) famously malts his own barley and uses fruit wood instead of peat.

Is it common practice to smoke malt? By which I mean obtaining malt from a maltster and smoking it for flavor, not using smoke as part of the malting process.

Is peat produced in North America and if so, where?

[Curtis McMillan]

I have yet to see anyone producing peat. That seaweed mud is kind of indigenous to ireland and Scotland. Lord knows we should get the same mud bogs in the cape but we don't (shrug) I believe Randall told me you can order it.

I'm working on a peat none flame candle for our factory.

[grehorst]

Is peat produced in North America and if so, where?

This is something I've got on my ever growing list of experiments. I believe most peat sold in this country comes from Canada, but we have quite a few peat bogs in southeast WI. Anyone experimenting with peat from a garden center should use caution as a lot of it is blended with manure and/or soil.

Google the Cedarburg Bog (located about 10 mi from my home) for some good geographic and geologic info. Peat is considered a bit of an environmental preservation issue and WI doesn't allow you to harvest it on public land. Fortunately if we do get around to experimenting with it I have a brother in law who works for a soil co. that owns a bog.

My understanding is that peat harvested for Scotch is primarily a decaying grass- Heather which is not found in our bogs. This likely means we wouldn't get the same flavors found in Scotch (not to mention no salt water within 1000 miles of here too).

[PeteB]

Dried malt can be peat smoked in roughly the same way fish are smoked.

Spread about 3 inches of dry malt on a wire mesh tray and lightly dampen it with a hose.

Put the tray in a smoking cabinet and light some peat under it.

A couple of the posts above mention salt water and peat. The peat bogs in Tasmania are in the highlands, no where near the sea. The peat from here produces world class "scotch style" whisky.

I am currently building a small drum malter with peat smoker. Won't be finished for a few months but I will keep you informed.

[BrnBtlFlzy]

We do smoke experiments, but never with peat. Peat definitely has a historic relationship with whisky, but am more interested in woods that are accessible to me. I think m.b. Roland does corn smoked in a tobacco shed for its black dog.