Smoked Malt

The idea that “all beer used to be smoky” doesn’t quite hold up, even if smoky malt must have been common in many places. Smokeheads, meanwhile, can tell you another possibility: The beer was smoky because people liked it that way.

From sourcing old-fashioned ingredients to aiming for authentic flavor, Our Mutual Friend head brewer Jan Chodkowski outlines an approach to brewing historically inspired beers in a modern craft brewery.

Jan Chodkowski, head brewer and co-owner of Denver’s Our Mutual Friend, outlines his approach to brewing historically inspired, highly drinkable, smoke-forward beers.

Whether you source some alder-smoked malt or go all the way and build your own Stjørdal-style kiln, this style could be the pinnacle for smoke fiends: extreme smoke character enveloped in a dark, plush malt body. Jan Chodkowski of Denver’s Our Mutual Friend explains how and why they love brewing it with the Colorado Farm Brewery.

Lars Marius Garshol transports us to rural central Norway, where cooperatives of devoted brewers make an intense type of local ale from their own home-smoked malts.

It’s one of the beer world’s great flavor combinations: malt in harmony with the primal appeal of smoke, coolly and cleanly fermented. Best of all, brewing a great smoked lager isn’t all that difficult—as long as you know your malt.

These craft maltsters from across the country work with online retailers, making it possible for homebrewers to have a wide variety of unique malts sent straight to their doorsteps.