Craft Beer & Brewing Course
Brewing Historically Inspired Smoked Beers with Our Mutual Friend
Jan Chodkowski, head brewer and co-owner of Denver’s Our Mutual Friend, outlines his approach to brewing historically inspired, smoke-forward beers of high drinkability.
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In this 49-minute course, OMF head brewer and co-owner Jan Chodkowski shares his approach to brewing smoky and rustic yet highly drinkable beers. Along the way, he covers:
- finding information on historical beer styles
- working with the equipment you have and the ingredients you can get
- making adjustments for modern smoked malts
- tips on brewing with juniper berries
- yeast selection for appropriate character
- specs and tips on smoky stjørdalsøl and grodziskie
- working with eccentric, deeply smoky Stjørdal-style malt
- stjørdalsøl’s long-aging potential
- adapting grodziskie to your modern brewery and ingredients
- tips on brewing with 100 percent wheat
- dialing in grodziskie for balance
- clarifying and carbonating grodziskie
- bonus tips on brewing smoked helles (including a “turbid decoction”)
Course contents
6 chapters, 27 lessons, 49m of video
Chapter 1
Intro
Chapter 2
Brewing Historical Beers
- Researching Historical Beers1:12
- Sourcing and Selecting Ingredients3:19
- More Ingredient Considerations3:36
- Thoughts on Water Adjustment0:48
- Yeast2:38
- Drinkability vs. Historical Accuracy2:24
Chapter 3
Stjørdalsøl
- A Brewer’s Overview of Stjørdalsøl5:05
- The Cult of the Kiln: Brewing Super-Smoky Stjørdalsøl
- High Gravity and Local Hops1:23
- Fermentation and Aging1:43
- Year-to-Year Variation0:41
- Stjørdalsøl: Level Up on Smoke with Our Mutual Friend
Chapter 4
Grodziskie
- A Brewer’s Overview of Grodziskie2:24
- Grodziskie: Smoky, Hoppy, Mysterious, and so Much Fun to Drink
- Adapting Grodziskie to Modern Kit and Ingredients2:14
- Specifics on Brewing OMF’s Grodziskie3:04
- Dialing In the Balance1:16
- Oak-Smoked Malt2:24
- Polishing a Polish Style1:17
Chapter 5
Bonus Tips & Parting Thoughts
- Bonus Tips on Smoked Helles (Including a “Turbid Decoction”)6:10
- Smoke in Farmhouse Ales, Barrel-Aged Stouts, and More2:50
- Parting Thoughts & Cheers1:51
Chapter 6
Further Reading, Listening & Recipes
- Recipe: Our Mutual Friend Stjørdalsøl
- Recipe: Live Oak Grodziskie
- CB&B Podcast Episode 221: Jan Chodkowski of Our Mutual Friend Embraces Both the Bold and the Sublime
- Brewery Case Study: Our Mutual Friend