One of the experiences I trust every home brewer shares is the feeling of awe that comes from

witnessing the conversion of wort into beer through the fermentation process. Even after 15 years,

I still get giddy when I see the first signs of airlock activity, a nice fluffy croissant

developing on top of my beer. The worst is when this takes too long. You all know the anxiety

that comes from checking on a batch a day after pitching and seeing no action. This is why we love Imperial Yeast, who pack 200 billion cells of the purest

yeast into each pitch right pouch, which assures quick starts, healthy fermentation, and

predictably great results. I strongly urge all of our listeners to check out everything Imperial

yeast has to offer and let them know that you appreciate their support of the Brewosophy podcast while you're at it. All right, on to the show.

Since its inception, Beer has evolved in part as a function of available resources and technology,

which ultimately led to the emergence of distinct regional beer styles.

One example of this can be seen in how certain cultures handled the malting process, particularly

the way malted grain was dried.

Before modern kilns were widely available, maltsters relied on more direct

methods of drying malt, including placing it over an open flame, where wood was the primary

heat source. This wasn't a gimmick, but rather a reliance on what was available to accomplish

a specific task, and the resultant beers just so happened to have a smoky character that many

drinkers eventually took a liking to.

This is the Brewlosophy podcast. I'm your host, Marshall Shot. And joining me on today's episode is

Will Lovell to chat about smoked beer with an emphasis on the type of wood that's used to impart

this smoky character to malt. I know it's probably like a weird, like a romantical fantasy that I

have. But as someone that loves smoked beer, I like to like think back to the day that probably almost all beer had some

kind of smoky character to it and was like probably a little more brown and a little less clear

...