Has anyone used birch?

[steelchef]

Birch is prevalent in our area, yet I've never heard of anyone using it for smoking. The natives, (North American Indians) are ambivelant, reluctant to share their secrets.
Seems to me it would be very much like maple,
Any thoughts??

[DanMcG]

A friend of mine up your way uses it all the time and he says it is close to maple. I haven't tried it myself, but there is one in the back yard that I might have to chop down sometime soon.

[grisell]

It's often used in Germany after what I've heard. It's important to remove the bark which gives off a lot of soot.

[steelchef]

Thanks for your affirmation. I was nearly certain that it would work as it is very close to maple in many ways, in fact, birch syrup is increasingly popular as a tonic in these parts.
Now this may be a bit more challenging. We also have a lot of Mountain Ash or Rowan as it is known in Europe.
Does anyone know how that may be used in smoking?