- Recipe Type
- All Grain
- Yeast
- WLP833
- Yeast Starter
- Yes. Lager Pitch Rate
- Batch Size (Gallons)
- 5.5
- Original Gravity
- 1.053
- Final Gravity
- 1.011
- Boiling Time (Minutes)
- 90
- IBU
- 26
- Color
- 19.5
- Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
- Pitched at 48°F, Fermented at 50°F till 1-2°Plato above FG
- Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
- N/A
- Additional Fermentation
- Cold crashed to 31°F, gelatin finings in FV
- Tasting Notes
- Malty and delicious. 42.5 and 2nd place (dark lager) in recent Palmetto State Open
I've been making quite a few lagers lately and this dark lager turned out very well. I was trying to incorporate some traditional methods for this one and am glad I did. This is one delicious beer. Big fat foamy persistent head. Malty flavor with slight caramel notes. Similar aroma. Dark ruby color. Smooth creamy mouthfeel. What I want in a Munich Dunkel. More brews of this beer are planned.
Grain Bill (78% Brewhouse Efficiency)
NB: The acid malt is needed in my setup as I utilize full-volume mashes. No sparging. Thinner mashes may need some form of additional acid. I use acidulated malt for this reason in calculated amounts and subtract them from the originally planned base malt to keep the OG unchanged. If acid malt is not needed in your setup simply delete it and substitute it with Munich or Pilsner malt.
Hops
Yeast
A starter size targeting a lager pitch-rate was prepared in my usual way. WLP 833.
Water Profile
Mash Profile
The mash involved a short protein rest (this is not needed), an infusion to Beta rest, a single decoction to Alpha rest and directly heating the tun to reach mash-out rest. If interested, you can read more about the step mashing process here.
An alternate approach would be to do a single infusion mash at 150°F.
Decoction and Mash pH 5.29
Mash pH was a little lower than planned. (5.4 was the planned pH) This lower pH is possibly as a result of the decoction.
Fermentation Profile
NB: Despite the titles which I use to enable me to enter the differing temperatures with ease in Beersmith, all fermentation is done in the primary. No racking other than to the keg after cold crashing and gelatin fining. Changes to the temperature are dictated by visual clues and measuring the gravity.
OG and FG
Carbonation and Lagering
Force-carbonated to ~2.8 volumes. This beer was kegged 16 days after pitching the yeast. The beer was lagered at ~34F for about four weeks while carbonating and was good at this point but definitely got better over time. 6 weeks after pitching yeast it is good but this beer had an additional 2 weeks of lagering in the keg prior to me bottling some for competition. (8 weeks total).
Judging
This beer scored a 42.5 and a second place (Dark lager category) in the recent Palmetto State Brewers Open. The judges seem to have liked it. This is a very enjoyable and full-flavored lager in my very biased opinion.
Mmmmmm Munich Dunkel
I'm very happy with this beer. If you like dark lagers, give this one a try.
Prost!
Grain Bill (78% Brewhouse Efficiency)
NB: The acid malt is needed in my setup as I utilize full-volume mashes. No sparging. Thinner mashes may need some form of additional acid. I use acidulated malt for this reason in calculated amounts and subtract them from the originally planned base malt to keep the OG unchanged. If acid malt is not needed in your setup simply delete it and substitute it with Munich or Pilsner malt.
Hops
Yeast
A starter size targeting a lager pitch-rate was prepared in my usual way. WLP 833.
Water Profile
Mash Profile
The mash involved a short protein rest (this is not needed), an infusion to Beta rest, a single decoction to Alpha rest and directly heating the tun to reach mash-out rest. If interested, you can read more about the step mashing process here.
An alternate approach would be to do a single infusion mash at 150°F.
Decoction and Mash pH 5.29
Mash pH was a little lower than planned. (5.4 was the planned pH) This lower pH is possibly as a result of the decoction.
Fermentation Profile
NB: Despite the titles which I use to enable me to enter the differing temperatures with ease in Beersmith, all fermentation is done in the primary. No racking other than to the keg after cold crashing and gelatin fining. Changes to the temperature are dictated by visual clues and measuring the gravity.
OG and FG
Carbonation and Lagering
Force-carbonated to ~2.8 volumes. This beer was kegged 16 days after pitching the yeast. The beer was lagered at ~34F for about four weeks while carbonating and was good at this point but definitely got better over time. 6 weeks after pitching yeast it is good but this beer had an additional 2 weeks of lagering in the keg prior to me bottling some for competition. (8 weeks total).
Judging
This beer scored a 42.5 and a second place (Dark lager category) in the recent Palmetto State Brewers Open. The judges seem to have liked it. This is a very enjoyable and full-flavored lager in my very biased opinion.
Mmmmmm Munich Dunkel
I'm very happy with this beer. If you like dark lagers, give this one a try.
Prost!