Modern Homebrew Recipes (37 page)

Formulation notes:
The base of Pils, Vienna, and Munich malts is fairly typical. The addition of the extra malt bomb ingredients (Dark Munich, Aromatic, Melanoidin) is for that malt punch and deeper flavor that many homebrewers (and judges) find so elusive. I avoided a decoction with this recipe since I’m deriving so much flavor from the malt itself. The Ayinger yeast is a great choice for a malty beer, and it produces very little sulfur. Cold lagering smooths it out. It’s very important to clear the yeast and give it time to condition; it makes a much smoother and cleaner product.

Variations:
I was looking to produce a beer that would judge well in competition, not necessarily something that is a close match to modern German examples that are a bit drier, and not so richly malty. If trying for a drier version, lower both the OG and FG, keeping the ABV about the same or slightly lower. Other yeast would work as well; Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager is a good alternative.

MODERN OKTOBERFEST

Most Americans think an Oktoberfest beer is amber and malty. That’s how they used to be, but the beer that’s been served at Oktoberfest in Munich since around 1990 is this golden version. It was originally developed as a less heavy and more drinkable alternative to the traditional Oktoberfest beer, which is now represented in the BJCP Style Guidelines as the Märzen style. This style can be called an
Oktoberfestbier,
a Festbier, or a
Wiesn.
The name
Wiesn
comes from Theresienwiese, the meadow where Princess Therese married Crown Prince Ludwig in 1810. The Munich Oktoberfest celebration commemorates this event, and is held on the same grounds.

Style:
Festbier (New BJCP Style)

Description:
A golden Oktoberfest-style beer that is bigger and richer than a
helles,
but not really as full-bodied and malty as a
maibock
.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Step mash, mashout

Mash rests:

131°F (55°C) 10 minutes

146°F (63°C) 40 minutes

158°F (70°C) 20 minutes

168°F (76°C) 10 minutes

Kettle volume:

8.5 gallons (32 L)

Boil length:

90 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

50°F (10°C) 2 weeks

33°F (1°C) 14 weeks

Sensory description:
Medium gold color and medium body, with a clean and smooth German lager character. Well attenuated but malty, with a soft mouthfeel and excellent drinkability. Supportive bitterness in the malt-forward beer. Not heavy at all.

Formulation notes:
Straight-forward German lager all the way. Classic German ingredients. Mostly Pils malt to keep it drinkable; if there was too much Munich malt it would start tasting like a
bock.
Lagered for 14 weeks.

Variations:
This beer could be decocted, but I would boil for no more than 5 minutes to keep color development at a minimum. Some versions finish drier and have slightly more bitterness, so you could also target a final gravity of 1.008 with 27 IBUs, and then double the finishing hops.

RAUCHBOCK

One of the best
rauchbiers
I’ve had the pleasure to judge was brewed by Randy Scorby who won Best of Show at the AHA NHC in 2011. This is a stronger version inspired by his recipe. Since I knew that Schlenkerla makes both a
Rauchbier
Märzen and a
Rauchbier Urbock,
I knew a cranked up version could work.

Style:
Classic Style Smoked Beer (Experimental)

Description:
Rich, malty, strong German lager with a moderately smoky character.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Step mash, mashout, crystal and dark grains added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

131°F (55°C) 10 minutes

152°F (67°C) 60 minutes

158°F (70°C) 15 minutes

168°F (76°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8 gallons (30 L)

Boil length:

60 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

50°F (10°C) 2 weeks

33°F (1°C) 3 months

Sensory description:
Smoky flavor and aroma but with a strong bready, malty base and subdued hopping. Clean lager character allows the pairing of smoke and rich malt to take place unobtrusively. The smoke is the dominant character but it isn’t overwhelming, which makes the beer more approachable. The malty finish helps take some of the edge off the smoke as well.

Formulation notes:
Rich German malts for that rich
bock
flavor pair well with the quintessential smoked malt. The darker crystal malts give it a little sweetness and fruitiness to take the edge off the smoke and increase
drinkability. The dark malt is just for color adjustment. Spicy hops add to the smoke. The yeast is the classic German lager variety, and one of my favorites for
bocks.
WLP833 German Bock would also work, particularly if you want the beer to be more malty and sweet in the finish.

Variations:
Why stop at a
bock?
Take it to the strength of a
doppelbock
(OG 1.072), which is actually closer to Schlenkerla’s version (1.070, 6.5%, 100%
Rauchmalz
). A decoction mash could also be used with this beer; the added richness shouldn’t be a problem. You could also increase the smoke by increasing the proportion of
rauchmalz,
but that depends entirely on your taste. Home-smoked malt is an interesting variation for those who have the means to do so, but then the type of wood comes in to play too.

SCHWARZBIER

I find that many homebrewers misunderstand this style. When judging in competition, I often get examples that taste more like porters made with lager yeast than true schwarzbiers. It’s important that the roast comes through but that it not be burnt.

Style:
Schwarzbier (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
This is in the Schwarzpils style with stronger bitterness and hop character than many examples. It matches the reported Köstritzer specs from 1993, making it a Cold War version. Modern versions aren’t quite as bitter; if you brew this for competition, reduce the IBUs to around 27.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Step mash, mashout, crystal malt dark grains added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

131°F (55°C) 10 minutes

146°F (63°C) 60 minutes

158°F (70°C) 15 minutes

168°F (76°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8.5 gallons (32 L)

Boil length:

90 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

50°F (10°C) 2 weeks

32°F (0°C) 13 weeks

Sensory description:
Strongly roasted flavor without any harshness or burnt flavors. Moderately high bitterness and a noticeable floral hop flavor and aroma. The hop character will fade over time. The beer is medium-bodied and smooth, with a dry finish. The hop bitterness is clean and supportive of the roasted malt flavors.

Formulation notes:
The most important ingredient in this beer is the Carafa Special III malt. Dehusked, debittered dark malts give the roasty flavors without the associated burnt characteristics. The Aromatic malt isn’t very traditional, but I was looking for some added malt richness to support the roast. I use a fairly high percentage of Pils malt since I want the beer to be dry and not have a large Munich-like flavor (which I think is out of place in commercial examples from Germany). I’m using a step mash and an attenuative but clean lager yeast because I want it to be a dry beer. If you want a maltier finish, try WLP833 German
bock
lager yeast or Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager yeast.