Once you’ve decided how you’re going to maintain the ideal fermentation temperature (see “Homebrewing Lagers: Chilling Out”), you can avail yourself of one of the most delightful beer styles known to man. Authentic German malts give this dark amber lager a restrained nutty roast character with a long, dry finish. The spicy Perle hops blend well with the bready Bavarian yeast character, making it perfect for quaffing.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons
Brewhouse efficiency: 75%
OG: 1.052
FG: 1.012
IBUs: 26
ABV: 5.4%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
7 lb (3.2 kg) Munich malt 15°L
2 lb (970 g) Pilsner malt
12 oz (340 g) Melanoidin malt
4 oz (113 g) Carafa Special III malt
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.75 oz Perle (21.3 g) at 60 minutes
0.25 oz (7.1 g) Perle at 5 minutes
DIRECTIONS
Mash at 152°F (67°C) for 60 minutes. Boil for 75 minutes.
Chill to 48°F (9°C) and pitch the yeast. Set your temperature controller to 50°F (10°C) with a 2°F (1°C) swing and ferment for 12 days. Then let the temperature free rise to 64°F (18°C) for the next 3 days, then drop the temperature 5°F (3°C) every day until you reach 35°F (2°C). Transfer to a secondary carboy or soda keg, and lager at 35–38°F (2–3°C) for 3 weeks. Package in bottles or kegs and enjoy when conditioned!
YEAST
Option 1: 3 vials White Labs WLP838 Southern German Lager Yeast
Option 2: 3 smack-packs Wyeast 2308 Munich Lager
(or the equivalent slurry from a starter)
EXTRACT VARIATION
Steep the Melanoidin and Carafa Special III malts at 160°F (71°C) for 30 minutes. Replace the base malts with 8 pounds (3.6 kilograms) of Briess Munich liquid malt extract (LME). Increase the bittering hops 20 percent or so if you’re doing a partial boil in a 5-gallon pot.