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Recipe: Bus Beer Světlý Ležák 12°
This reverently Czech-style lager is triple-decocted and brewed with imported Moravian malt and whole-leaf Bohemian Saaz. Green Bench cofounder and head brewer Khris Johnson says the beer “was inspired by a life-changing week spent in the Czech Republic with an incredible group of people.”
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Brewed at Green Bench in St. Petersburg, Florida, this lager was a six-way collaboration that included Atlanta’s Monday Night and Halfway Crooks, Denver’s Cohesion, Schilling Beer of New Hampshire, and Threes of Brooklyn, New York. Its namesake is the tour bus that drove these brewers around Czechia in 2022 as part of a trade mission supported by the Czech Ministry of Agriculture.
The Bus Beer Světlý Ležák 12° is triple-decocted and brewed with imported Moravian malt and whole-leaf Bohemian Saaz. Green Bench cofounder and head brewer Khris Johnson says the beer “was inspired by a life-changing week spent in the Czech Republic with an incredible group of people. Na zdraví!”
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.048
FG: 1.015
IBUs: 42
ABV: 4.4%
Brewed at Green Bench in St. Petersburg, Florida, this lager was a six-way collaboration that included Atlanta’s Monday Night and Halfway Crooks, Denver’s Cohesion, Schilling Beer of New Hampshire, and Threes of Brooklyn, New York. Its namesake is the tour bus that drove these brewers around Czechia in 2022 as part of a trade mission supported by the Czech Ministry of Agriculture.
The Bus Beer Světlý Ležák 12° is triple-decocted and brewed with imported Moravian malt and whole-leaf Bohemian Saaz. Green Bench cofounder and head brewer Khris Johnson says the beer “was inspired by a life-changing week spent in the Czech Republic with an incredible group of people. Na zdraví!”
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.048
FG: 1.015
IBUs: 42
ABV: 4.4%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
8.7 lb (3.9 kg) Raven Floor-Malted Pilsen
9 oz (255 g) Raven Caramel Pale
HOPS & ADDITIONS SCHEDULE
1 oz (28 g) Saaz pellets at 60 minutes [14 IBUs]
1.3 oz (37 g) Saaz pellets at 20 minutes [14 IBUs]
1 tsp (5 ml) yeast nutrient at 10 minutes
2.6 oz (74 g) whole-leaf Saaz at whirlpool [14 IBUs]
YEAST
We used Inland Island INIS-760 Czech Lager. We also recommend BSI-802 Czech Lager 2, Wyeast 2000-PC, or White Labs WLP802 Czech Budejovice.
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains, mash in at 131°F (55°C), and rest 20 minutes. Pull about 25–30 percent of the mash for a decoction. Raise the decoction to 145°F (63°C), rest 30 minutes; raise to 158°F (70°C), rest 10 minutes; then raise to a boil and boil for 15 minutes. Reunite the mash and mix, which should bring the temperature to about 145°F (63°C); rest 30 minutes. Again, pull about 30 percent for a decoction and again boil for 15 minutes. Reunite and mix, which should bring the temperature to about 158°F (70°C); rest 10 minutes. For a third time, pull about 30 percent for a decoction and boil for 15 minutes. Reunite the mash and rest at 169°F (76°C) for 20 minutes for mash out. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops and yeast nutrient according to the schedule. After the boil, do a whirlpool step: Stir or recirculate to create a vortex, add the whirlpool hops, and steep 25 minutes. Then chill to about 45°F (7°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast.
Ferment at 48°F (9°C) for 12–14 days; do not perform a diacetyl rest. If possible, attach a spunding valve for natural carbonation once the gravity has dropped to about 1.020. When fermentation is complete and gravity has stabilized, cold crash and drop yeast or rack to secondary/maturation tank. Lager for 6–8 weeks. Package and, if not already carbonated via spunding, carbonate to about 2.6 volumes of CO2.
BREWER’S NOTES
Malt: We used Raven malt from Záhlinice in Moravia. If you don’t have access to it, we suggest Sekado Czech Bohemian Pilsner Malt or Weyermann Bohemian Floor-Malted Pilsner. Likewise, if you can’t get Raven Caramel Pale, you can substitute any 40°L caramel malt.
Decoction: We recommend a thinner mash for the decoction, up to 2 qt/lb (4 l/kg) if your system can handle it. This will help buffer the mash during the boils and get more even temperatures. If you can do only one decoction, boil that decoction for at least 20 minutes. If you can’t decoct at all, do a step mash that matches those temperatures and times, and consider increasing the percentage of caramel malt to compensate.
Water and pH: Go for a very soft profile, no higher than 10 ppm for any mineral; if you’re concerned about fermentation, calcium can be up to 20–25 ppm without much of a noticeable change. Don’t worry much about high bicarbonates; alkalinity can vary and be adjusted with acids. We targeted 5.4 pH in the mash and adjusted to 5.1 pH after the whirlpool.
Hops: Czech Saaz are ideal, but you can also try other Czech hops; Kazbek and Sládek hops are among the varieties commonly used by Czech brewers.
Fermentation: You’ll likely see a long lag phase at the beginning of fermentation. Don’t worry—it’s not uncommon at a temperature this low.
Diacetyl: Now we come to it. Diacetyl is just a part of most Czech beers we’ve tried. We didn’t attempt to force it into this beer, nor did we attempt to prevent it. If it is present, it will likely be at low levels; it’s a special and natural piece of the puzzle.
Service: Last but not least! This beer is ideally poured via a proper Czech side-pull faucet into a dimpled Tübinger mug, with three fingers of dense foam to protect the beer beneath. Na zdraví!
