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Recipe: Enegren The Lightest One Helles
This German-style helles is a year-round beer for the lager specialists at Enegren Brewing in Moorpark, California, and a favorite of cofounder and head brewer Chris Enegren and his team.
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For more on Enegren’s approach to brewing a helles that can be enjoyed by the liter, see Ask the Pros: Brewing The Lightest (and Most Drinkable) One with Enegren.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.046 (11.4°P)
FG: 1.008 (2.1°P)
IBUs: 21
ABV: 4.8%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
8.6 lb (3.9 kg) Weyermann Barke Pilsner
HOPS SCHEDULE
1.2 oz (34 g) Hallertauer Mittelfrüh at 60 minutes [17 IBUs]
0.5 oz (14 g) Hallertauer Mittelfrüh at 20 minutes [4 IBUs]
YEAST
Ayinger strain, such as Omega OYL-111 German Bock, White Labs WLP833 German Bock, or Wyeast 2487 Hella Bock
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and prepare for a decoction. Mash in at 135°F (57°C) and rest 10 minutes, then raise to 145°F (63°C) and rest 45 minutes. Pull one-third of the mash to a kettle, slowly bring it to a boil, and boil for 20 minutes. Return the decoction to the main mash and mix, which should bring it to about 168°F (76°C) for mash out. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as needed to get about 6.5 gallons (25 liters), depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, chill to 46°F (8°C), aerate well, and pitch a healthy yeast starter. Ferment at 48°F (9°C). When the gravity has dropped to about 1.018 (4.6°P), connect a spunding valve (to a pressure-safe fermentor, or else rack to a corny keg), aiming for 2.6–2.7 volumes of CO2. Once fermentation is complete and gravity has stabilized, gradually lower the temperature to about 32°F (0°C), lager for 6 weeks, then package or tap and serve.
BREWER’S NOTES
Malt: We prefer Barke to Weyermann’s other pilsner malt. The kernels are a little plumper; they lauter a little better. Side by side, we think the Barke tastes a bit better, too.
Water: Go very soft; we use reverse-osmosis (RO) water mixed with a bit of city water. We don’t go as soft as the Czechs, but more appropriate to Munich brewing.
Mash: We aim for a liquor-grist ratio of 1.68 quarts/pound, or 14.5 quarts (13.7 liters) for this size batch. We also aim for a mash pH of 5.4.
Yeast: The lager strain that many labs market as “Bock” is widely thought to be derived from the strain that the Privatbrauerei Ayinger in Aying, Bavaria, uses for all its lagers. Because of that marketing, the strain is underused; it makes a great helles, among other things.
