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Recipe: Incendiary Schwarzbier
This dark German-style lager took home gold from the 2023 World Beer Cup in Nashville, Tennessee, and then went on to impress our blind-review panel. Smooth and easy-drinking, it offers subtly complex roasted malt character and a dry finish.
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When the team at Incendiary in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, gave brewer and quality-control manager Adam Goetz the chance to design a recipe, he knew what he wanted to make. Then it won gold at the 2023 World Beer Cup, and it scored a stellar 99/100 with our blind-review panel.For more from Goetz on the thinking behind this recipe, see Brewer’s Prespective: Gold Medal Schwarzbier with Incendiary.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.047
FG: 1.008
IBUs: 24
ABV: 5.1%
When the team at Incendiary in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, gave brewer and quality-control manager Adam Goetz the chance to design a recipe, he knew what he wanted to make. Then it won gold at the 2023 World Beer Cup, and it scored a stellar 99/100 with our blind-review panel.For more from Goetz on the thinking behind this recipe, see Brewer’s Prespective: Gold Medal Schwarzbier with Incendiary.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.047
FG: 1.008
IBUs: 24
ABV: 5.1%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
6 lb (2.7 kg) Weyermann Pilsner
1.3 lb (590 g) Weyermann Munich I
14 oz (397 g) Weyermann Caramunich II
5 oz (142 g) Weyermann Carafa Special II
5 oz (142 g) Weyermann Carafa Special III
1 oz (28 g) roasted barley
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.9 oz (26 g) Tettnanger at first wort [16 IBUs]
0.33 oz (9 g) Tettnanger at 15 minutes [3 IBUs]
1 oz (28 g) Hallertauer Mittelfrüh at whirlpool [5 IBUs]
YEAST
BSI Augustiner, White Labs WLP860 Munich Helles Lager, Wyeast 2352 Munich Lager II, Imperial L17 Harvest, or Omega OYL-114 Bayern Lager
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains and mash at 150°F (66°C) for 60 minutes. 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 according to the schedule. After the boil, do a whirlpool step: Stir or recirculate to create a vortex, add the whirlpool hops, and allow 30 minutes to steep. Chill to about 48°F (9°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 54°F (12°C) until your gravity has dropped to about 1.020, then raise to 59°F (15°C) for a diacetyl rest. When fermentation is complete and the gravity has stabilized, crash to 32°F (0°C) and lager 3–4 weeks. Package and carbonate to about 2.6 volumes of CO2.
BREWER’S NOTES
Water: We adjusted our local water with gypsum and chalk in the mash and calcium chloride in the mash and boil. Our target water profile: calcium 52.3 ppm, magnesium 1.5 ppm, sodium 10.9 ppm, sulfate 45.6 ppm, chloride 56.3 ppm, bicarbonate 57.8 ppm.
Mash: On our 15-barrel system, mash-in takes 10–15 minutes, and we rest for 10 minutes before we begin recirculation (vorlauf) for 30 minutes. If brewing at home, just test for conversion (see “On the Road to Conversion,” beerandbrewing.com or give it plenty of time.
