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Recipe: Otherlands Haładuda Specjal
With thanks to Ben Howe and Karolina Lobrow, cofounders of Otherlands Beer in Bellingham, Washington, here’s a recipe for their take on a Polish pilsner—one of our Best 20 Beers in 2022.
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Otherlands cofounder and brewer Ben Howe says this beer is “dedicated to the family matriarch, Babcia, and all the Haładuda ladies.” The light yet characterful pilsner includes Polish and Czech hops, Czech malt, and a decoction mash. Howe says it is “deeply inspired” by the Lojko Polish Lager from Notch Brewing in Salem, Massachusetts, as well as Wayfinder’s Czech-style pilsner, CZAF, in Portland, Oregon.
For more on why we loved Haładuda Specjal, see our Best 20 Beers in 2022. For more about Otherlands, see Case Study: Otherlands Embraces Lager & Hospitality in the Craft Beer & Brewing Brewing Industry Guide.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.043
FG: 1.010
IBUs: 40-ish
ABV: 4.4%
Otherlands cofounder and brewer Ben Howe says this beer is “dedicated to the family matriarch, Babcia, and all the Haładuda ladies.” The light yet characterful pilsner includes Polish and Czech hops, Czech malt, and a decoction mash. Howe says it is “deeply inspired” by the Lojko Polish Lager from Notch Brewing in Salem, Massachusetts, as well as Wayfinder’s Czech-style pilsner, CZAF, in Portland, Oregon.
For more on why we loved Haładuda Specjal, see our Best 20 Beers in 2022. For more about Otherlands, see Case Study: Otherlands Embraces Lager & Hospitality in the Craft Beer & Brewing Brewing Industry Guide.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.043
FG: 1.010
IBUs: 40-ish
ABV: 4.4%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
8.1 lb (3.7 kg) Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner
2.2 oz (62 g) acidulated malt
0.6 oz (17 g) Weyermann CaraBohemian
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.45 oz (13 g) each Lublin and Saaz at first wort [15 IBUs]
0.45 oz (13 g) each Lublin and Saaz at 90 minutes [15 IBUs]
0.45 oz (13 g) each Lublin and Saaz at 10 minutes [10 IBUs]
YEAST
Favorite lager strain that produces some mild esters
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains, mash in at 126°F (52°C), and rest 15 minutes. Raise to 147°F (64°C), then transfer 30 percent of the mash to the lauter tun. Raise the bulk of the mash (i.e., the remaining 70 percent) to 162°F (72°C), rest 30 minutes, then gradually bring it to a boil. Boil it for 20 minutes, then transfer to the lauter tun to reunite and mix with the rest of the mash, and rest 10 minutes. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle onto the first-wort hops; sparge and top up as necessary to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate.
Boil 90 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, stir or recirculate 10 minutes to create a vortex, then allow 30 minutes to steep. Chill to about 45°F (7°C), aerate thoroughly, and pitch plenty of healthy yeast. Ferment at 50°F (10°C) for 4–5 days with as little top pressure as possible. (Instead of using an airlock, consider putting a sanitized piece of foil over the top of your fermentor.) Once the gravity has dropped to about 1.015–1.016, connect a spunding valve if you have it. After 5–6 days or once the beer has passed a forced diacetyl test (see “Hunting for Diacetyl,” beerandbrewing.com), chill to 46°F (8°C), then 24 hours later chill to 36°F (2°C), then 24 hours later chill to 32°F (0°C). Lager at 32°F (0°C) for 4–5 weeks.
BREWER’S NOTES
Malt: The acidulated malt is to help us hit our target pH, while the CaraBohemian is a touch of color adjustment. Don’t skip out on the decoction! It’s the most fun part of the day.
Water: We have very soft, forgiving water in Bellingham. For this beer, we use our city water with moderate additions of calcium chloride and calcium sulfate in the mash.
pH: Keep an eye on your pH. We target a mash pH of 5.35–5.4, and an end-of-boil pH of 5.15–5.20.
Yeast: We use our own house lager strain. I recommend a flavorful German lager yeast that produces a decent amount of esters. Or, SafLager W-34/70 will do in a pinch!
