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Recipe: Otherlands Household Gods Lagerbier
From Otherlands Beer in Bellingham Washington, this evolving recipe represents a snapshot of head brewer Ben Howe’s ongoing quest to crack the code of Franconian lager.
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For much more about kellerbier and other rustic Franconian lager so distinctive, see The Bier from the Keller.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.051 (12.5°P)
FG: 1.010 (2.5°P)
IBUs: 26
ABV: 5.3%
For much more about kellerbier and other rustic Franconian lager so distinctive, see The Bier from the Keller.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.051 (12.5°P)
FG: 1.010 (2.5°P)
IBUs: 26
ABV: 5.3%
[PAYWALL]
MALT/GRAIN BILL
9.3 lb (4.2 kg) German pilsner
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.3 oz (9 g) Hallertauer Magnum at 90 minutes [15 IBUs]
0.4 oz (11 g) Hallertauer Perle at 45 minutes [6 IBUs]
0.5 oz (14 g) Hallertauer Perle at whirlpool [5 IBUs]
YEAST
Expressive German lager yeast
DIRECTIONS
Mill the grain, mash in at 122°F (50°C), and rest 15 minutes. Raise to 145°F (63°C), rest 20 minutes, then prepare for a decoction: Move about 40 percent of the mash to a separate kettle; raise this portion to 162°F (72°C), rest 15 minutes, then bring it to a boil. Boil the decoction for 15 minutes, then move about three-fourths of that portion back to the main mash to bring it to 162°F (72°C). Rest 20 minutes, then add the rest of the decocted portion to bring the main mash to about 167°F (75°C), and mash out. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as needed 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 for 5 minutes to create a vortex, adding the whirlpool hops after the first 2.5 minutes; then allow 20 minutes to steep.
Chill to 45°F (7°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 50°F (10°C) in an unpressurized vessel, such as a stainless fermentor or carboy topped with a piece of sanitized foil. Once the gravity has dropped to 1.014–1.016 (3.5–4°P)—after about 6 days—drop the temperature to 43°F (6°C), harvest the yeast for your next beer, rack to secondary, and attach a spunding valve, aiming for about 2 volumes of CO2. Lager at 41–43°F (5–6°C) for 5 weeks, package, and serve—ideally from a sanitized stichfass or other spigoted barrel, poured into half-liter mugs and enjoyed in the shade.
BREWER’S NOTES
Malt: Ideally, get it from one of the two Bamberg maltsters: Bamberger or Weyermann. We aim for a liquor-grist ratio of 3.5 liters per kilo of malt, or 1.7 quarts per pound; for this recipe, that’s about 3.9 gallons (14.7 liters) of 127°F (53°C) water at mash in, depending on your grain temp.
Water: Local hard water—or soft water with additions of calcium carbonate. No acidification of mash, sparge, or kettle!
Yeast: Ideally, harvest the yeast from a beer that’s vigorously fermenting in an open/nonpressurized vessel. A one-liter starter prepared the day before, with just a piece of sanitized foil over the container’s mouth, might do the trick. Target a pitch of 15 million cells/ml.
