ABOUT THE RECIPES

ABOUT THE RECIPES

1. Recipes are all grain and formulated in Beer Smith for 75% brew house efficiency using Gladfield Malts because they are easily accessed in NZ. If you do not have access to Gladfield malts please use our Malt Substitution Chart. Some recipes use home grown full cone hops. Where malt or hops may be hard to find we have either suggested substitutes or a link to a NZ supplier. To convert the recipes to partial mash & extract use the following links:
http://beersmith.com/blog/2008/06/03/converting-all-grain-recipes-to-malt-extract/
http://beersmith.com/blog/2009/05/14/partial-mashing/

2. In most recipes we use Magnum pellets with known alpha acids for soft bittering. Magnum does not contribute any significant flavour to the beer when used for a 60 minute boil. For most British beers we use Challenger or Target. If you have difficulty accessing a hop stated in a recipe please use the fantastic Beer Maverick Find Similar Hops page.

3. We suggest putting the recipes into your copy of Beer Smith (or similar brewing software) and making adjustments to suit your brewing system, adjustments of the bittering alpha of your hops, the alcohol potential of your fermentable ingredients and your chosen yeast before making the beer. The potentials of the ingredients are formulated using the 1st choice yeast listed in the recipe. Changing to another yeast will result in a different tasting beer and alcohol percentage. For instance: WLP090 will give you a fuller body and more hop character than WLP001.

4. Where there is a choice of mash temperature, a mash @ 66°C will result in a drier beer (more fermentable) and a mash @ 68°C will result in a sweeter beer (less fermentable). With multi step functionality on your mash system, 45 minutes at each temperature works well with 78°C mash out. If you do a single infusion mash then 67°C will hit the sweet spot.

5. Most boils are 60 minutes but lagers are usually boiled for 90 minutes. Most lager/pilsner recipes are built upon a foundation of pilsner malt, and a longer boil may help reduce S-methylmethionine (SMM), which is the precursor to the dreaded dimethyl sulfide (DMS). A very small hint of DMS is appropriate, even expected, in some of the lighter German lager styles, but most brewers need not encourage DMS production. A long boil also aids stability, aids in protein coagulation, and slightly darkens the wort.

6. For a 20 liter batch - that’s 20 liters going into the fermenter—pre-boil volumes should be approximately 22.7 liters for 60 minute boil, 24.6 liters for 90 minute boil, and 26.5 liters for a 120-minute boil. You’ll need to adjust accordingly for the peculiarities of your system, as well as weather, boil vigor, and so on.

7. While the recipes are as accurate as possible at time of publishing, brewing is as much an art as a science, and all beer specifications and raw materials for the recipes are subject to change with new varieties of hops becoming available, varieties of yeast and malt being available or not, brewery ownership changes, accountant directives and at the creative discretion of the brewer.

"There are several factors which influence the nature of beers in a particular place at a particular time - taxation, legislation, local tastes, raw materials, climate. These factors are not constant over time and location. Thus a beer style, for example Stout, cannot be expected to be the same everywhere in the world".

— Ronald Pattinson, Porter! (Mega Book Series), Shut Up About Barclay Perkins Blog

LAGER BREWING

8. Specific notes for lager brewing:

1. Mash at 66⁰C for a thinner body (Lager / Pilsner) and 68⁰C for a fuller body (Vienna / Marzen / Bock / Baltic Porter) - If you can be bothered try a traditional single, double or triple decoction during a mash [INFO LINK]. When they are used they create a maillard reaction and therefore increase the body and perceived sweetness.
2. Use a 90 minute boil
3. Cool wort and pitch healthy yeast at fermenting temperature usually around 8-10⁰C
4. Ferment at 8-10⁰C for 2 weeks
5. Raise temperature to 14-18⁰C for up to 1 week to complete fermentation and clean up artifacts (Diacetyl / Sulphur)
6. Move wort to a secondary fermenter, bottle or keg to lager at near freezing temperatures for 3-4 weeks (Beer freezes at -2⁰C). The advantage of using a keg is that you can taste the effects of lagering on the beer at different stages during the process as lagering can be done right inside your kegerator.

SUGGESTED MASH TIMES

SUGGESTED MASH TIMES
(some recipes will have the brewer's mashing regime in the notes)

ALE SINGLE STEP
67⁰C FOR 90 MINUTES

ALE MULTIPLE STEPS
66⁰C FOR 45 MINUTES
68⁰C FOR 45 MINUTES
72⁰C FOR 5 MINUTES
78⁰C FOR 5 MINUTES - MASH OUT

LAGER SINGLE STEP
65⁰C OR 66⁰C FOR 90 MINUTES

LAGER MULTIPLE STEPS
65⁰C FOR 45 MINUTES
68⁰C FOR 45 MINUTES
78⁰C FOR 5 MINUTES - MASH OUT

SPARGE WATER AT MASH OUT TEMPERATURE

DECOCTION MASH FOR LAGERS

If you want to develop traditional distinctive flavors in your beer, using a decoction mash is crucial. That’s especially true if you’re brewing a Bavarian or Czech style beer.

Below, we discuss the Hochkurz technique. Hochkurz is German for “high and short.” The mash uses well modified grains, begins well above the standard protein rest temperature, and it requires less time there. So, it’s literally a high and short method for brewing beer.

Equipment needed:
You can use a traditional 3-vessel set-up, brew-in-a-bag options, or even an all-in-one system with a decoction mash. Plus!
A decoction kettle: A standard aluminum or stainless steel kettle will work. This is for boiling the decoction, nothing more. So it doesn’t need anything special, like a false bottom or ball valve. Ideally, the volume will be about half of your mash tun.
A heat source: This is to boil your decoction, and any heat source will do. Propane, electric, and induction stove-tops all work well.
Scoop or Sieve: This is to transfer the decoction to the kettle.
Heat resistant jug: This is also to transfer the decoction.
Thermometer: It’s true that brewers developed traditional decoction methods before thermometers were around, but make it easy on yourself. A thermometer helps! 

Hochkurz Technique
The Hochkurz technique is a double decoction method that uses the same process of decocting the thickest part of the mash, heating it, and adding it back in. It looks like this:

First rest at 62°C for 35 to 45 minutes
Then pull your decoction (about 1/3rd of the mash), you’ll heat it in a separate pot (your decoction kettle) to around 66°C. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes then bring up to boiling. Heat slowly and stir regularly. When boiling add it back to the mash. Use a thermometer to check when the temperature of the mash is 71°C. Once the temperature reaches target, if you have any mash left in your decoction pot let it cool before adding it back in.

Second rest at 71°C for 30 to 45 minutes
Then pull your 2nd decoction (about 1/3rd of the mash). Bring up to boiling. Heat slowly and stir regularly. When boiling add it back to the mash. Use a thermometer to check when the temperature of the mash is 77°C. Once the temperature reaches target, if you have any mash left in your decoction pot let it cool before adding it back in.

Rest at 77°C for 10-15 minutes then sparge (optional) and Mash Out

The Hochkurz technique relies on specific temperatures that you need a thermometer to find. Each temperature encourages a particular enzyme.

The first rest is sometimes called the beta-amylase rest because it encourages the beta-amylase to work quickly. Beta amylase is responsible for cleaving maltose from complex molecule chains, and maltose is the primary sugar for fermentation. So, the first rest is vitally important.

The second rest encourages alpha-amylase activity. This enzyme also degrades sugar molecules into digestible components, encouraging good fermentation later on. 


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