Journal of Brewing

So the time has finally come. Spring is here and even though it doesn’t feel like it yet I know i’m going to want a crisp smooth refreshing brew to cap off those warm evenings. In the wake of this desire and my ability to think ahead, it’s time for a lager. I gathered ingredients from the usual haunt. Now comes the difficult part.

Fermentation is going to be a bit tougher on that one. Fortunately, your humble narrator has a kegerator and an external thermostat. I plan to primary at about 46°F for two weeks. Then i’ll transfer to the carboy and lager at about 35 or so. This will also be my first full-wort boil using my new brewpot and outdoor burner. I may have to post pictures for this one. With that said, let’s look at the line-up:

6.6 lbs light Bierkeller malt extract
1 lb Durst Vienna Malt

2.5 oz Spalt leaf hops (boiling)
1.5 oz Spalt leaf hops (final 10 mins)
1 oz Saaz pellet hops (aroma)

1/2 tsp Irish Moss
1 package WyeastXL 2308 Munich Lager Yeast

Specialty Grains

3.8°L for this malt. The site says it will benefit from a multitemperature infusion mash but I’m not doing that. I don’t have the equipment. I’ll just steep for 30 mins at 155. It would be nice to have a dry, slightly toasted flavor in this beer.

Fermentable Sugars

6 2/3 lb light. Since i’m doing a full-wort boil this time I can add it at the beginning and it won’t carmelize in the boil.

Hops

Spalt and Saaz. I went with the leaf hops for the Spalt because I could get it cheaply in the amount that I wanted. It also will make straining out of my brewpot into the fermenter easier. I have a bazooka-T in the bottom of my pot so that should work nicely. For the Saaz I can just hang them out in a muslin bag and pull them out at the end.

Yeast

Munich Lager Yeast. Supposedly smooth and well rounded. That’s what I’m looking for in a lager. I don’t know what a temperature rise and diaceytl rest is. Maybe I can find out before Saturday?

So i’m pretty excited about this one. Hopefully I can get some pictures up. I don’t know how much water to start with since I’ve never done a full-wort boil. I know it should be at least 6 gallons. I just can’t wait to use all my new equipment.