I’ve followed these guidelines in structuring my recipe, and it makes a really nice beer. Lately I’ve been using Carafa Special III (rather than II) to get a bit darker. With the III, my SRM ends up in the mid 20s. Not sure how U Fleků is getting theirs so dark with only 5% dark malt in the grain bill (decoction notwithstanding), unless they’re also using Sinamar or something like that. Probably not a big deal, but I’m curious to know how they do it.
The combination of 15% CaraBohemian (~75 Lovibond) and 5% Carafa II got mine pretty dark a couple years ago. I wouldn’t be surprised if they use Sinimar to finish.
10% crystal and 8 lbs Munich II / 8 lbs Vienna got us right in at 14/15 SRM.
I find, when I am brewing a very dark beer (for this style, I think I like around 28-30 SRM) and I want to keep the mineral profile minimal, that I prefer adding some or all of the roasted malt at sparge. I batch sparge and will just add the grains right after I drain the first runnings. That way, I can hit the pH I want with minimal mineral additions for the mash, then the roasted malt just acidifies the sparge (which is not an issue I worry about). The final beer never comes out tasting tart or overly acidic even though I end up not having to add any baking soda or pickling lime to the mash. In this case, 55% pils, 35% Munich or Bohemian Dark Malt and 10% CaraMunich or CaraBohemian makes a reasonably easy wort to nail pH with minimally-augmented RO.
Brewing one of these today with this recipe (6 gallons):
Czech Yourself; Wreck Yourself
49% Viking Pils
31.5% Bohemian Dark Malt
7% CaraBohemian
7% Carafa Special II (at sparge)
3.5% CaraRed
2% Melanoidin Malt
.5 oz Sterling 8.6%AA FWH (90 mins)
.75 oz Sterling 8.6%AA 30 mins
154F 60 min mash, batch sparge. Balanced Chloride/Sulfate ratio with just enough CaCl2 and gypsum added to RO to get 40 PPM of Calcium.
MJ Bohemian Lager Yeast
Shooting for 1.055, though most I had in Prague were assuredly 1.050 or under (12º).
Looks tasty. Let us know how it turns out.
How did this turn out? Was 7%CaraBoho on point? she a dark one!
I was wondering if there is any feedback on the recipes stated in this thread yet?
I ask because I am getting ready to package my first Bo Pilsner using WY2001 that’s supposed to be Pilsner Urquell yeast. The Pils came out very well, better than expected.
So now I am looking for more types of beer to use it with and the Dark Czech Lager looks to be a good fit.
Any thoughts and suggestions on what to use this yeast on? thanks, Mike.
PS… my Wife is loving this, she is of Czech heritage.
Ivan Chramosil, who served as the brewmaster at U Fleků for over 44 years, recommends 50 percent Pilsner malt, between 30 and 40 percent Munich malt, up to 15 percent of a caramel malt like CaraMunich, and at most 5 percent of a very dark malt like Weyermann’s Carafa II Special.
It’s been a while now, but I recall the efficiency was higher than expected (1.058) and it was slightly maltier than I wanted. If I brewed it again, I would probably drop the melanoidin and carared, as I don’t know they added anything. It tasted more like getting a dark lager from an American craft brewery than the real deal in a Prague tavern – which my previous version nailed pretty perfectly. I think the key to the balance of this style is that it is not too big, not too malty and not too roasty. There is a prominent caramel element, but since it is sufficiently dry, that element should not make the beer cloying or “portery.”
It’s a balance as a homebrewer who brews for himself and his wife primarily, as to how close to attempt to approximate classic styles. On one hand, my wife generally wants stronger, drier beers (dark and balanced or pale and hoppy) and I generally want smaller beers of a wider variety. Often that means I end up brewing bigger versions of classic styles, like a 1.060 “pilsner” or a 6.5% ABV “Belgian Single.” Essentially, I tend to err on the side of too big and I think that is the wrong way to do this style of beer.
Of the major famous ones, I have to say that I preferred Kozel Cerny (where my avatar comes from) over U Fleku. But there were lots of different versions ranging from very dry and clean to more malty and robust. They were usually pretty small beers, though (10-12 degrees P). I am not convinced that Saaz is strictly necessary, as it seemed to me that not every brewery used Saaz in Czechia since several who did seemed to advertise “Zatec” prominently. It’s conjecture, but I think Saaz is really expensive and sorta eaten up by the wealthiest breweries the way Amarillo and Simcoe were in the US a few years back.
FWIW, U Fleku tasted small and caramelly with very little roast. I couldn’t have told you what hops were used or the hop schedule, and I assumed it was only hopped once. My mouth would have guessed it was 1.044 down to 1.010 and probably 25 IBUs. It was nearly black, but barely roasty at all (despite very dark foam). AI suspect it was even smaller than that and that the high amount of caramel malt tricks the palate into thinking it is a bigger beer.
If trying to do this style right, consider brewing one under 1.050. I believe a lot of the concern over the high percentage of cara malt used is because people are imagining that at a different scale. Of course, for competition, bigger often wins, but then maybe “more authentic” isn’t really the point at that level.
Another point I want to make is that these aren’t really “red beers,” they are “nearly black beers.” In the glass they look black in Prague (albeit using dimpled .5L mugs most of the time). Czech breweries often have a separate “red beer” that is like ~14 SRM in addition to their pilsner and “cerny” (dark beer). I would really start around 20 SRM for a Czech Dark Lager, personally, and I think ~30 SRM is probably pretty common.