Having almost no access to this style locally, I’m thinking of taking a shot at one. Based on the amount of grain I have available, would this get me anywhere close?
5 gals.
4 lbs Weyerman Munich 1
4 lbs Weyerman Pils Malt
2 oz Weyerman Midnight Wheat - added at sparge
1 oz Hallertau 5% at 60
1 oz Hallertau 5% at 10
WLP 833 with large starter.
Ferment at 50F
Thanks
I’d add more Munich. Maybe 90/10 Munich/Pils. Is the Midnight Wheat the only roasted grain you have?
Kai
I agree with Kai - more munich, less pils, and I’m going to duck after I say this… maybe 3-4% Caramunich. I know, I know traditional etc. etc. but when I started looking at most of the NHC Gold medal winners a lot included caramunich so I tried it in my last 2 dunkels and I liked it better. 8)
shoot for the low to middle end of the SRM range - although the guidelines allow for up to 28, I personally think darker than 22-23 is too dark.
I also would just throw your 60 min hops in FWH - leave it be at that amount, not the “it tastes like 20 minute additions” adjustment.
How about all dark Munich like Weyermann Munich II? or 90/10 with pils? The commercial dunkels I’ve had have no roast character. The light Munich is only 6L and doesn’t get dark enough IMHO. I’ve made them with all Munich II and they come in about 17 SRM.
I like to make mine with just about all Weyermann Munich II and a few ounces of Carafa Special just to darken it up, added at vorlauf. I am considering throwing a few ounces of melanoidin malt in there as well to add some of that character, but I am very confident that this one needs to be just about all Munich malt.
I guess it’s actually Chocolate wheat. I have light chocolate, black patent, roasted barley and the chocolate wheat. Problem is that I don’t have any Carafa Special. I figured the chocolate wheat was the least “roasty” of the bunch without husks and thus would be the least astringent.
I only have 4 lbs of Munich too. I was going to make a pilsner with this yeast that I’ve been stepping up but I’m not a huge pils fan. I like a bit more colour in my beers so I thought this might be an option.
Looks like I’m going to end up with some sort of Amber Lager if I go this route. Maybe not to any style but that’s not important to me if it tastes OK. In some ways this is still just a big starter to get a big pitch of yeast so that I can do a few more batches of lager before summer gets here.
Thanks all.
Well, it doesn’t need to be made to a style guideline. Leave it as it is brew and enjoy!
The Dunkels are sweeter around Munich.
Scroll down and you will see a recipe I have thought about, but not brewed.
http://www.weyermann.de/eng/faq.asp?umenue=yes&idmenue=62&sprache=2
If you’re not dead set on being a traditional lager, then you could make a damn good Alt with what you have on hand, methinks. Hell, if you’re not tied to style, you could probably get away with using the 833 with a Düsseldorf Alt grain/hop bill and make a damn good beer.
With the available malts you could aim for a Schwarzbier. I agree that the wheat is your best option when you don’t have Carafa Special.
Kai
I thought about a Schwarzbier based on another thread that’s been on the forum lately but I’ve never had one so I don’t know what to expect. I’m sure that they are good, just don’t know what to expect and thus whether or not I’ve come close. I’ve not had many Munich Dunkels either but I figured Amber’ish lager was less likely for me to screw up than black lager.
I’m not a big fan of the India Black Ale styles that seem popular these days and although a Schwarzbier doesn’t have the hops load, I wasn’t sure if roasty and lager were for me either.
Maybe a trip to Germany should be in my future…
A Schwarzbier has less of the deep malt character than a Dunkel and I get this by using less Munich and more Pilsner malt. The Roasted grains get you most of the color. I thought of it based on what you have available.
Kai
+1. Go with what you had originally and see how you like it.
Done.