Today is brew day for my final tweak of the season on my Munich Helles and German Helles Export. I’ve got my starters going and plated my Wyeast Munich II 2352 to bank for next season. While I wait for my hose to thaw I thought I’d post what I’m doing this time.
Bavarian Hell - M.E. BJCP 4A
1.046 OG ~16 IBU
85% Best Pils
10% Best Vienna
5% Weyermann CaraHell
152F 90min 5.5pH
DI water with minimum amounts of CaCl, MgSO4, NaCl, Phosphoric acid to 5.5 pH
16IBU from German Magnum @ FWH, Hallertau Mittelfruh and Tettnang Tettnanger at 10min
Wyeast 2352 1LO2HK starter, 50F till > 50% ADF then free rise to 68F
Bavarian Hell X - G.H.E. BJCP 5C
1.056 OG ~25 IBU
78% Best Pils
18% Best Vienna
4% Weyermann CaraHell
152F 90min 5.5 pH
DI water with minimum amounts of CaSO4, MgSO4, NaCl, phophoric acid to 5.5 pH
~25IBU from German Magnum @ FWH, Hallertau Mittelfruh and Tetnang Tettnanger at 5 min
Same fermentation profile as the Bavarian Hell.
Planning to crash and gell fine in primary, force carb to ~2.7 volumes, lager a month at 38F, then bottle enough with my new Beer Gun to ship for Spring Swap and maybe a local summer competition.
Those look good. The Export is pretty similar to mine. Still having a hard time with calling a Dortmunder lager a helles export. I think they could’ve left that as is. It’s not any closer to a helles than it is a pils. Whatever.
I don’t think it gained me that much, and I can always adjust ph in the final beer. The kettle drop didn’t provide a noticeable improvement in hop quality, clarity or yeast performance, so for me… why do it.
I figure the theory was to recognize that other cities make them. But that doesn’t hold water since they left Munich in there. I like Bavarian Helles and German Helles. Whatever, gives us something to talk about
I’m learning that trying to nail a world class Munich Helles is like trying to sink a 40’ putt with a 40 pound putter and the hole is the same size as the ball.
The strength was what came to mind for me with the ‘export’ tag. I guess it seems more confusing because it appears on the surface that an export helles is nothing more than a stronger Munich helles, ignoring that a Dort is hoppier and more minerally than a Munich helles. I’m probably overthinking it.
It’s all good. After we all get used to it they will change it again.
At Best of Craft I was in a good debate over the idea of judging commercial beer against the style guides. It seems to me that the style guides are describing what commercial brewers have done, or are doing. If there’s an awesome beer that pushes the guidelines a little, in my opinion the beer should win that fight. Over time, if there’s enough awesome examples pushing the lines, the lines should move. Obviously not when it comes to historical styles… but
They tried to cover Dertmunder and Helles Export and captured neither, a mishmash of both.
If you ever have had a Dortmunder Export and an Augustineer Edelstoff you don’t confuse them. The Dortmunder is a mineraly Pilsner. The Edelstoff is a bigger Helles, not hoppy and not mineraly. http://www.augustiner-braeu.de/en/unser-bier.html#
Click on the DE in the upper right and you will see the Edelstoff is called a Helles Exportbier.
Brews are chugging along nicely, and I think I successfully plated my first yeast strain in my very own homemade plates.
A few weeks ago I made some plates and slants, non were contaminated after incubating for a few days. After my first try at streaking, and 48 hrs of incubating, I have two plates with nothing but pristine snow white yeast colonies.
Crappy photo, but it worked! I just selected singles and inoculated three slants. Woo hoo! If this works, I’ll actually have continuous access to my favorite lager strain. No more waiting for a PC release
These two beers, Munich Helles and German Helles Exportbier, are just about done. When I pulled my second FG sample, they both smelled and tasted clean. But I poured those to small plastic sample cups and heated them to aboit 100 in the micro. The GHE still smelled clean but the ME was boom movie theater butter. So I bumped the temp to 72 (4 days ago). I’ll pull one more sample Saturday.
Cool test. Easy, cheap, works. I’ll be doing it on every FG sample from here on.