Rauchbier

[duff]

In the next couple of months I will be making a couple of batches. This is one of the ones I am looking at making to take advantage of the cooler temperatures. It is a Rauchbier recipe based on the recipe in Brewing Classic Styles.

I plan to do a BIAB with a mash temperature of 156f. I will be using the Narziss method of lagering as recommended in Brewing Classic Styles so I will cool the wort to 44f and over the next 2 days bring it up to 50f. At 3 or 4 weeks I will rack to secondary and lager for another month then bottle.

Fermentables

NAME AMOUNT USE
German Rauch Smoked 2.75 lb 40 % Mash
Pilsen Malt 2.5 lb 37 % Mash
Munich Malt 15.0 oz 13 % Mash
CARAMUNICH® III 6.0 oz 5 % Mash
Melanoiden Malt 2.0 oz 1 % Mash
Black Malt 1.0 oz 0 % Mash

Hops

NAME AMOUNT TIME USE FORM AA
Hallertau Germany 0.75 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 4.5%
Hallertau Germany 0.25 oz 10 min Boil Pellet 4.5%

Yeasts

NAME LAB ATTENUATION TEMP
German Lager Yeast WLP830 White Labs 76.5% 50°F – 55°F

Any comments or suggestions?

[russki]

That sounds very tasty! The only advice I have for you is to make sure you're pitching enough yeast. Use http://www.yeastcalc.com to figure out the required starter size/steps. Ferment your starter at room temp to promote yeast growth, and make sure to crash and decant spent wort before pitching.

For the fermentation regimen, I would recommend bringing the temps to 60F for several days for a D-rest once you are within 25% of target FG before dropping the temps for lagering.

[duff]

I will be definitely pitching enough yeast.

I ended up having to make my last lager starter in a 1 gallon jug because of the age of the Wyeast Packs I could get.

Also the Narziss fermentation gets around the need for the diacetyl rest. The lagers I have done following this method did not have any noticeable diacetyl flavors.

[oly]

You can't go wrong with the recipes in that book, and they make a great base for tinkering too. Enjoy.

[russki]

I will be definitely pitching enough yeast.

I ended up having to make my last lager starter in a 1 gallon jug because of the age of the Wyeast Packs I could get.

Also the Narziss fermentation gets around the need for the diacetyl rest. The lagers I have done following this method did not have any noticeable diacetyl flavors.

I still find it beneficial to raise temps at the end of the fermentation to ensure full attenuation. Sometimes lager yeast can be really slow to get the last couple points, and this gives it a nice push.

[duff]

I will be definitely pitching enough yeast.

I ended up having to make my last lager starter in a 1 gallon jug because of the age of the Wyeast Packs I could get.

Also the Narziss fermentation gets around the need for the diacetyl rest. The lagers I have done following this method did not have any noticeable diacetyl flavors.

I still find it beneficial to raise temps at the end of the fermentation to ensure full attenuation. Sometimes lager yeast can be really slow to get the last couple points, and this gives it a nice push.

OK. For the the Pilsners I did it didn't seem to need this but I will keep an eye on this batch.