Magic Hat Howl inspired Dark Lager

imrook · 02-02-2012, 06:12 PM

EDIT: The recipe has been modified from the original post. I have kept the original here, for historical accuracy. For the recipe I used, please see this post later in this thread: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/magic-hat-howl-inspired-dark-lager-300546/#post3757258

Original post follows.
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Just had Magic Hat's Howl for the first time last night and I loved it. I immediately thought of brewing something similar. Here's the recipe I have so far:

Grain Bill
5.25# Munich dark (20L)
3.5# 2-Row
1.5# Crystal 120L
10oz Carafa Special III

Hop schedule
.5oz Columbus @60
.5oz Hallertau @20

Mash
154* for 75 min

Yeast
Wyeast 2112 California Lager

I think that should get me in the ballpark, but I'm interested in any tweaks other may suggest.

**ghpeel** · 02-03-2012, 01:18 AM

Thats a ton of a very intense crystal for a lager. Are you sure you want the beer to SCREAM crystal 120?

imrook · 02-03-2012, 03:45 AM

Oh, I meant to mention in the OP that this is my first crack at recipe design. So I'm really out of my element here. Now that you mention it though, I never have put more than a pound or so of crystal malt in a batch.

Grain Bill
8# Munich Dark
1# CaraMunich
1# 2-Row
12oz Carafa Special III (1/2 at mash-in, 1/2 in last 10 min)
4oz Crystal 120

From what I've read, that might be a bit much Carafa to put all in the mash. So the plan is to save half to cap the mash with to get color without all the flavor.

jeburgdo · 02-03-2012, 04:19 AM

Magic Hat has listed as grains: Pale, Carafa, Caramunich, and Crystal. Hops are Apollo and Hallertau.

I would sub out the Munich dark for pale 2-row. From what I remember, it was pretty roasty (and not all that sweet or malty) for a lager, so 12oz of Carafa III might be ok in the mash. My guess is the crystal is lighter than 120, but it's just a guess.

imrook · 02-08-2012, 01:58 AM

I realized that I wanted Carafa III, not Carafa Special III as I want the roasty flavors. That's most of what Howl is all about. My LHBS doesn't have the husked (non-Special) versions of Carafa, so I subbed Chocolate Malt. I also toned down the crystal to 60L, but bumped the quantity to round out the roasted notes a bit. I stuck with the hop schedule, because despite jeburgdo's comment, I see Columbus and Hallertau on Magic Hat's webpage: http://www.magichat.net/howl Here's the updated recipe:

Grain Bill
9# 2-Row
1# CaraMunich
1# Chocolate Malt
8oz Crystal 60L

Hop schedule
.5oz Columbus @60
.5oz Hallertau @20

Mash
150* for 75 min

Yeast
Wyeast 2112 California Lager

I pitched about 1/2 pint of slurry of 2112 @ 64*F. Fermentation was active when I checked on it 6 hours later. Temp slowly came down to 52*F and it's been chugging along there for 3 days now. I plan on ramping the temps up to the mid 60's once fermentation slows down, then lagering in the garage (mid to upper 30's) for several weeks. I have high hopes for this one.

jeburgdo · 02-08-2012, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imrook

...despite jeburgdo's comment, I see Columbus and Hallertau on Magic Hat's webpage: http://www.magichat.net/howl

Huh. Here they list Apollo hops: http://www.magichat.net/elixirs/howl

Either way, as just a high alpha acid bittering hop, I don't think it will make much of a difference. I think the recipe you went with looks great! Hope it turns out for you.