Schwarzbier Batter-Up Schwarzbier

There’s nothing like a dark lager to accompany the start of baseball season! Of course, I should have brewed this two months ago to have been ready for Opening Day but I had several high gravity ales in my ferm chamber and wasn’t about to rush those bad boys

10 Gallon Batch (post-boil volume approximately 11 gallons)

8 lbs Munich Malt
8 lbs German Pale
1.5 lbs Midnight Wheat

Double Decoction mash schedule:
Protein Rest: 120⁰F (20 minutes)
Saccharification Rest: 148⁰F (45 minutes)
Mash Out: 158⁰F (15 minutes)

60-minute boil

2 oz Perle FWH
2 oz Perle @ 30 minutes

OG: 1.046
Split batches of yeast both with 2L starter, decanted and re-fed to 2L fresh wort, then chilled and decanted before pitching:
WLP830 German Lager Yeast
WLP940 Mexican Lager Yeast
Chilled wort to 48⁰F before pitching, held at 48⁰F 24 hours, ramped up to 52⁰F and held for one week, ramped up to 62⁰F over the next week (about 2⁰ per day) and held at 62⁰ F two days before racking to secondary and cold crashing to 34⁰F. SG at transfer = 1.008

Comments:
I am planning on lagering for at least one month just transferred this on Sunday 4/21.

I have been using midnight wheat in all kinds of different brews lately and I am very happy with the results – lots of color with mild roast flavor. If you don’t want to use midnight wheat (or don’t have access) try dehulled carafa of some kind in which case I would back it down to a pound (or less) for 10 gallons and probably add some caramunich or cara aroma to round out the malt flavor.

0.5 lb melanoidin malt would be a good addition for anyone not willing/able to decoction mash, in which case I’d go with a single infusion mash at 148⁰F for 90 minutes.

In terms of the yeast selection, both the WLP830 and the WLP940 are clean and fairly fast for lager yeasts which is all I was looking for since I did not want to have to lager these for more than one month if possible. With the huge starters I pitched 2 weeks was plenty of time in the primary.

At transfer the WLP830 batch tasted clean and malty with a very slight roast flavor. The WLP940 batch was crisp and slightly more perceived bitterness than the WLP830, but very similar overall.

I’ll update the post once I transfer to kegs and carb.

Here's a pic of the WLP830 version:

Just tapped a batch of this I made with WLP940. I somehow got unexpectedly high efficiency and an O.G. of 1.050. I didn't want to dilute cause I already had more than a full keg wort of wort and didn't want to dump any. Of course this makes the beer a little more on the malty side, but I like my beer that way so it works out. It's gotten lots of compliments from friends. I think I will dial the midnight wheat back a little next time as it imparts quite a bit of roasty flavor that I find overshadows the lager character. This is a great recipe that I will definitely brew again.

Glad to hear imrook! I agree that the midnight wheat should probably be dialed back to 3/4-1 lb. I actually like the WLP940 version more than the WLP830. I have a few more ales in the pipeline right now but will be brewing this one again soon.

Have you tried sinmar in the boil instead of roasted malt?

I have not - recently I brewed this again and cut the midnight wheat down to one pound added at lauter and it cut the roast down considerably. I only used the Mexican Lager yeast this time, too though it was more for expediency's sale than anything else.


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