Munich Helles 2011 1st Place HBT- Light lager- Augustiner Lagerbier Hell

18.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 88.89 %
1.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.94 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 4.94 %
0.25 lb Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM) Grain 1.23 %
2.50 oz Hallertauer [3.80 %] (60 min) Hops 16.0 IBU
2 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc
Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Southern German Lager (White Labs #WLP838) [Starter 35 ml] Yeast-Lager
Gelatin in secondary

Lots to type- Instead of a decoction mash I used .25 pounds of Melanoiden and a pound of Munich. Of course you could leave that out, follow Kaiser's decoction advice and brew traditionally. You could also use some Vienna instead but it's up to you- of course.

I removed the amount of water additions because I certainly didn't want people adding random amounts of salts when they should follow their own reports to replicate Munich water.

I mashed at 154 for 90 minutes using a Sawdustguy RIMS system. 8 gallons of strike water and two 4 gallon sparges of 168 degree water.

I am a firm believer that pitching active yeast is just as, if not more, important than the starter size. Make sure that 838 is rolling and ready to eat so it has no problem taking off at 52 degrees.

Here is the story behind the beer and I'll follow up with some pictures if I can find them. This beer was brewed on 9-15-2010.





Every beer needs a story:

I have a long time friend (hell, we played Highschool football together in 1979-82- Oh GOD I'm old) named Rob. Rob works for a large Hotel chain and is married to a wonderful girl from Dublin, Ireland. Rob has relatives all over the world including a sister-in-law in Brazil and a Brother-in-law in Munich Germany so he travels the world and can eat and drink with the best of them. He’s been to Oktoberfest where he continually emailed us messages/pictures of him drinking in every tent he could find.

One Wednesday evening while druk and solving all the world’s problems I got the idea to replicate Rob’s favorite beer so I sent him this email:

“Hey Rob, you have now spent extensive time drinking in Germany. Southern Germany includes the state of Bavaria and includes Munich. (no I didn't know all that- I had to look it up as I'm a geographic idiot).
I have a couple German yeasts ready to use. One is a Southern German yeast called WLP 838. This is how it's described.
WLP838 Southern German Lager Yeast
This yeast is characterized by a malty finish and balanced aroma. It is a strong fermentor, produces slight sulfur, and low diacetyl.
What was your favorite non-wheat beer in Munich? “

Within one minute he emailed back the following:

Dude, the beer in Munich is AWESOME!!!
My favorite is Augustiner & Pauliner is second, Hofbrau is good as well… and here are the specifics from your list.
Augustiner Lagerbier Hell
Augustiner Pils
Paulaner Premium Pils
Paulaner Original Münchner Hell
Hofbrau Fürsten Trunk

And thus was born my Munich Helles.

Now I know I didn't leave the beer on the yeast for 87 months, I use gelatin, love my secondaries and it goes against the HBT authorities. I also don't care for Pilsner malt but you certainly could use some or all for this recipe.

Change it, brew it, have fun and post your results. Buy some liter mugs, serve it to your friends and family. Show off that fluffy white head and clear golden beer.

You brewed this beer and it's great!!!!

What did your water profile look like? From the above it appears you went for Munich but it isn't explicit.

My water is a bit too alkaline for a beer this pale, but I can dilute it and get close to Munich with CaCl2.

Saccharomyces said:

What did your water profile look like? From the above it appears you went for Munich but it isn't explicit.

My water is a bit too alkaline for a beer this pale, but I can dilute it and get close to Munich with CaCl2.

Click to expand...

Yes, Sacch. I shot for Munich water. I use deep well water from the mid-west. My water straight up would be too high in several areas(HC03 and NA). So, 8 gallons of well water, 8 gallons of RO water and (for me) 1/2 teaspoon of Epsom salt and 1/2 teaspoon calcium chloride.

First of all congrats on your first place accomplishment. I'm located in KS where are you located???(looked in your profile) I currently dillute with distilled as I haven't installed an RO filter system yet. I have been brewing for years and I've had trouble using gelatin, and I'm pretty sure its my process. I put it in post boiled water that is still warm and dump it into the secondary. When I have used it, the gell seams to be everywhere cooler like the sides of the fermenter,spoons and such. When I bottle the stuff is really stuck to the sides of the fermenter and I doubt much was in solution. I would love a little tutelage and any special tricks using this clarifier. This may sound funny but I am only now able to get clear beers and I would love to use Gelatin with better results.

Thanks and again congrats!

kitemanks said:

First of all congrats on your first place accomplishment. I'm located in KS where are you located???(looked in your profile) I currently dillute with distilled as I haven't installed an RO filter system yet. I have been brewing for years and I've had trouble using gelatin, and I'm pretty sure its my process. I put it in post boiled water that is still warm and dump it into the secondary. When I have used it, the gell seams to be everywhere cooler like the sides of the fermenter,spoons and such. When I bottle the stuff is really stuck to the sides of the fermenter and I doubt much was in solution. I would love a little tutelage and any special tricks using this clarifier. This may sound funny but I am only now able to get clear beers and I would love to use Gelatin with better results.

Thanks and again congrats!

Click to expand...

How cold whs your beer when you droped in the gelatin?

kitemanks said:

First of all congrats on your first place accomplishment. I'm located in KS where are you located???(looked in your profile) I currently dillute with distilled as I haven't installed an RO filter system yet. I have been brewing for years and I've had trouble using gelatin, and I'm pretty sure its my process. I put it in post boiled water that is still warm and dump it into the secondary. When I have used it, the gell seams to be everywhere cooler like the sides of the fermenter,spoons and such. When I bottle the stuff is really stuck to the sides of the fermenter and I doubt much was in solution. I would love a little tutelage and any special tricks using this clarifier. This may sound funny but I am only now able to get clear beers and I would love to use Gelatin with better results.

Thanks and again congrats!

Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the congrats.

This is the system I have been using lately. It's from Northern Brewer's site.

Gelatin is an excellent clarifier for homebrewers. It's cheap, easy to get, removes tannins and chill haze... with no ill effects.

There's been some debate over how to use it. I talked to a VERY experienced pastry chef (my Grandma-in-law) and she said I've been doing it wrong. Here's what she said (for using granulated gelatin, not sheets);

Use a glass jar, and fill it with a cup or cup-and-a-half of tap water. Not hot or warm or cold.... just cool. About 70-80 degrees. Put 1-3 teaspoons of gelatin in there and let it sit for 20 minutes. Swirl it up good (it will be cloudy) and pop it into the microwave. Set it for about a minute, but you need to watch it and take it out as soon as it's clear. The glass will be warm.

She said if you try to dissolve it in hot water, it clumps up, and cold water won't soften it up like you want. Never boil it (unless that is in the recipe).

Well, there ya have it. I've tried it twice now and it works perfectly.

Thanks for the info on that. I'm thinking then you add the warm gelatin mixture when your beer has finished the 65 F diacetyl rest, right? You want the yeast to finish any fermenting and allow it to clean up any off flavors if it has to. Then add the gelatin when the beer is warmest, and then slowly drop the temperature back down allowing everything: the fermenter and beer and gelatin solution to be as close in temperature as possible. This seems to make good sense to me.... Thanks!

kitemanks said:

Thanks for the info on that. I'm thinking then you add the warm gelatin mixture when your beer has finished the 65 F diacetyl rest, right? You want the yeast to finish any fermenting and allow it to clean up any off flavors if it has to. Then add the gelatin when the beer is warmest, and then slowly drop the temperature back down allowing everything: the fermenter and beer and gelatin solution to be as close in temperature as possible. This seems to make good sense to me.... Thanks!

Click to expand...

There are conflicting opinions on this. Yes, after the D-rest. Also, you should get the beer to form its protein haze before introducing gelatin. So ferment out including D-rest, crash cool and either add gelatin to the primary or rack to secondary on top of the gelatin. This is what I do because I harvest yeast and don't want gelatin in there. Some people add gelatin to the keg and this works too.

I'm very interested about the yeast starter and how you say activity is more important than number of cells. I brew lagers and have been trained to make 3-4L starters for a 5-gallon batch, cool, decant and then pitch. When you did the 1 L starter for 10 gallons, did you pitch a room temperature starter to the 51F wort? I would like to try this as making big starters several days in advance takes more time and effort, but I wanted to be sure of your process so I didn't muck up what could be a delicious batch of German beer.

Wow... since no one posted an answer I thought I would.... 3 to 4 liters of a starter for a 5 gallon batch is going way overboard. While you do normally want double the amount of lager cells when pitching compared to Ale cells. 4 liters is a gallon (basically) of a starter, in that volume a starter would alter the taste of your beer. Your yeast starter should be pitched into a similarly temped wort to avoid shocking and killing much of the yeast. (this might be why you or someone developed such a high volume of a starter) It can be room temp or cooler but the two should be similar, if the temp is above the ideal fermentation temp then after the yeast is pitched the temperature can be lowered, not crashed to an appropriate 53 F or so. Since lager yeast takes off a little slower what also really helps is O2 (1L/min in the fermenter for 5 gallons) and yeast nutrient added to the end of the boil, or to the fermenter if forgotten. This makes sure that the yeast has all the vitamins and minerals it needs so to speak. The O2, and yeast nutrient are to me more important than the make up of your water. There are many yeast pitcher calculators online google it and you can see the cell count you need for your planned volume of wort. I usually pitch a 2L starter for my 10 Gallon batches if using one package of Wyeast. Quick activity of the yeast is basically a homebrewers way of seeing how viable the yeast is. Quick activity is no substitute for cell count, however you will have quicker activity with a higher cell count, which is why makeing a starter and increasing the cell count is desired. "1L Yeast Active" in the recipe simplly means.... I think.... that the yeast starter (correct volume and cell count calculated) is activiely fermenting at its peak and you are seeing some krausen in the starter vessel... as opposed to making the starter ahead of time allowing it to almost finish or finish and then refridgerating it and waiting for brew day.
TMI I know but thats it. Hope it helps

I need a little clarification (advice). I'm trying this recipe for my first lager. The recipe describes primary fermentation for 21 days, with a diacetal rest at roughly 7 days. After the rest, will I return the primary ferment vessel to my cooler for the remaining days up to 21, and then rack it to secondary? Thanks for the help!

I would check with the manufacturer on the yeast however normally D-rests are done at the end of fermentation to make sure 1) fermentation is done, 2) to clean up any D-flavors primarily described as butter scotch. Ferment in the primary until no more bubbles.... then D-rest for maybe 5 days then cool to upper thirtys and rack to secondary on the gelatin clarifier mentioned in earlier threads.

What is the finished volume of this recipe?

10 gallon.

Last night I drew the first pint off this batch...Worth the Wait! Excellent flavor, beautiful color - really nice lager. After tasting this, I put in my grain order for a full 10 gal batch.

Since it turned out so nice I'm curious about how long it took, and if you used the gelatin? I'm glad your first lager turned out so well. Congrats

ahacreative said:

Last night I drew the first pint off this batch...Worth the Wait! Excellent flavor, beautiful color - really nice lager. After tasting this, I put in my grain order for a full 10 gal batch.

Click to expand...

Outstanding! I'm thrilled that you are enjoying this beer. Now get another batch going.

Kitemanks, I brewed on Jan 4, kegged and carbed on feb 11, and drew a pint on feb 17. I did not use gelatin. It cleared up so well in primary and secondary that I didn't need it. Because of the time involved in primary/secondary, I'll definitely make this a 10 gal brew from now on.

Nice! I almost forgot about this recipe until I got the emails on the thread recently...ya know how it is brewing for friends and Super bowl, but I want to do this one for me. I've pretty much got my landshark, and corona clone down time to brew this one next. Thanks and happy brewing

I've been looking for a lager to do. This one is going to be my first.

sneeron said:

I've been looking for a lager to do. This one is going to be my first.

Click to expand...

GREAT! The guys posting above got me all fired up and I brewed 10 gallons on Sunday.

Get a big active starter going. I've switched to pitching cold so do some research on that. Cool the wort lower than fermentation temperature, chill the starter to a lower temperature than that, pitch and let the wort warm slightly.

You absolutely do not want any fruitiness in this beer. Keep it cool.

Ok made this on Sunday with the wiki enhanced double decoction mash. Came out darker than expected(boil got away from me ). I made a gallon starter crash cooled then decanted and pitched the cake. It was a fun brewday will post tasting notes when completed

I made this about a month ago and its currently lagering. So far the color, clarity, and taste are so amazing. When I thing of a good true lager, this would most certainly be it. 10 gallon batches for this guy from now on. Excellent brew!

02andYou said:

I made this about a month ago and its currently lagering. So far the color, clarity, and taste are so amazing. When I thing of a good true lager, this would most certainly be it. 10 gallon batches for this guy from now on. Excellent brew!

Click to expand...

GREAT! Now keep us posted and let us know if you would change anything.

ahacreative said:

I need a little clarification (advice). I'm trying this recipe for my first lager. The recipe describes primary fermentation for 21 days, with a diacetal rest at roughly 7 days. After the rest, will I return the primary ferment vessel to my cooler for the remaining days up to 21, and then rack it to secondary? Thanks for the help!

Click to expand...

Any info on this question would be helpful.

Thanks.

kvess said:

Any info on this question would be helpful.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Kvess,

In my experience there is no need to return the beer to the lager fridge. You can leave it at basement temperature until you are ready to go to secondary. At that time you can cold crash the fermenters a couple days before going to secondary to help drop the yeast.

Tapped this today.......who the helles put a bier tent in my backyard!!!! This came out fantastic!

02andYou said:

Tapped this today.......who the helles put a bier tent in my backyard!!!! This came out fantastic!

Click to expand...

How exciting!!!! My 10 gallons from February is still lagering.

Next time you draw a beer I'd like to see a picture of that beer (if possible).

Update. I did the enhanced double decoction from the wiki on this one. I made it St. Patrick's weekend and did a d-rest. I lagered it for 6 weeks and kegged it. This is an awesome brew and extremely quaffable!!! The decoction darkened it up a little but not to dark for style. Will definetly make this one again.

Joe Dragon said:

How exciting!!!! My 10 gallons from February is still lagering.

Next time you draw a beer I'd like to see a picture of that beer (if possible).

Click to expand...

And here it is. This will be my first ever 10 gallon batch which I will start on Monday! Prost!

02andYou said:

And here it is. This will be my first ever 10 gallon batch which I will start on Monday! Prost!

Click to expand...

Beautiful! Look at that snow white head! Love it.

Thank you for posting the picture.

I'm all kegged up and when it's ready to pour I'll post a picture too.

Nice job brewing a difficult style.

I believe this is 4th or 5th generation of this beer... I dunno, drank so much of It can't remember. Would hazard to say I've made 30-40 gallons of this beer. Crowd favorite, more importantly; my favorite.

02andYou said:

I believe this is 4th or 5th generation of this beer... I dunno, drank so much of It can't remember. Would hazard to say I've made 30-40 gallons of this beer. Crowd favorite, more importantly; my favorite.

Click to expand...

Are you kidding me? Look at that beer! Absolutely beautiful!

Drats, now I'm going to have to brew it up again.

Great job 02.

Brewing this up right now, color looks great and pre boil gravity was spot on. I will try to post some pictures once I have it on tap.

I'm kinda new and been doing all grain for a couple months now and I have an old fridge to lager in. Is this a 5 gallon recipe? Surely not for a light lager?

he-brews said:

I'm kinda new and been doing all grain for a couple months now and I have an old fridge to lager in. Is this a 5 gallon recipe? Surely not for a light lager?

Click to expand...

Nope. 10 gallons of goodness.

"Batch Size (Gallons): 10"

Don't be afraid to ask question. PM me if needed because I don't always check this site or thread.

Did anyone check mash ph that used a Munich profile? Does not seem that there is enough dark malt to set the mash with that high of a carbonate level. Or did you add acid? I would like to make this and my house water is real close to Munich profile.

Ok I bought all the stuff to make this lager but it wet be ready in time for my occasion in march, could I possibly use a ale yeast on this recipe, would it turn out?

I have been gradually dropping my primary to lagering temperature (39F) after my D Rest, what is the minimum I really need to lager this for at 39F? The beer tasted good when I took a gravity sample after the D Rest, I cant imagine it needs too long of a lagering time. Also, the hydrometer sample I stuck in the refrigerator cleared up within a week, this makes me think that I could get this lagered in less than 2 weeks if needed?

I brewed 10 gallons of this yesterday and aside from accidentally adding a full pound of melanoidin instead of the 0.25 (ugh!), I think it turned out great. Ended up with a bit higher efficiency and mashed closer to 150 (still having a pain in the ass nailing down my temps due to the varying weather outdoors). It's in my fermentation fridge at 51 degrees. Will update more when it comes to tasting.