Historical Beer: Piwo Grodziskie Grätzer

Hello, thought I'd try my hand at this style. Tasting notes after 5 days are promising. Although my recipe isn't exactly to style, the preliminary tasting notes are in line. I didn't have just wheat smoked malt so I thought I'd improvise. Getting ready to cold crash then fine with gelatin, trying to get as clear as possible to be in style.


4# Weyermann Beechwood Smoked Malt
3# Great Western White Wheat Malt

35g Tettnang @ 4.5% A, 60 min
10g Styrian Celeja @ 1.4% A, 10 min

Wyeast 2565, 300ml slurry

Starting OG: 9.8º
After 5 days @ 62f down to 2º

Apparent attenuation at 78%

What was your mash schedule? I brewed a Grodziskie earlier this summer using a Zygurgy recipe. The mash schedule was a little long and involved, but I ended up getting a really tasty beer.

Also, I tried clearing with gelatin and didn't get good results.

I read the same Zymurgy article as well, my mash schedule wasn't as long as the one they talked about. I mashed at @ 122f for 30 min then raised the temp to 152f over flame while recirculating held for 30 min , then mash out at 170f for 10 min. Had higher efficiency than I usually get, around 85%, so upped my hop additions to match. Yea, after sleeping on it I may avoid the gelatin and just cold crash til a keg opens up. I've been trying to brew lower ABV beers so I can go through them a bit quicker so I'm really looking forward to this. Going to keg and carbonate with dextrose to 3.5ish vol CO2. Will update with final tasting notes and pictures when ready.

Cheers!

Finally opened up a tap for this, not as clear as I hoped but more time in the keg will help with this. Nice high carbonation, appropriate to style. Nice clean and crisp all the way through. Very happy with this, definitely will be brewing again. Anyone else done this beer not to style exactly?

Clarity is getting there!

That looks yummy. I only have one bottle left from my batch (brewed mine in August 2014). What s your ABV? Mine was low at 3%, which, according to Zymurgy, is in style.

My efficiency was quite high 87%. Final ABV was 4.9%. I could see how this would be even better with lower abv.

Well I'm going to call this ready! Even though I've been drinking it for the past few weeks the clarity and carbo are spot on now. Just bottled off a case. While I really enjoy this beer I'm not sure I will brew it again, most of the people who tried it commented on the intense smokyness, while I love smoked beers having 5 gallons of this on tap when I have other beers ready to put on tap that I know will get drank made me in a rush to get this bottled. I would highly recommend this if you like a nice sessionable smoked ale.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1416610502.912927.jpg

I enjoyed my batch, but only made 2.5 gallons. I also don't know if I will make another batch, but who knows. It was mighty tasty.


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Good day fellow home brewers!
Looking into gratzier because i wanted to do a kolsch style beer slightly smoked for summer. How's the smokiness in this brew? I understand it is subjecive but would you describe it as pungent or heavy or on the lighter side? You can get a smoked wheat malt now so i am thinking of using it for 60% of the grist and then normal wheat for the balance. What do you think?

I went with all weyerman oak smoked malt and the results were great, but the four step mash was brutal.

I am including my beersmith recipe.

Here is some info I used as a reference on top of the zymurgy article...

http://www.northernbrewer.com/connect/2012/04/notes-on-a-brewday-weyermann-g/

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/how-to-brew/gratzer-revitalizing-a-polish-ale/

longest brew day ever.

The smokey-ness is very pronounced but not like you are drinking a smoked gouda.

Cheers!

View attachment Gr+ñtzer_BeerSmith2_recipe.pdf

I did a grod last year:

6 lb Weyermann Oak-smoked wheat
1.25 oz Saaz (3.2% AA) - 90 minutes
.5 oz Saaz - 30 minutes
1 Whirlfloc tablet
1 pack US-05

Single step mash at 155 for 90 minutes, then a mash-out at 170 for 15. Fermented at 62 for three weeks, then bottled with enough priming sugar for 3 volumes CO2. Ended up with OG 1.028, FG 1.007, 2.8% ABV. Pleasantly smokey, not too over-the-top. Crisp and dry, with just a hint of wheaty/smoky sweetness.

A single step mash will be fine, and definitely seek out the oak-smoked wheat. You could use a Kolsch yeast, which is probably more authentic, but US-05/WLP001/1056 still produces a crisp, clean beer, and drops clear pretty quickly.

I used Wyeast 1007 but it ended up very clumpy. Kölsch yeast would probably be way better.