Munich Dunkel Uncle Crunkel's Munich Dunkel (AG)

Well I finally got this bad boy on tap and its pretty tasty. I love the sweet start with the malty finish that the decoction creates but does it get even better with age like most darker lagers?

barhoc11 said:

Well I finally got this bad boy on tap and its pretty tasty. I love the sweet start with the malty finish that the decoction creates but does it get even better with age like most darker lagers?

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this was optimal at around 2-3 months. It was amazingly complex and balanced by then

Only getting better with age, crystal clear and now I am wishing I made a 10 gallon batch instead of 5.

barhoc11 said:

Only getting better with age, crystal clear and now I am wishing I made a 10 gallon batch instead of 5.

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Great pic! I had to borrow it to show a few brewing friends what a dark lager can look like!

I plan on making this as my next brew and seeing how I have not done a lager yet I had a couple questions.Did you have to re-yeast after the 10 week lagering process? And did you bring the beer to a warmer temp before priming? I just have worries that the majority of yeast will have dropped out after being at 34 for like 10 weeks.

Brewed this on 2/4 and fermented at 50F with Wyeast 2206. Haven't had good of luck with the white labs 838. After decreased air lock activity of about 35 sec between burps, raised a deg F / day starting on 2/17 up to 56 F and held for 2 days here. Then took it back down to 35 over the next week in a similar fashion. Just put it on gas this weekend and it tastes great. My numbers were 1.060 to 1.017. One thing with Lagers you just have to be patient. Hopefully, you have made a starter and doubled it a couple of times. That always helps.

I keg my beer so don't know about activity of those little buggers after the long haul. Good Luck. BB

Baja_Brewer said:

It can be found using the OG and FG, his is 5.3% ABV.

I've been looking for a Munich Dunkel, I'd like to try this... Any suggestions/modifications?

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1. Get rid of the chocolate malt; wholly inappropriate in a Munich dunkel; replace it with some Carafa I or Carafa II.
2. Increase the Munich malt %, decrease the Pils malt %
3. Pull the thick first runnings and cook them down on the oven top while sparging -this will get you plenty-O melanoidins without having to increase your brew day length by decocting and without having to buy melanoidin malt. Also add a TINY pinch of yeast nutrient to the first runnings. --melanoidin reactions are between proteins and sugars and increasing the protein levels with a small pinch of yeast nutrient will help speed the reactions up.


Adam

Is Wyeast 2633 Oktoberfest OK for a Munich Dunkel? I bought that instead of Wyeast Czech Pils or Munich Lager. Thanks

I brewed something very close to this back in September. I dropped the chocolate + crystal and only used carafa II special. I went about 84% munich, 13% pils, 2% carafa. Fermented with WLP 860 (munich helles) yeast, lagered at 31 for 9 weeks. It came out very good, albeit a little sweet. I mashed to high for all of the munich malt that I used. I've done a second batch that I've yet to tap with a lower + longer first temperature step in an attempt to dry it out a bit. The extra sweetness didn't stop me from kicking this in two weeks.

Great recipe though, came out super clear. Glass started to frost up in my cold garage so picture clarity is no good, but still a good looking beer.

billym99,

What mash temp did you use on the second bash? Let us know how it turns out. I'd like to make another batch of this.

Thanks

Davi,

I stepped mashed it this time around. I mashed in @ 147 and held for 50 minutes, then went up to 158 (infusion) and held for an additional 35. I got the idea for this step mash from Kai's website, it's called a "hochkurz" mash (German for high & fast). I've been using it on nearly all of my brews lately and have been able to predict (at least more closely) my FG over that of a single infusion mash. As he explains on his site you can mess around with the length and temperature of the steps (primarily the first one) to change the fermentability of your wort. The addition of the high second step aids in adding body to a beer that may otherwise be a single infusion at a low temp.

I need more brew days of the same beer to get good notes on it. The above profile got my 2nd batch of Dunkel to 1.010 which is about where I want to try it. The first batch was a single infusion at 153 for 60 which got me 1.014 (same yeast, pretty much same fermentation profile). I also just did an APA with a similar profile (147/35, 157/35) that got me to 1.010, previously the same recipe was a single infusion @ 153ish that ended at 1.014 (WLP 041). I would like to do a single infusion at a lower temp and compare the body of the beer between the two mashes as well.

Anyways, it's a work in progress right now (and enjoyable work!).

Billy

Much appreciated Billy...I'll give it a try.

Just wanted to say thanks for the recipe. I brewed this yesterday, did a double decoction (131 / 143 / 153), and pitched s-23 lager yeast last night.

Question, is a little 120 crystal appropriate for the style? What does it add to the flavor? I'm thinking of adding a small amount to my next Dunkel to get that sweeter flavor similar to Hofbrau Dunkel.

My current Dunkel is 90% Munich, 10% Pils and a touch of Carafa for color.

If you want to make it sweeter, drop the 10% pils.
It doesn't need any base malts other than Munich.
There are 2 types of Munich Malt, Munich i and ii.

If you check the Weyermann website, it has a description of both.
If you need to adjust color, select the other Munich.
If you can't do a decoction, try adding some melanoidin.

Crystal is inappropriate for the style.

Thanks, I'll try the Munich II and a little Pils and forget the crystal.

I just brewed up a batch of this last night. I hit the volume and OG almost dead on, pitched SF-23, and it's fermenting away in my freezer today. I haven't made a dunkel in many years, and I'm looking forward to enjoying this one when it's finally ready.

I plan on brewing this Wednesday, and I am doing it with some carafa i and caramunic. I plan on doing my first decoction. The way my schedule works out, I brew at night, so starting roughly around 5pm. I was thinking that I might only do a single decoction in the interest of simplicity (kinda) and time. Is there enough benefit there? Or is it only really worth it do do a double or more?

Ended up doing a double decoction kegged it yesterday to lager. This tastes amazing already. I can't wait to see how it changes in 6 weeks! Great recipe

Trying to decide between brewing this and a traditional Oktoberfest or Vienna Lager. I only have one carboy and room in my fridge for lagering one batch at a time, and I've been doing Oktoberfests for the past couple of years, but I might try this one this year.

John

JohnK93 said:

Trying to decide between brewing this and a traditional Oktoberfest or Vienna Lager. I only have one carboy and room in my fridge for lagering one batch at a time, and I've been doing Oktoberfests for the past couple of years, but I might try this one this year.

John

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It is a fantastic recipe. I have been hording my current batch. Are you thinking of brewing it soon and lagering until the fall? This one did great at 10 weeks for me.

Are you thinking of brewing it soon and lagering until the fall? This one did great at 10 weeks for me.

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I am. Last year I brewed my Oktoberfest in March and lagered it in my fridge until Oktoberfest party in the fall. It was worth the wait, but if I do that it means no lagering for 6 months, so no summer pilsner, no munich dunkel, etc. I guess I could buy another carboy and just lager at cellar temps.

Ahh I've been meaning to try doing well that. Maybe next year.

Brewed this this morning. Came out ok, horrible efficiency because of my crappy CBS system, but it tastes great! had some 2206 I will use with it... used Magnum for bittering and Hal for the other two additions...