Munich Helles Dead Guy Clone (Extract & AG- see note)

[Staestc]

Gonna be brewing this within the next couple of weeks and will be using the Pacman yeast that I harvested from three bottles as seen in the picture. I used three steps to get the quantity currently in the jar and will use this to make a starter just before brew day. Excited to see how this is gonna turn out since it's my first time harvesting yeast from commercial bottles.

That's cool! Good luck with it!

 

[bradford0113]

I just got all my ingredients and will be brewing the original recipe this weekend using the Pacman yeast that I bottle harvested. I want to keep the fermentation temperature low as recommended throughout this thread.

I have a basement closet that has been maintaining an ambient temperature of about 55F and I am thinking about placing the fermentor in there. Does anyone know if the Pacman yeast will still do okay at that low of an ambient temp? Should I start it warmer to get the yeast going and then move it to the closet or just put it in there from the start?

Part of my problem is that I am brewing Sunday but will then be going out of town on Tuesday so I won't be able to monitor the fermentation. I would hate to come home Friday to find out that it never took off.

 

[Gusmedic]

On the original post, Yoop suggests in the AG recipe to shoot for an IBU of 30-35. When I plug the extract version into beersmith, it gives me an IBU of 25. Should I adjust up the amount of hops a tad, or add one of the extracts late (20 min into the boil) to accomplish the higher IBU?

 

[Yooper]

On the original post, Yoop suggests in the AG recipe to shoot for an IBU of 30-35. When I plug the extract version into beersmith, it gives me an IBU of 25. Should I adjust up the amount of hops a tad, or add one of the extracts late (20 min into the boil) to accomplish the higher IBU?

Yes, add the majority of the extract at flame out.

 

[browder]

Gonna try this recipe out today and pick up some Vienna malt to do that Yellow Fizzie recipe of yours by mid week I'll have three of your recipes siting in buckets--Thanks Yoopr

 

[Staestc]

I have everything to do this one as my second all grain, but I have to wait another week to get my first all grain out of my fermentation chiller (heater actually this time of year). Anxious to do this one though, so please post how it goes for you.

 

[brewski09]

I just got all my ingredients and will be brewing the original recipe this weekend using the Pacman yeast that I bottle harvested. I want to keep the fermentation temperature low as recommended throughout this thread.



I have a basement closet that has been maintaining an ambient temperature of about 55F and I am thinking about placing the fermentor in there. Does anyone know if the Pacman yeast will still do okay at that low of an ambient temp? Should I start it warmer to get the yeast going and then move it to the closet or just put it in there from the start?



Part of my problem is that I am brewing Sunday but will then be going out of town on Tuesday so I won't be able to monitor the fermentation. I would hate to come home Friday to find out that it never took off.

I know it's late but my personal preference would be to start warmer and then move it to the closet to ensure that yeast takes off. Hope it went well for you.

 

[bradford0113]

Brewed this 10 days ago and got an OG of 1.060 which was a little low. Over the last three days the SG hasn't changed from 1.021 which is a little higher than I expected for this beer. I mashed at 158F (full volume BIAB) and used bottle harvested Pacman yeast. Should I just bottle this as-is or should I add some US-05 I have on hand to see if I can get the gravity to drop a little bit more?

 

[brewski09]

If your harvested yeast wasn't super healthy for some reason (a real possibility with any harvested yeast) then it could have stopped short. Some us-05 could do the trick. I like the cask and barrel conditioning yeast though. It's intended to not add flavors from refermentation.

 

[browder]

Brewed this recipe Monday afternoon another good recipe from the Yooper--can't wait to get it in a keg Thanks Yooper!

 

[mrstevenund]

I've looked through the last 20 or so pages of this post. It looks like most people are using WLP001 (cal ale), or pacman, or I guess to generalize it more, Ale yeast. Has anyone used a lager yeast, since Maibocks are traditionally lagers?

The reason I ask is I currently have Yooper's O'fest in the fermenter (tastes great BTW!) with WLP820 O'fest yeast, ready to be transferred to the keg. I'm debating what to do with the yeast cake.

 

[GonZolaB]

Haven't tried yet, but I am getting ready to brew this one with W-34/70. I don't think you can go wrong with this grain bill.

 

[brewski09]

I've looked through the last 20 or so pages of this post. It looks like most people are using WLP001 (cal ale), or pacman, or I guess to generalize it more, Ale yeast. Has anyone used a lager yeast, since Maibocks are traditionally lagers?

The reason I ask is I currently have Yooper's O'fest in the fermenter (tastes great BTW!) with WLP820 O'fest yeast, ready to be transferred to the keg. I'm debating what to do with the yeast cake.

I'm sure it would be good with the 820. You would be missing the yeast character, but you are doing that if you don't use pacman anyway. I say go for it.

 

[brewprint]

Brewed this a couple weeks ago. Got an SG of 1.063 and just checked the FG and it's 1.020. Mashed between 155-156. Probably try 154 next time. Also had to use Wyeast American Ale. The Pacman came later than I expected. I should be able to throw this in a keg soon.

 

[MollyHatchet]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1438701089.944826.jpg

Sadly this kicked on me last night, it was my first shot at it and got rave reviews from friends and family. Definitely on the short list to do again. This was all grain version, and I used US-05 yeast, it was a very nice beer.

 

[mr_y82]

Looks nice!

 

[shingle]

Hello, really keen to do this one. Struggling with the estimated colour. Based on the grains available to me from the local HBS, using the recommended 80% MO, 8% caramunich I, 8% light munich and 4% crystal malts I'm only hitting an EBC of 21.6 ( 8.7 Degrees Lovibond). Well short of 16L.

Changing this bill to 80% MO, 8% caramunich III, 8% dark munich and 4% dark crystal malt gives me an EBC of 34. This seems to be closer to the 40 EBC required but a huge deviation on the recipe.

What am I doing wrong? Should I substitute with darker variants of munich/crystal malts or change the crystal ratio?

A similar recipe found below seems to be much more generous with the crystal @ 16%:https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/beer-recipe-of-the-week-rogue-dead-guy-ale-clone/

 

[Ozzfest05]

And so it begins.

 

[MollyHatchet]

Well, I did this great beer again, and at the same time I was making a bourbon barrel porter. So while I was brewing, and transferring the two beer, I inadvertently put two ounces of oak, and twelve ounces of bourbon on my dead guy ale. After five days, I pulled the oak out so I wouldn't over oak it.

Well, after four months of bulk aging, this beer is AMAZING! I call it Drunk Dead Guy, and has been a real hit around here over the holidays. This is definitely going to be a seasonal holiday ale around here for sure.

While I was in New Jersey, I grabbed a bomber of dead guy ale to compare to this recipie, and I almost poured it out, this is by FAR much, much better than the original! THANKS Yooper for a great recipie!!!

One thing I noticed, was the first ten to twelve pulls, it was very bourbon forward, but now the bourbon has faded and the oakeyness is coming to the forefront, still stellar but the bourbon has faded slightly. I was thinking if I do this again, that I would cut it back to eight or ten ounces of bourbon. Anyhow, just wanted to say thanks, and let everyone know how amazing what I believed to be a disaster has really become a great seasonal brew.

Cheers and beers!!
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1452314038.440855.jpg

 

[Shenanigans]

I brewed this about a month ago and it's in the bottle for about 2 weeks now.
However now I have a problem I have over 400 bottles of beer and about 10 different beers. So I need to make a drinking schedule to make sure I drink the beers that start to go down hill earlier first.

How would this beer stand the test of time if stored around 55 in my basement?
Does it still taste good after 6 months?

Thanks!

 

[doomXsaloon]

I brewed this about a month ago and it's in the bottle for about 2 weeks now.
However now I have a problem I have over 400 bottles of beer and about 10 different beers. So I need to make a drinking schedule to make sure I drink the beers that start to go down hill earlier first.

How would this beer stand the test of time if stored around 55 in my basement?
Does it still taste good after 6 months?

Thanks!

John Maier of Rogue actually recommends a nice secondary to accentuate the malts; I've seen 2-4 weeks at cellar temps. When I brew it again I'm def gonna go for 4 weeks. I don't know about 6 months...you could always check in with it monthly.

 

[david_magnuson]

Have a massive party?

 

[ButterBar]

So, funny thing...
I went to the LHBS today to pick up the grain bill for this recipe. Didn't realize it at the time but acidentally got 1lb of Melanoidin instead of the Munich. Sooo, we're gonna see how this recipe works out with that substituation instead! Stay tuned for the results.

 

[Shenanigans]

So, funny thing...
I went to the LHBS today to pick up the grain bill for this recipe. Didn't realize it at the time but acidentally got 1lb of Melanoidin instead of the Munich. Sooo, we're gonna see how this recipe works out with that substituation instead! Stay tuned for the results.

It will probably still turn out good but if you want to stick close to the original recipe I wouldn't sub the Munich 1:1 with Melanoidin. I would cut it in half and increase the base malt to make up the difference.

 

[ButterBar]

Yeah, would attempt that if it was an option. But when i get my grains from LHBS, they are crushed and mixed...so no way to substitute. So cant try to substitute anything, because I got what I got.

 

[Shenanigans]

Yeah, would attempt that if it was an option. But when i get my grains from LHBS, they are crushed and mixed...so no way to substitute. So cant try to substitute anything, because I got what I got.

Ah OK. I'm sure it will turn out to be a tasty beer anyway. Good luck

 

[Yooper]

Yeah, would attempt that if it was an option. But when i get my grains from LHBS, they are crushed and mixed...so no way to substitute. So cant try to substitute anything, because I got what I got.

Don't worry about it- melanoidin malt is like Munich malt, on steroids.

The beer is already a malt bomb- this will enhance the malt aroma even more so. It's not as designed, but it will be a rich malty beer. It will be good!

 

[thenorthwesthammer]

I brewed the original AG method a couple weeks ago. Been fermenting at 60-62 . My question is how long did you guys primary fermenter this one? I tried to flip through...I seem to remember reading 4 weeks but can't find it. Secondary? Or straight to bottles?

 

[mrstevenund]

My opinion is not to secondary anything. It's another risk for infection and oxidized beer. Straight to the keg from primary for me.

As far as how long, is the gravity stable? Are you in a rush? I usually go 4 weeks from brew to keg because I'm lazy and not in a rush.

 

[ButterBar]

I just finished this beer. I had it in the primary for 3 weeks and then kegged it. The gravity sample I pulled tasted pretty green. It's just now rounded out and I kegged it 2 weeks ago. So for me; it took about 5 weeks for it to be ready to drink.

Edit: I also mistakenly substituted the Munich Malt for Melanoidan; so that could account for the longer conditioning time.