Munich Helles Gavin's Mightily Malty Munich Helles

[Gavin C]

Don't hate on the CaraPils in a Pilsner or Helles style beer - that's where it's meant to be. ....

I'd respectfully disagree but that's the very nature of recipe formulation and homebrewing.

If a brewer wants to tweak a recipe to their own desires, so be it. This thread simply covers this one recipe by this one brewer.

No hate here, I simply offered advice to someone asking for some. The more I explore base malts and styles the less crystal I seem to use. Others will have a very different viewpoint.

I've seen the amzing pics of your beers and setup. I have no doubt that a Pilsner or Helles made with you at the helm would be a beer I would guzzle down fast and ask, nay demand, seconds, regardless of it's carapils %.

Thanks for your input though.

 

[schematix]

I'd respectfully disagree but that's the very nature of recipe formulation and homebrewing.

If a brewer wants to tweak a recipe to their own desires, so be it. This thread simply covers this one recipe by this one brewer.

No hate here, I simply offered advice to someone asking for some. The more I explore base malts and styles the less crystal I seem to use. Others will have a very different viewpoint.

I've seen the amzing pics of your beers and setup. I have no doubt that a Pilsner or Helles made with you at the helm would be a beer I would guzzle down fast and ask, nay demand, seconds, regardless of it's carapils %.

Thanks for your imput though.

I don't think we're that far apart in our view of crystal malts.

My comment was specifically in regard to CaraPils and the two polarizing camps I see around here:

1. The group that adds it to virtually everything for "head retention". In my (humble) opinion this is usually not the best solution to a head retention issue. But if you want more body without color and you've already optimized your mash temp this can be a reasonable addition.

2. The group that feels that it shouldn't be used, or only at 5% max. In my (humble) opinion, in Pilsner (or very similar) type beer it is actually better closer to 10%. I don't think CaraPils has the same cloying sweetness at higher color crystals, but rather gives the beer some much needed body plus insane foam and foam stability, which is perfect for the style.

 

[NobitaDoreamon]

Hi Gavin,
Do you standardise the step mash temp schedule for all the lagers?
I notice you have different mash temp for helles, Munich dunkel, etc.

 

[Gavin C]

Hi Gavin,
Do you standardise the step mash temp schedule for all the lagers?
I notice you have different mash temp for helles, Munich dunkel, etc.

G'day Nobita. Welcome to HBT

No I don't have a standardised profile. It's something I've experimented with quite a bit and no longer use a protein rest for my lagers. Typically I'm targeting 140F as my first rest temperature for most lagers. (Might do higher if/when I try a Bohemian Pilsner)

The profile I use for my German Pilsner is pretty close to a standard I suppose, having used it a few times now. Hope that helps some. Cheers.

 

[NobitaDoreamon]

Thanks Gavin. Very nice Doreamon.
I am very new to brewing with lager, please bear with me as I plan to brew this beer and your munich dunkel.

I see that you used 124F > 150F > mash out temp.
If you were to brew this Helles recipe again with melanoidin malt, what will your temp profile be? Are you going to do multi rest mash? I presume that you are not going to add the single decoction like you have done with Munich Dunkel.

 

[Gavin C]

Thanks Gavin. Very nice Doreamon.
I am very new to brewing with lager, please bear with me as I plan to brew this beer and your munich dunkel.

I see that you used 124F > 150F > mash out temp.
If you were to brew this Helles recipe again with melanoidin malt, what will your temp profile be? Are you going to do multi rest mash? I presume that you are not going to add the single decoction like you have done with Munich Dunkel.

I plan on using the profile I use for my Pilsner when next I brew it.

I may end up doing a decoction (single mash) and delete the melanoiden. Not sure yet. I think either approach would work well.

 

[ba-brewer]

I have brewed this recipe twice doing a single infusion at 150F with 2oz of melanoiden malt and they came out good enough for blue ribbons. Second try got best in show using WLP835 lager X yeast. The lager X yeast seemed to allow a bit more hops to come through compared to WLP833.

 

[Gavin C]

I have brewed this recipe twice doing a single infusion at 150F with 2oz of melanoiden malt and they came out good enough for blue ribbons. Second try got best in show using WLP835 lager X yeast. The lager X yeast seemed to allow a bit more hops to come through compared to WLP833.

BOS Congrats! Fantastic stuff.

I need to try this with a different yeast. 835X sounds interesting.

 

[brew703]

I'll be brewing this in about a month. Will be using W 34/70 dry.

 

[NobitaDoreamon]

Thanks Gavin for the profit.
Ba-brewer, that is a very good option with the yeast and mash profit. Save a bit of gas with this one.

 

[cuda6pak]

Brewed this up last weekend and went with WLP835 German Lager X. Steadily fermenting away at 50*, I think I will begin the passive raise to 67 over the weekend and hopefully cold crash with gelatin by next weekend.

First attempt at a lager in 3.5 years of brewing!

 

[wyowolf]

this is what I made... no idea why I got on the your other thread. sorry about that. Other than the yeast, I could only get 2206 Bav Lager yeast, everything else is the same... added the yeast last night, I stepped it 4 times, but took some out to freeze for later use. Will see how it does this evening when I get home. Took awhile in fridge to get to 50 degrees. Will be glad in winter when water temps allow me to get closer to 50.

 

[Gavin C]

this is what I made... no idea why I got on the your other thread. sorry about that. Other than the yeast, I could only get 2206 Bav Lager yeast, everything else is the same... added the yeast last night, I stepped it 4 times, but took some out to freeze for later use. Will see how it does this evening when I get home. Took awhile in fridge to get to 50 degrees. Will be glad in winter when water temps allow me to get closer to 50.

Let us know how it turns out. Post up a picture or two.

 

[Punx Clever]

This is my first foray into lagering with a proper fermentation chamber. I've half-assed it before, with half-assed results.

I really wanted a lager, but didn't want a pilsner... but also didn't want a bock. This seemed like just the ticket.

Ditched the acid malt, since I fly sparge on a RIMS system, replacing it with pilsner malt. Also, I doubled the batch, planning for 11 gallons at 1.047. Ended up with 10 gallons at 1.052 for 75% efficiency.

I plan to follow the brulosophy fast lagering profile with gelatin fining.

Anywho, pictures are worth a thousand words, right?

The mash. Did a protein rest, a long ramp up to 150, then mash out at 168.

The sparge. Gotta love the clarity from a recirculating mash.

The boil. Drinking some American Rye Ale in the fall sun. Gotta love it.

In the brand new to me fermentation chamber!

Still pretty warm... groundwater (I have a well for my water source) in Tidewater, VA isn't that terribly cold. Still waiting to pitch.

Really looking forward to the results.

 

[wyowolf]

First taste last night... tasted great, but not quite as clear as I would have hoped... yes I used gelatin...

 

[Gavin C]

First taste last night... tasted great, but not quite as clear as I would have hoped... yes I used gelatin...

First pour off the keg usually will contain that first few ounces of sediment filled beer. My guess is the following beers will be clearer. Thanks for the update.

 

[Punx Clever]

Got it into kegs today. Looking and tasting pretty good. Can't see any chill haze coming out of the cold-crashed fermenter. Not bad for less than a month on a lager!

 

[Gavin C]

Got it into kegs today.....

Nice pics.

Looks very dark for a Helles. Probably just the lighting.

 

[eluterio]

I plan on using the profile I use for my Pilsner when next I brew it.

I may end up doing a decoction (single mash) and delete the melanoiden. Not sure yet. I think either approach would work well.

Did you ever use this method?

 

[Gavin C]

Did you ever use this method?

No. I haven't brewed it since that post.

 

[Tommydee]

Well, since I borrowed so much from Gavin's rig, decided to do a hybrid Brulosophy/Gavin hybrid Helles as my first Lager. Drank quite a few Helles in Ravensburg, DE a few months back and they were tasty! I actually bought the brulosophy kit from Love2brew (my LHBS), so my recip calls forHersbrucker, and a healthy portion of 2.5 oz, which according to beersmith is too many IBU for the style. . Also I'm using WLP830, because I had it already, not wlp029 that is called for. . Built up water from RO to more of a pils profile based on Kai, and since I didn't have acid malt, bru'n water gave me a slight shot of lactic acid to bring pH down.

Used Gavin's mash and fermentation profile....one thing is my BIAB rig always drops a good 4 degrees after 15 minutes, so I need to insulate better..had to hit it with some gas to get it back up to 150 F.
LHBS tends to be generous with their kits, so I ended up making a bit more than fits in a 5 L fermenter, so I expect a messy blowoff tube. (Yes, I know I should have a 6.5 gallon carboy, but I don't.....) I pitched a 2 L starter, first time ever doing one of these....Overall a great brew day, I have my equipment dialed in pretty well with beersmith, and I hit my volumes and SGs pretty well. I am wishing I would have pulled back to 2.0 oz of hops, but too late now.....I'll let you know how it turns out in about 6 weeks!

 

[Brizzo]

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1492344406.333200.jpghyrdo sample after d- rest. Brewed 2 weeks ago. Gonna rack to keg and start lagering. Tastes very nice.

 

[Tommydee]

Just Reallized I never posted back to update. The Love2brew/brulosophy/Gavin/Tom Helles has been great! Expect the keg to kick today when family are over... I'll try to get a good picture.

 

[thunderwagn]

Think I might give this one a whirl using saflager 34/70, and following brulosopher's/Marshall's lead on fermenting at ale temps to see how it turns out.

 

[HiImBrian]

Well, I'm convinced. Heading to the store to pick up ingredients shortly. I'll be doubling the batch and making 11 gal. Also will be doing a single infusion at 150F. Yeast calcs say a 3L starter with 3 packs will put me around 760 billion, so that's the plan.

 

[thunderwagn]

So just an update, I did use Fermentis Saflager 34/70 on this brew. I chilled to 58f into the fermenter and rehydrated a single pack of the 34/70. I fermented at 68f. Let it clean up for a week, then racked to keg with gelatine. It's only been lagering for 2 weeks, so still very young but already very tasty! For the first week, I'd hit the keg with about 8# co2 and purge the sulfur type smell off the brew 1-2 times a day.
The color and clarity is super impressive and the photo doesn't do it justice. And as you can probably tell by the pic, the keg still needs to carb and settle a bit more.
It's very drinkable right now! But I'll wait.
The pint glass is way old school. Dates back to I think '95.






*please disregard the pillsbury croissant dough it looks like some sneaky soul has snuck into what is obviously the yeast bin!

 

[jdauria]

In the middle of a blizzard here in Mass, so decided to brew this beer today. Can’t wait to try the finished product. Only change from your recipe Gavin is I am using Weyermann’s Barke Pils malt.

 

[Desertbrewer]

Brewed a very similar beer using inspiration from this recipe, but some American tweaks as it was what I had on hand-

7.5# 2 row
1.5# Munich
2 oz honey malt

9g magnum (60)
9g magnum (5)

OG 1.048
FG 1.007

Pitched a single packet of 34/70, rehydrated and fermented at 63 for a few days and bumped up to 68. At these temps it fermented in about the same time as my ales, around 4 days, and left for about another week. Used gelatin to fine, been in the keg about a week now

This is my first attempt at a lager and damnit if it’s not the most drinkable and near best beer I’ve made in my 3 years of homebrewing. Highly recommend and I’m sure the original recipe is even better.

 

[jdauria]

Just tapped my try at your beer Gavin, and it’s delicious! Only change I made was I used Weyermann Barke Pils. Only flaw is while you can see through it, it developed a slight haze. I can live with that. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

 

[chefjrd]

Just got all my ingredients in to make this this weekend. Got the yeast starter going and looking forward to a delicious lager for summer (it's practically summer already here in FL).