Piwo Grodziskie (Grätzer)

[MaxStout]

Recipe Type

All Grain

Yeast

US-05

Yeast Starter

No

Additional Yeast or Yeast Starter

No

Batch Size (Gallons)

5.5

Original Gravity

1.031

Final Gravity

1.004

Boiling Time (Minutes)

60

IBU

32

Color

3 SRM

Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)

14 days @ 64F

Tasting Notes

Crisp, refreshing, light-bodied wheat ale with nice smokiness.

I brewed this as a summer lawnmower beer. Simple and easy to brew. Oak smoked wheat and a bit of acid malt for pH adjustment. The traditional recipe calls for Polish Lublin hops, but they can be hard to find, so I used Perle, which I had on hand. Shoot for around 30 IBU. Any clean-fermenting ale yeast is fine, I used US-05.

5.5 gallon batch

Ingredients:

6 lbs. Weyermann oak smoked wheat malt
0.25 lbs acid malt

Water: Balanced Yellow, in Bru 'N Water

1 oz. Perle @ 60
0.5 oz. Perle @ 15

Mash at 150F BIAB, no sparge
60 minute boil

Chill to 64, pitch US-05 (or other clean ale yeast), aerate.
Ferment at 64 for about 14 days. Cold-crash and package.
I bottled, priming to 3.0 volumes.

Beer was about 3.5% ABV. Smoky but not overpowering, and enough hop bitterness to compliment that smoke. Finishes clean. Very sessionable and a great warm weather refresher!

Enjoy!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I usually source the Lublin hops from Williams brewing, and Perle is a fine substitute.

 

[Beekeeper]

Szampan polski. (Polish Champagne!)

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Results of Grodziskie Homebrew competition in Poland.

 

[MaxStout]

I'm pleased to see the style having a revival in Poland. My understanding is the style tapered off during the Soviet years and the last brewery that made it finally closed in the '90s.

 

[DuncB]

I've wanted to have a go at making this for quite a while. Trouble is no source of smoked wheat malt down here in NZ.
Have spoken to a maltster and their minimum batch size is a tonne which is a lot of beer for me.

Is it a practical option to malt the wheat and then smoke it myself or could I just smoke some malted wheat in any way?

 

[ba-brewer]

Not sure if there is anything useful @DuncB but maybe look at this thread
Roast 'em, Toast 'em, Smoke 'em If you Got 'em

 

[DuncB]

Not sure if there is anything useful @DuncB but maybe look at this thread
Roast 'em, Toast 'em, Smoke 'em If you Got 'em

Yes I saw that highlighted in another thread. I'm going to give it a go and can get oak to smoke with.

Local maltster minimum batch was one tonne which was a little too much for me.

 

[ba-brewer]

Planning to give this recipe a try , I could not find the weyermann smoked wheat but was able to find some from Viking. Will probably use tettnang or saaz for the hops and thinking I will use wlp007 to get it to dry out.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Planning to give this recipe a try , I could not find the weyermann smoked wheat but was able to find some from Viking. Will probably use tettnang or saaz for the hops and thinking I will use wlp007 to get it to dry ou

I think Saaz is the closer substitute for Lublin, but othe Nobel hops will due.

 

[MaxStout]

I just brewed this again, bumped up the gravity. 10 lbs Weyermann oak smoked wheat, a little acid malt, Czech Saaz to 30 IBU. Pitched US-05, though Lalbrew Koln might be closer to style (excuse for me to brew it again!)

OG was 3 points below predicted. Next time need to reduce mill roller gap for the wheat. Still...this should turn out around 5%ABV, well above style guidelines. Imperial Grodziskie.

 

[MaxStout]

Planning to give this recipe a try , I could not find the weyermann smoked wheat but was able to find some from Viking. Will probably use tettnang or saaz for the hops and thinking I will use wlp007 to get it to dry out.

Someone in another Grod thread thought the Viking was very close to Weyermann and couldn't tell the difference.

 

[ba-brewer]

I brewed my take of this recipe a few week back and tried a sample (conditioned 18days ), seems like it turned out OK but without ever trying the style before I'm not sure. There is smoke in the aroma and flavor but seems quite subtle compared to when I was first brewing it. I was a bit worried about the level of smoke when I was brewing the beer but quite pleased with the more subtle amount in the finished beer.

One thing though is it almost seems like the aroma has a phenolic component to it (not clove more plastic vial cap). I am not sure if that is just the smoke/malt or I got a contamination(initial 007 yeast did not start going so added us05 late). I am not getting any phenolics in the flavor just the aroma and there are no off flavors. I hope it is not contamination as I like the results so far.

The sample I had was from a bottle that did fit in the keg but I did notice the phenolic aroma when I kegged the beer. I will give the keg a couple more weeks before tapping. I was thinking about fining the keg but think I will go as is.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Hmm, I’ve never noticed mine to have that aroma, or I’m not sensitive to it. The head on that beer looks really nice.

 

[ba-brewer]

The bottle was over carbed which may have exaggerated the head. The first sips were a little spritzy but the last few were really nice. The hop flavor started to show up too as it warmed.

I have had a couple infections/contamination which has made me a little over sensitive to phenolic aromas and flavors. Good news is I have finally got past it being an offensive thing and can enjoy an occasional Belgian beer again.

I did some looking and it does seem like some people do get a phenolic thing from smoked malts so I am hoping it is just me being over sensitive.

 

[Brewernaut51]

I just brewed one of these for the Missing Linck contest in Cincinnati at Urban Artifact. The 100% smoked malt kind of freaked me out so I did 30% German Pils. It turned out nice but now I wish there was more smoke. Most other smoked malt comes off so strong. This stuff is nice light and mild. Will definitely do it again.

Out of curiosity, do you guys carb it to 3.0 like the articles say? That's the highest I've ever gone.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I just brewed one of these for the Missing Linck contest in Cincinnati at Urban Artifact. The 100% smoked malt kind of freaked me out so I did 30% German Pils. It turned out nice but now I wish there was more smoke. Most other smoked malt comes off so strong. This stuff is nice light and mild. Will definitely do it again.

Out of curiosity, do you guys carb it to 3.0 like the articles say? That's the highest I've ever gone.

It’s supposed to be “lightly” smoked according to the brewers in Poland, and yes, very effervescent, clear garnering the nick name Polish champagne.

If you think your oak smoked wheat is too strong may I suggest subbing white wheat for a portion on the malt, especially if you want to enter it into a competition.

 

[Brewernaut51]

It’s supposed to be “lightly” smoked according to the brewers in Poland, and yes, very effervescent, clear garnering the nick name Polish champagne.
View attachment 847062
If you think your oak smoked wheat is too strong may I suggest subbing white wheat for a portion on the malt, especially if you want to enter it into a competition.

Definitely not too strong. It's nothing compared to other smoked malts and I've done quite a few smoked beers. Usually 30-40% is plenty with beech or cherry smoked barley but this oak smoked wheat could've easily been 100%. Id definitely go that route next time. Maybe a little acid malt to get my pH where I want it but that's it.

Anybody have recommendations for keeping this clear? Mine is slightly hazy.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Definitely not too strong. It's nothing compared to other smoked malts and I've done quite a few smoked beers. Usually 30-40% is plenty with beech or cherry smoked barley but this oak smoked wheat could've easily been 100%. Id definitely go that route next time. Maybe a little acid malt to get my pH where I want it but that's it.

Anybody have recommendations for keeping this clear? Mine is slightly hazy.

Well, I have some stories to tell regarding competition feedback on this beer. The same first place winner scoring poorly in another part of the country etc. In 2020 I was set to enter the homebrew competition for Grodziski in Poland and had brewed a “variation” with a spice addition that I thought would be appreciated. This variant was lagering for 3 years and I shipped it to a popular comp here and got a third place win. All of the people in my club that I shared the last bottle with including myself preferred the stronger smoke when it was fresh.
As far as clearing it could depend on the yeast you use. K97 is the most difficult I’ve used, but a kolsch yeast from white labs is good with time maybe gelatin if you’re in a hurry.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I just brewed a Grodizskie this winter. I used 100% HOME oak-smoked malted wheat (and a half pound of rice hulls for sparging). I smoked the wheat in homemade sieves that I put in my electric smoker with a cold-smoke attachment, for only 3 hours. Light spritzing of distilled water every 1/2 hour, along with gentle stirring.

The smoked is very evident but not unpleasant. If I do this beer again, I will lower the smoke time to 1.5 hours. Other than that it's a fab beer!

 

[woolz1]

I just brewed a Grodizskie this winter. I used 100% HOME oak-smoked malted wheat (and a half pound of rice hulls for sparging). I smoked the wheat in homemade sieves that I put in my electric smoker with a cold-smoke attachment, for only 3 hours. Light spritzing of distilled water every 1/2 hour, along with gentle stirring.

The smoked is very evident but not unpleasant. If I do this beer again, I will lower the smoke time to 1.5 hours. Other than that it's a fab beer!

About to try this.
Did you "rest" the malt after smoking or use right away??