When I was over there, I had Hofbrau Dunkel, Augustiner Dunkel and Hacker Pschorr Dunkel in Munich. Those versions seemed like dark amber lagers to me. If you held them up to the light, you would see a brown-reddish tint and you could see that it was pretty clear and “amber”. The taste was smooth, not very roasty, balanced and delicious. The Augustiner Dunkel was outstanding. In Prague, I had Master Polotmavy and also the glasses of U Fleku Dunkel and the flavor is similar but the Czech versions were darker… almost opaque. But they weren’t really “roasty” either. I assume the yeasts were different but similar. My guess is that making a German Dunkel would employ German Lager yeast and less dark grains so that the SRM is slightly lower but still pretty high. The Czech version would be darker (pretty much black or very dark brown) and use a Czech yeast. Both had about the same amount of hop character… not much. Just enough to balance the beer and that’s it. It’s possible that the German versions had just a smidge more in the hop department. Both were good but I think I preferred the German versions I tried.[/quote]
I have been working on a range of house German lagers, standardized on Weyermann Grains (why not choose a maltster planted right in the middle of the regions of these beers…Saschen, Thuringen, and Bavaria), same yeast(s), faily similar hops. Styles are German Pilsner, Munich Helles, Vienna Lager, Munich Dunkel, Schwarzbier.
Weyermann Pilsner Malt
Weyermann Acidulated
Weyermann Carahell
Weyermann Carafoam
Weyermann Vienna
Weyermann Munich 2
Weyermann Carafa Special 2
These are the baseline recipes I’ve brewed in the past two months:
Pilsner - 3SRM, 35 IBU, WLP 830, various Nobel hops, 148F single infusion mash, pilsner, acidulated (4%, depending on pH needs), 7% Carahell
Helles - 3 SRM, 20 IBU, WLP 838, Hallertau hops, 152F single infusion mash (though did a Hochkurz step mash last time), pilsner, acidulated, Carahell 2.7%, Carafoam 2.7%
Vienna - 11SRM, 24.5 IBU, WLP 838, Hallertau hops, 152F single infusion, 86% Vienna malt, 12% Munich 2, 1.3% Carafa Special 2
Dunkel: 16 SRM, 22IBU, WLP 838, Hallertau hops, 154F single infusion mash, with decoction before mashout, 98.5% Munich 2 (9L), 1.5% Carafa Special 2
Schwarzbier: 24.4 SRM, 27.7 IBU, Perle and Tettnang hops, WLP 830, 151F single infusion mash, 70% pilsner malt, 20% Munich 2, 6% Carafa Special 2, 3.2% Caramunich 3.
All fermented at 48F
I am trying to make these all compatible so when held next to each other they represent distinct color and unique flavor, match each style, and reflect a house style character. I haven’t brewed the Dunkel yet, but the rest are lagering and are all great so far. I may add in 30% Pilsner malt to the Vienna to tone down the Vienna flavor. But right now it’s a tasty beer reminiscent of Shiner Bock.
I am also putting together a Marzen recipe, but it’s not ready yet.
Point is, simple recipes, slight variations but end up with very different results. I wouldn’t add wheat or anything else to these, different crystals, etc, there is plenty of flavor and variation among them.
That said, I’m sure I’ll mix them up in the future and experiment, but it’s fun to try to simplify as much as possible and learn what simple recipes and slight variations in mash temps or different yeast strains do.
