Munchen Marzen by March

Brew day: Jan. 2, 2015
#34 - 6 gal

The plan: Ring in the New Year by brewing two batches of beer. What could be better?!

What actually happened: I spent all day quivering on my couch thanks to a wicked bout of food poisoning. (Pro tip: Check the expiration date on your olives before you make a martini. I had one to celebrate NYE. Instead, I got reacquainted with my bathroom floor.)

While illness ruined my initial plan, the wife gave me clearance to brew the following day. (No small feat since we were also dealing with a sick baby.)

Moderately cold, grey winter day. My dad and brother stopped by for a short time to hang out and watch the festivities.

First up: A marzen. One of the few good things about a Wisconsin winter is using the cold weather to lager. The floor in my laundry room is hovering around 53-55F, while my garage is around 35F. Perfect. The recipe takes inspiration from this BYO article, and two from the AHA website, Marzen and Oktoberfest.

Water chemistry: This beer also marks my first real foray into adjusting my water chemistry. Beer Tools Pro contains several listings, including one for Munich.

Best practice: Put five gallons of water in each of two coolers in the garage two days before brewing to super-cool the water for chilling. Add large bag of ice to chill for lagers.

Ingredients:

• 6 lb Pale ale malt (German - Avangard)
• 5 lb Munich malt (Dingemans)
• 1.5 lb Munich 10L (Briess)
• 1 lb Munich 20L (Briess)
• 2 oz Tettnanger (2.4%, pellet) (60)
• 1 oz Saaz (3.6%, pellet) (30)
• 0.75 oz Liberty (4.5%, pellet) (10)*
• 1 t Irish moss (10)
• 3.3 L Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager yeast starter

*Accidentally added 0.5 oz Liberty hops at 30 min. No Liberty aroma hop addition at 10 min to adjust for added bitterness.

Target:

OG: 1.056

FG: 1.014

ABV: 5.47%

IBU: 26.2

Efficiency: 75%

Water:

• 2.5 gal filtered water
• 7.5 gal RO water
• 7 g calcium chloride, 2 g baking soda, 1 g epsom salt

Schedule:

• Mash in 6 gal @ 128F
• Protein rest @ 122F (20)
• Sac rest @ 152F (60)
• Mash out
• Batch sparge 4 gal
• Boil 7.5 gal (60)

Observations:

1st runnings: 4 gal @ 1.066

2nd runnings: 3.5 gal @ 1.024

Pre-boil: 7.5 gal @ 1.046

OG: 5.75 gal @ 1.055

Fermentation:

Chill to 59F and pitch

Ferment at 57F for 24 hrs

Chill to 55/57F for two days

Hold at 54F for two weeks

Raise to 60F for three days before lagering in garage