March 13, 2015

Dark Lager with Mugwort

Brewed on 14 January 2015 in Plummer’s Hollow.

This is the one and only time I’ve ever used lager yeast, but the results were good (in part because of the nice, cold, winter conditions during the primary and secondary aging). The herbs are assertive but not overpowering, and the bitterness is fairly low.

For what it’s worth, this was my first beer with an immersion wort chiller! Up until now I’ve been boiling the wort down to three gallons and adding two gallons of cold tea at the end. So my brew day just got a lot shorter. Perhaps I’ll have to re-think my opposition to other tech improvements, as well.

Note to self: Brew this again!

Recipe Details

Batch Size	Boil Time	IBU	SRM	Est. OG	Est. FG	ABV
5 gal	60 min	0.0 IBUs	59.0 SRM	1.065	1.012	7.1 %

Fermentables

Name	Amount	%
Pale 2-Row - US	8 lbs	64
Munich Dark - DE	2 lbs	16
De-Bittered Black - BE	1 lbs	8
Caramel/Crystal 80 - US	8 oz	4
Chocolate - UK	8 oz	4
Roasted Barley - UK	8 oz	4

Miscs

Name	Amount	min		Type
gentian root, dried	1.50 tsp	60 min	Boil	Other
mugwort leaves, dried	0.75 oz	60 min	Boil	Other
elecampane root, dried	0.50 oz	60 min	Boil	Other
mugwort tops, dried	1.50 oz	10 min	Boil	Other
sweet orange peel, dried	0.50 oz	10 min	Boil	Other

Yeast

Name	Lab	Attenuation	Temperature
Fermentis Saflager S-23		82%	64°F - 69°F

Notes

An unhopped lager. The herbs are assertive but not overpowering, and the bitterness is fairly low. Mash at 154F for maltiness. Add .75 oz mugwort at the beginning of the boil and the remainder at the end. The elecampane and gentian can also go in at the beginning, but save the orange peel for the end.