Maerzen Beer

Started: 7 Oct 98  

Bottled: 13 Oct 98

Ingredients

Made from scratch ingredients

3.5 Kg Light Malt Extract

500 gms Crystal Malt

500 gms Toasted Malt

500 gms Munich Malt

70 gms Chocolate Malt

100 gms Tettnanger Hops

15 gms Cascade Hops

Saflager S-23 Yeast

Method

Start yeast with a small amount of LME in water

(watch for overflow, this is a very active yeast)

Add grains to 3 L of water preheated to 54 C

Allow temp to drop and maintain at 50 C for 30 mins

Add 3 - 4 L of boiling water and heat to 68 C maintain for 30 mins

Raise temp to 77 C for 5 mins

Sparge into fermenter

Meanwhile:

Boil 50 gms Tettenanger Hops in 1 L water for one hour

Add remaining 50 gms Tettenanger Hops boil for 30 mins

Add Cascade Hops to boil with 5 mins to go

Add all to fermenter

Top with cold water to around 26 deg C

Pitch Yeast

Allow wort temp to drop, maintaining at low temperature - about 16 - 18 C

(difficult to achieve going into Australian Summer)

Facts and Figures

OG 1.058 

FG: 1.015

Alcohol around 6%

22 Litres

Analysis

Super active for first day then slowed down rapidly to an almost standstill

Had difficulty getting the temperature down 

- never got below 19 C and then very late

Nice mellow slightly nutty taste at bottling

Strong caramel colour