Back in February, a friend from work came over to my place and we had a double brew day on the back patio. He brewed an English IPA and I brewed a Vienna Lager. This was a BIG deal for me, since it was my FIRST ALL-GRAIN BREW!!!! (Yes, I was excited!)

When looking for a recipe I wanted to find a lager that would be easy to brew, was well rated, and German in style. I looked at quite a few recipes online and decided on a Vienna style, since it is one of my favorites (Boston Lager, and all…). I’ve been wanting to do a lager for some time now, ever since I set up my temperature controlled freezer, so I was very excited to try a recipe I found on the American Homebrewers Association website. I modified this recipe slightly, since my LHBS didn’t have all of the ingredients.

Vienna Lager

Brew date: 2/24/13
Racked to secondary: 3/24/13
Bottle date: 6/26/13
Batch size: 5 gallons
OG: N/A (I forgot…)
FG: 1.002
ABV: Guesstimated ~5.5%

Fermentables

3.0 lb Pils malt
2.625 lb 10L Munich malt
4.375 lb Vienna malt
0.25 lb Caramel Munich malt
1.75 oz Carafa II malt

Hops

1.25 oz (71 g) Hallertau pellet hops, 4.1% a.a. (60 min)
0.5 oz (28 g) Hallertau Hersbrucker pellet hops, 4.1% a.a. (10 min)

Yeast

Wyeast No. 2206 Bavarian Lager yeast

Directions

Mash at 152F for 60 minutes. Collect about 6.5 gallons of wort, boil for a total of 60 minutes. Cool and pitch yeast at 45F; let the temperature rise and ferment at 50F. For the last week of lagering, increase temperature to 60F for a diacetyl rest.

Notes

The nose on this beer was delightfully rich, with hints of caramel and toasted malt character. The flavor matched the smell very closely, with a strong Vienna malt presence. The hop aroma and bitterness was hardly noticeable, but just enough to balance the beer well. The beer started with a slight sweetness, but quickly finished dry. The aftertaste was particularly roasty, perhaps with a bit of astringency from the Carafa II.

Overall, this has been the best beer I’ve made so far!

Things I would change for next time:

• I would increase the boil time from 60 minutes to 90 minutes. I’ve since learned that an increased boil time can reduce the prevalence of  dimethyl sulfide (DMS) in beer. I believe I was able to detect small amounts of DMS in this beer, though I’m not entirely sure, so I would like to try to reduce that off flavor.
• I would like to improve my temperature control of the mash to potentially reduce any astringency.
• I would like to try a different yeast with this batch; perhaps Wyeast Munich Lager (No. 2308), as was originally recommended in the recipe. I had to make the substitution, since my LHBS didn’t have No. 2308.