Sacred Profane IPA

Mill the grains, mash in at 144°F (62°C), and rest 10 minutes. Prepare for a double decoction: Move about one-third of the mash to a separate kettle, raise it to about 160°F (71°C), then bring it to a boil and boil for 20 minutes. Reunite with the main mash to bring it to about 163°F (73°C) and rest 10 minutes. Again, remove about one-third of the mash to a separate kettle and boil it for 20 minutes. Reunite with the main mash to bring it to about 169°F (76°C), then mash out. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle, adding the first-wort hops. Sparge and top up as needed to get about 6.5 gallons (25 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 75 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, do a whirlpool step: Stir or recirculate to create a vortex, add the whirlpool hops, spin for 10 more minutes, then allow 15 minutes to steep and settle. Chill to about 52°F (11°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast.

Ferment at 54°F (12°C). At first, don’t ferment under pressure—leave the valve open. (If using a carboy or similar vessel, loosely cover the top with a piece of sanitized foil.) Once the gravity has dropped to about 1.040 (10°P), add the airlock; once it’s dropped to about 1.024 (6°P), seal the tank (and add a spunding valve, if you have one) and add the dry hops. Once fermentation is complete, gravity has stabilized, and the beer has passed a VDK test, gradually drop the temperature over 8 days (2°F/1°C per day) to 40°F (4°C). Hold there for a week, then crash to 32°F (0°C) and transfer to a lagering vessel. Lager for 3–4 weeks, or it until it tastes great, then package and serve.

BREWER’S NOTES
pH: We adjust the mash to 5.2 pH.
Yeast: Any good Czech lager yeast is fine—something low-diacetyl, low-attenuation, high-flocculation.