Good Word Riding Bikes

DIRECTIONS
Mill the grains, mash in at 146°F (63°C), and rest 25–30 minutes. Raise to 152°F (67°C) and rest 30 minutes, raise to 160°F (71°C) and rest 25 minutes; then do a decoction.

Scoop about one-third of the mash into a stainless-steel vessel you can safely stir while boiling. Stirring vigorously, bring the decoction to a boil; then boil and stir for 10 minutes. Reunite the mash and mash out.

Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as needed to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops, finings, and nutrient according to the schedule. After the boil, chill to about 48°F (9°C), aerate the wort, and pitch a healthy yeast starter. Ferment at 52°F (11°C) until complete and gravity has stabilized. Once the beer has cleared VDK, slowly crash by 2°F (1°C) per day to 33–35°F (1–2°C), then lager 4 weeks. Package and carbonate to about 2.5 volumes of CO2. Have fun, and remember: It’s only beer!

BREWER’S NOTES
Adjustments: Our water in Georgia is pretty soft. We target a mash pH of 5.38, then post-boil—we do a 5-minute whirlpool and let it settle for 15–20 minutes—we adjust the knockout pH to 5.1. To acidify, we use a mix of sauergut (sour wort) and lactic or phosphoric acid. Instead of sauergut, you could use acidulated malt—but the sour wort at knockout adds a really nice German flavor, in my opinion.

Using online calculators or software such as Bru’n Water, you can plug in your water profile and use a pH meter to dial in your adjustments. (In my homebrew days, I sent my water off to Ward Labs and had a Milwaukee pH meter.)

Decoction: If you want to skip all the steps, you can mash at 152°F (67°C) for 45 minutes, then do the decoction—or just skip the decoction if you’d rather stick with single infusion. But decoctions can add a nice depth of malt flavor—just be mindful to keep stirring! If you can get Brewtan B or similar product, add it to the boil with the yeast nutrient to scavenge some of the oxygen you beat into the mash during the decoction.
Natural carbonation: If you have a spunding valve, attach it once the gravity has dropped to 1.014–1.016 (3.5–4°P). Be sure to degas the sample before checking for VDK.