Golden to amber in color, medium body, refreshingly hopped. Representative of the old German style. Respectable alcohol level.

Brew day! I probably could have found a more difficult beer recipe to get started with, but I would actually have had to try. I’m starting with a Deutschlander Lager that uses specialty grains and several hopping charges. It’s hardly the most complicated brew, but it’s going to be a little more involved than I’d expected, which was basically to boil some wort, chill it, pitch it and stick it in the basement for a couple of weeks. Looks like I’ll be steeping some grains and doing a couple charges of hops as well.

Deutcshlander Lager

• 0.33# Crystal Malt 40L
• 0.33# Munich Malt
• 2.25qt Pale malt extract
• 0.25qt Adjunct
• 1.33oz Hallertau hops (bittering)
• 1.0 oz Hallertau hops (finishing)
• 2tbsp Irish moss
• 0.75oz Hallertau hops (dry)

OG was 1.058 (or thereabouts). This recipe doesn’t indicate brewery efficiency, so I’ll have to assume somewhere between 75 and 80%. Looking for a FG of somewhere between 1.011 and 1.014.

I also made a bunch of rookie mistakes. For one, I left the brew pot partially covered during the boil. This is because I was boiling outside, and didn’t want crud falling into the kettle. Unfortunately, I positioned the lid to let the condensate drop back into the wort, and may not have boild off as much of the sulfides as I might have liked.

I also did not get a good reading on the OG. I recall having pointed out potential 8% ABV to someone, and am therefore assuming I started around 1.058, which is about right for lagers, if a little on the high side.

I may also have pitched the yeast a little warm. The wort was cooled to around 75 dF. I also did not think to rehydrate the yeast before I pitched it– it just went straight into the primary from the packet. There was also a thick head of foam on the wort from when I poured it to the primary. That could either help or hurt.

But, its in the basement now, and the airlock is starting to bubble, so maybe it’ll all turn out OK. Everyone has to start somewhere, right?

Update: 1/5/09: Fermentation appears to be under way, bubbles every 5-15 seconds, and smells of rising bread.

Update: 1/8/09: Still bubbling 5-15 seconds, but starting to smell a little sulfur.

Update: 1/12/09: Bubbling seems to have slowed down in the airlock to < 1 in 3 minutes since yesterday afternoon. Took a gravity reading this evening of 1.018. Still a little farther to go. Will check again in a couple of days. Took a sample taste too; strong hop character I’m hoping will mellow in secondary. Lacks nose, but will dry hop in secondary. Malt finish suggests sweetness, but it actually was not very sweet. Update 1/24/09: I racked over to secondary today, and pulled a gravity reading of 1.016. I’ve also added the dry hops, and will let this stand for another few weeks while I collect more bottles. I must say, I’m looking forward to trying this beer. It’s got a nice amber hue to it, and has much more clarity than the American Cream Ale did after two weeks in primary. I’m assuming this is the effect of the Irish Moss, and will certainly be using it in my recipes from here on out! Even without dry hopping and carbonating, this beer is developing very well. There is a distinctive hop character that almost overwhelms the malt flavor, and it lacks nose in the finish, but I expect those characteristics to improve in secondary. I understand I can let this thing go for the next three to seven weeks, so I’ll just wait and collect more bottles. I’m really looking forward to trying this one out when it finishes.