🍺 Top-down Brew: Czech Dark Lager

Recipe Variables

Enter the parameters

Variations

For steeped grains plus malt extract:

  • Delete the Pilsner and Munich malt lines.
  • For liquid malt extract, add sugar: Liquid Munich malt extract, 90, 5, 76
  • For dry malt extract, add sugar: Dry light malt extract, 90, 3.5, 96
  • Set the mash efficiency variable to 55% (eff: 55) for steeping.

Explore other malts, sugars, and hops

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Results

Notes

BJCP Czech dark lager characteristic ingredients: "Pilsner and dark caramel malts with the addition of debittered roasted malts are most common, but additions of Vienna or Munich malt are also appropriate. Low mineral content water. Traditional Czech hops. Czech lager yeast."

Vital statistics: IBU: 18 - 34; SRM: 17 - 35; OG: 1.044 - 1.060; FG: 1.013 - 1.017; ABV: 4.4% - 5.8%

Strong nicely breaks down the grain bill into four distinct categories. Pilsner or Vienna form the base at 50 to 60%. Next, Munich or dark Munich should be 20 to 40%. Caramel malts are about 5 to 15%. Finally, debittered black malts (Carafa III, Black Prinz) are about 5% or less. Beer-analytics suggests chocolate malt is common, but this could impart too much roast character.

For mash processes, Czech beers typically use decoction methods for under modified malts. The brewing water treatment should be low in minerals.

European bittering hops appropriate for this style are Magnum, Perle, and Northern Brewer. Saaz is the signature Czech hop for finishing. Sterling is a hop bred from Saaz that might be an acceptable substitute. Hop flavor and aroma in dark beers tends to be less prominent than lighter styles.

Czech lager yeasts would be the best choice. Czech beers tend to be less attenuated than comparable German beers. The most popular options are Wyeast 2124, Mangrove Jack M84, Fermentis W34/70, Fermentis S-23, and White Labs WLP802.

References

Beer-analytics.com Czech dark lager

Dornbusch, H. (2006, November). Bohemian dunkel: That dark Czech lager. BYO, 19-22.

Strong, G. (2021, October). Czech dark lager: Prague's dunkel. BYO, 24-27.