Forever Vienna
This recipe for a Vienna Lager was inspired by an article on the Beer & Brewing website. It was different from the other recipes I found in its use of Maris Otter malt to achieve toasty malt flavours without the toffee & caramel notes normally found in a Dunkel lager.
Brew day
Recipe Specifications
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Recipe: Forever Vienna
Date: 27 June 2021
Batch Size (fermenter): 24.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.047 SG
Estimated Color: 23.9 EBC
Estimated IBU: 25.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.6 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes
Finished water profile: Ca:28, Mg:3, Na:9, SO4:10, Cl:44
Ingredients:
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Amt Name Type %/IBU Volume
29.79 L Tesco Ashbeck Water - -
3.00 ml Lactic Acid 80% (Mash) Water Agent - -
1.20 g Calcium Chloride (Mash) Water Agent - -
2.10 kg Crisp Maris Otter (7.9 EBC) Grain 43.1 % 1.37 L
1.70 kg Weyermann Vienna Malt (5.9 EBC) Grain 34.9 % 1.11 L
1.00 kg Weyermann Munich I (14.0 EBC) Grain 20.5 % 0.65 L
0.07 kg Weyermann Carafa II (1150.0 EBC) Grain 1.4 % 0.05 L
0.30 g Calcium Chloride (Sparge) Water Agent - -
0.20 ml Lactic Acid 80% (Sparge) Water Agent - -
18.00 g Hallertau Magnum [10.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 21.4 IBUs -
25.00 g Saaz [3.75 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 3.8 IBUs -
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 7.0 mins) Fining - -
1.0 pkg Munich Lager II (Wyeast Labs #2352-PC) Yeast - -
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 4.87 kg
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Name Description Step Temperat Step Time
Mash In Add 24.79 L of water at 70.9 C 65.0 C 60 min
Sparge: Dunk sparge with 5L of 75C water.
It was an effortless brewday really, all numbers pre and post boil were hit as predicted and I ended up transferring just over 24 litres to the fermenter.
The OG was 1.047 and for once the colour actually looked like Beersmith's rendering of it in the recipe.
I managed to get the wort down to 25C with my immersion chiller before giving up and putting it in the brew fridge where it will come down the rest of the way to 13.5C when I'll pitch the decanted 2 litre starter of Wyeast 2352-PC yeast. That should happen around 9:00am tomorrow morning if previous experience is anything to go by.
This one should be ready for drinking in early to mid August and I think the ABV will be somewhere around 5.2%.
Kegging
After my standard 3 weeks in the fermenter the FG was 1.008 for an ABV of 5.1%
Kegged, fined and a couple of bottles filled from the remains. The unconditioned beer tastes rather interesting; nutty with a Saazy spiciness to it. Hopefully this'll be a tasty lager. Anyway, keg purged and it's on at 20psi and 6C for however long I can bear it.
Tasting notes
I've never tasted, or even seen a real Vienna lager despite multiple visits to the city that bears its name so I have no real frame of reference for how this should taste.
The toasty notes from Maris Otter are more prominent than any honey sweetness that might be coming from the Pilsner malt. The Saaz hops provide a spicy accompaniment and that's about it really.
Although tasty and technically on-point I do struggle to appreciate anything uniquely desirable to my palate that would cause me to want to brew this one again. Personally, for a dark lager I prefer the Munich Dunkel that I did earlier in the year.