My triple decoction Vienna Lager

No surprise here, this style emerged near Vienna. First brewed around 1840. It was popular for a time but was overtaken with the introduction of Pilsner.  Nearly extinct around Vienna It is now probably easier to find in Mexico. Immigrant brewers brought it to Mexico and beers like Negro Modelo and Dos Equis are actually Vienna lagers. Unfortunately most of the commercial styles have lost their rich malt taste. This beer should be lighter than an Oktoberfest and should have a clean flavor with no fruity esters. Malt should be front and center but it can have moderate hop levels as well.

This beer is both my first lager and triple decoction. Traditionally this was brewed using the triple decoction so I really wanted to follow that process. It took about twice as long to do it this way, but it was a good learning experience. It spent about eight weeks lagering in my fridge and probably could have sat longer. I just couldn't wait any longer to try it out.This beer is nearly all Vienna malt. It has about 4% Carmel malt for some added color. It also uses Hallertauer hops exclusively. A very simple but tasty recipe.

Recipe: Vienna

Style: Vienna Lager

TYPE: All Grain

Taste: (35.0)

Recipe Specifications

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Batch Size: 5.00 gal     

Boil Size: 5.72 gal

Estimated OG: 1.048 SG

Estimated Color: 8.4 SRM

Estimated IBU: 26.6 IBU

Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.0 %

Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:

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Amount        Item                                      Type         % or IBU     

8.50 lb       Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)                     Grain        95.5 %       

0.40 lb       Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)     Grain        4.5 %        

1.50 oz       Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.10%]  (60 min) Hops         22.8 IBU     

0.50 oz       Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.10%]  (15 min) Hops         3.8 IBU      

1 Pkgs        SafLager West European Lager (DCL Yeast #SYeast-Lager