Brewing Munich Dunkel at home
Dark lager with bread crust, malt and little bitterness.
Base recipe for 20 litres (5.3 gal), calculated with the Brauwerkstatt beer creator. With one click you can adapt it to your batch size, bitterness, colour or alcohol content.
Typical figures
| Alcohol | 4.5–5.6 % |
| Bitterness | 18–28 IBU |
| Colour | 34–56 EBC (17–28 SRM) |
| Carbonation | 5.0 g/l (2.5 vol) |
| Yeast | SafLager W-34/70 (bottom-fermenting) |
| Fermentation temperature | 10–13 °C (50–55 °F) |
| Brewing water | harder, for dark beers |
Recipe for 20 litres (5.3 gal)
- Original gravity: 11.6 °P (SG 1.047)
- 5.0 % vol
- 22 IBU
- 45 EBC (22.8 SRM)
- Final gravity: 2.3 °P (SG 1.009)
Grain bill
| Dark Munich malt | 4.45 kg (9.81 lb) | 90 % |
| Caramunich III | 329 g (11.6 oz) | 7 % |
| Carafa Special I | 193 g (6.8 oz) | 4 % |
Hops
| Hallertauer Mittelfrüh 4.0 % α | 42 g (1.48 oz) | 60 min |
Yeast
SafLager W-34/70: 16–24 g (0.56–0.85 oz) for 20 L (about 5.3 gal) (80–120 g/hl)
Mash schedule
63 °C (145 °F) · 40 min → 72 °C (162 °F) · 20 min
Brewing water
| Mash water | 17.5 L (4.62 gal) |
| Sparge water | 13.5 L (3.57 gal) |
| Total water | 31.0 L (8.19 gal) |
Brewing steps
- Clean and sanitise everything that touches the wort after the boil.
- Measure out 31 L (about 8.2 gal) of water and treat it with the brewing-water calculator. Dark beers cope well with harder water; aim for a mash pH of 5.3–5.5.
- Split the water: mash water 17.5 L (about 4.6 gal), sparge water 13.5 L (about 3.6 gal).
- Heat the mash water to 66 °C (151 °F) and mash in 4.45 kg (9.8 lb) Dark Munich malt, 0.33 kg (0.73 lb) Caramunich III and 0.19 kg (0.42 lb) Carafa Special I (gives about 63 °C / 145 °F).
- 1. rest: 63 °C (145 °F), 40 min (maltose rest).
- Measure mash pH 10–15 min after mashing in (cool the sample to 20 °C / 68 °F). Target 5.4–5.5.
- 2. rest: 72 °C (162 °F), 20 min (saccharification). Iodine test at the end: no blue colour = starch converted.
- Mash out: heat to 78 °C (172 °F) and hold for 10 min.
- Rest 10–20 min, lauter slowly and sparge with 13.5 L (about 3.6 gal) water at 78 °C (172 °F).
- Boil the wort for 90 min.
- 60 min before the end of the boil add 42 g (1.5 oz) Hallertauer Mittelfrüh.
- 10 min before the end of the boil add Irish moss (about 2 g / 0.07 oz, soaked beforehand).
- After the boil stir a whirlpool and let it rest for 15 min.
- Chill to 9 °C (48 °F), measure original gravity (target 11.6 °P), run 20 L (about 5.3 gal) into the fermenter, aerate well and pitch the SafLager W-34/70 (amount see yeast).
- Primary fermentation 10–14 days at 10–13 °C (50–55 °F), then 2 days at 15–16 °C (59–61 °F) (diacetyl rest).
- Measure final gravity (target about 2.3 °P). Priming sugar per bottle from the carbonation calculator (target 5 g/l), then bottle.
- Bottle-condition 1–2 weeks at room temperature, then store cold (0–4 °C) for 4–6 weeks.
Notes
Created with the beer creator (brewhouse efficiency 70 %, final gravity about 2.3 °P).