Padunk-a-Dunkel

Munich Dunkel
O.G. = 1.050
24 IBU
4.9% ABV

Grain Bill:

11 lbs Munich II
.5 lb Carapils

Hop Schedule:

1 oz Spalt (3.4% AA) -- 60 minutes
1 oz Saaz (3.5% AA) -- 30 minutes

Wyeast Urquell Yeast

Mashing:
I want to use a three step mash with a 20 minute rest at 144, a 60 minute rest at 156, and then a 10 minute mash out at 170. The method I am using can be found here in John Palmer's How to Brew , or in some of my other brewing posts.

Initial Infusion Equation:
Strike Water Temperature Tw = (.2/r)(T2 - T1) + T2

(.2 / .75) (144 - 85 ) + 144 = 159.7 degrees (two gallons)

Mash Infusion Equation:
Wa = (T2 - T1)(.2G + Wm)/(Tw - T2)

(156-144) (2.3+8.6) / (210-156) = amount of boiling water needed to get to 156

(12)(10.9)/54 = 2.4 quarts

(170-156) (2.3+18) / (210-170) = amount of boiling water needed to get to 170

(14) (20.3) /40 = 7.17 quarts / 1.8 quarts

Brewday Reflections: Perhaps starting out with .75 quarts per pound is not quite enough. The run-off got stuck, and thankfully I still had my trusty drilled out five gallon bucket along with my old bottling bucket. It was time to go old school. I just hope I reaped the gravity I was hoping for and the beer will be as clear as if it were run through the manifold in my normal tun. Thankfully I had plenty of homebrew to help me relax and not worry. One should also notice that I did not check the temperature all the way through like I may have in the past. I have found the formula above to be reliable, so I just trusted it.

11.23.08 -- Checked gravity, and it was down around 1.014, which 72% attenuated. I did not expect it to be this far. I am raising the temperature as much as I can in hopes I can get a few more points out of it, eating up diacetyl in the process.

11.28.08 -- Gravity was down to 1.012. Racked into secondary and turned temperature down to 34 degrees.

12.26.08 -- Racked into keg

1.3.09 -- First impressions: Very drinkable! This beer is light bodied and certainly smooth. The bread crust flavors of the Munich malt come through very nicely, though next time I may add a little crystal to make it a tad more complex. I am not complaining though. A great beer that probably wont last long. I will have to be sure to take a picture before it runs out.