Czechs on Fire
By Ken Bazley
Recipe is part of Recipe Index
BJCP 2021 Style - 32A Classic Style Smoked Beer
Smoked Czech Dark Lager
A bastardized version of 3D brewed on the stovetop. I’d never brewed a smoked Czech beer before and I’d never heard of anyone else doing so, but the name was too good to leave so I had to build a beer around it! When thinking about the recipe the key for me was to get a good level of hoppiness (and I mean flavour) which balanced with the smoke but carried through to the finish. Without the hoppiness it’s not in the Czech style and goes more towards Schwarzbier. Surprisingly perhaps, this turns out to be a very crushable beer.
Awards
Lager than Life 2023 (London)
2nd - Strong, Smoked and Wood-Aged Lager
Measures
- IBU 32.4
- ABV 4.9%
- OG 1.051
- FG 1.012
- EBC 51.6
- 10 litres into fermenter.
Ingredients
Water
SES water acidified to hit 5.5 mash pH
- Sodium metabisulphite – pinch into brewing liquor and again for sparge
- Lactic acid, 0.9ml in the mash
- Lactic Acid, 1.2ml in the sparge
Malt
- Crisp Europils, 1.5kg - 3.4EBC
- Weyermann rauchmalz, 1.5kg - 3.9EBC
- Carafa I special, 100g – 900EBC
- Chocolate malt, 100g – 525EBC
- Wheat malt, 100g 4.1EBC
Hops
- Bobek, 5.25% at first wort
Yeast
- German lager (WLP830)
Process
Mash
- Single infusion at 67C (ish) for 60 minutes.
Boil
- 60 minute boil
Ferment
- Pitched at 18°C and once it had got going the FV was put outside in the shed.
- FV then brought inside when SG was around 1.020 for diacetyl rest.
- Finished at 1.012.
Serving
- Final beer carbonated to around 2.0 vols and lagered for 3 weeks ish.