How to Brew a SMASH Lager at Home (Czech Lager Recipe)

How to Brew a Smash Czech Pilsner:

We brewed a SMASH lager at a real brewery, and it turned out incredible. SMASH stands for "Single Malt And Single Hop." That means you use just one type of grain and one type of hop. This style is great for showing off what those two ingredients can really do on their own, with nothing else to hide behind. Get the scaled-down SMASH Czech Lager recipe kit here.

We brewed this SMASH Czech Lager at Diatribe Brewing Co. in West Asheville, which is easily one of the best small breweries you have probably never heard of. And here is the best part: this exact beer is going to be on tap during Homebrew Con 2026. So if you want to taste it in person, stop by Diatribe for a taste.

About Diatribe Brewing

Diatribe opened at the end of 2023 in West Asheville. Dave, the owner and brewer, runs the whole place with his partner Betty and a small team of part-time bartenders. It is a simple neighborhood taproom, but the beer is anything but simple.

Dave started as a homebrewer. He earned many National Homebrew Competition medals before ever going commercial. As a professional brewer, he has won at the World Beer Cup, the Great American Beer Festival, the Australian International Beer Competition, and the Brussels Beer Challenge. That puts him in the same category as breweries like Sierra Nevada. And it all started with homebrewing.

One of his World Beer Cup gold medals came from experimenting in his corny keg at home, testing different cacao nibs from five different countries for an imperial stout. He found the right one, sent it off to competition, and won. That homebrew mindset is still at the core of everything he does.

SMASH Lager Recipe (5 Gallon Batch)

Recipe Stats:

• Batch Size: 5.5 gallons
• Original Gravity: 1.046
• Final Gravity: 1.007
• ABV: 5.1%
• IBU: 34
• Color: 4 SRM (very pale, light gold)
• Boil Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

• 10 lbs 4 oz Chesapeake Pilsner malt (100%)
• 2 oz Saaz hops, first wort addition
• 1 oz Saaz hops, 30 minute addition
• 1 oz Saaz hops, 15 minute addition
• 2 oz Saaz hops, 5 minute addition
• 5.1g calcium chloride (mash)
• 5.3ml lactic acid 95% (mash)
• 1 Whirlfloc tablet (15 min)
• 2 packages Fermentis Saflager W-34/70

Water:

• Total water: 7.61 gallons
• Mash water: 7.61 gallons
  
• Mash pH target: 5.3

SMASH Lager Brewing Process

Step 1: Water Chemistry

Dave uses Asheville city water, which is naturally very soft. For a light lager like this, the goal is to keep things simple and clean. He adds a small amount of calcium chloride to give the yeast the calcium it needs, and lactic acid to bring the mash pH down to around 5.1 to 5.3. A higher pH can make the beer taste rough. A lower one can make it taste flat. Getting it right makes the finished beer taste cleaner and more complex.

Step 2: Mash

Mash at 150 degrees Fahrenheit for 60 minutes. This temperature gives you a good balance between fermentable and unfermentable sugars. The beer will finish dry and crisp but still have a little body to it. The grain for this recipe is Chesapeake Pilsner malt from Riverbend Malt, a local maltster right here in Western North Carolina.

Step 3: First Wort Hops

Before the boil even starts, add your first 2 oz of Saaz hops to the kettle while the wort is still running off from the mash. This is called a first wort hop addition. Because the wort is not boiling yet, it pulls different compounds from the hops at a lower temperature. The result is a softer, more delicate hop flavor in the finished beer.

Saaz hops from the Czech Republic are the classic choice for lagers like this. They have a spicy, herbal, and slightly floral character that is hard to beat. Dave called them his favorite hop in the world, and it is hard to argue after tasting this beer.

Step 4: Boil

Bring the wort to a boil and set a 60 minute timer. Add hops on this schedule:

• 30 minutes left: 1 oz Saaz
• 15 minutes left: 1 oz Saaz and 1 Whirlfloc tablet
• 5 minutes left: 2 oz Saaz

The Whirlfloc tablet is a clarifying agent that helps drop proteins out of solution during the boil. This keeps the finished beer clear and clean looking. After the boil, do a 10 minute whirlpool and let everything rest for another 10 minutes. This spins hops and sediment into a cone in the center of the kettle so you can pull clear wort from the side.

Step 5: Chill and Pitch

Chill the wort down to around 46 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit before adding your yeast. Lagers ferment cold, which is what gives them that clean, crisp character. This is the main thing that separates lagers from ales. Get it cold as fast as you can to avoid any chance of contamination.

Aerate the wort before pitching. You can shake the fermenter for a couple of minutes or use a pure oxygen tank with a diffusion stone for even better results.

Pitch both packages of Fermentis Saflager W-34/70. This is one of the most popular and reliable lager yeasts in the world. It is predictable, consistent, and puts out a clean classic lager character every time.

Step 6: Ferment and Lager

Ferment at 51.8 degrees Fahrenheit for 18 days. Then slowly raise the temperature to 59 degrees Fahrenheit and hold it there for 3 more days. This warmer rest at the end helps the yeast clean up any remaining off-flavors before you cold crash and package the beer.

After fermentation is done, cold crash and condition the beer as cold as you can for as long as you can. This is what lagering means. The cold temperature helps everything clear up and mellow out. The longer you wait, the better it gets.

Tips for Brewing a Lager at Home

Temperature control matters more with lagers than with any other style. If you do not have a dedicated fermentation fridge, a cool basement or garage in the colder months can work. Consistency matters more than hitting an exact number.

Keep your process clean. Lagers do not have big hop flavors or high alcohol to cover up off-flavors. Everything shows up in the glass, so sanitation and attention to detail are extra important.

Be patient. Do not rush the fermentation or the lagering time. A good lager is worth the wait.

Brew This Beer at Home

This is the same recipe Dave brewed at Diatribe, scaled for a 5 gallon homebrew batch. Everything you need to make it is right here on our site. Get the scaled-down SMASH Czech Lager recipe kit here. If you want to try it before you brew it, come find us at Diatribe Brewing in West Asheville during Homebrew Con 2026 in June and order one straight from the tap.

The equipment Dave uses at the brewery works the same way ours does, just at a bigger scale. Our grain basket separates grain from water the same way his false bottom does. We both use PID controllers with electric elements. We even buy grain from the same maltsters. If he can win a World Beer Cup with a homebrew mentality, you can make a great lager in your kitchen.