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CHOCOLATE LAGER HOMEBREW RECIPE
In this video, Luis brews up a delicious chocolate lager in his NYC apartment. It’s a crisp, light beer with subtle notes of chocolate from fresh cacao nibs (which you can tweak to your liking). However, what really makes this brew day special is Luis’ fermentation method, which is done at an extremely high temperature. This means the beer can be ready in as little as 3 days time. This is only possible because the yeast used in this recipe (Saflager 34/70) is very tolerant to high heat. Needless to say, this was still somewhat of an experiment. There’s not a lot of information out there on this topic, but we've linked an article from Brulosophy that breaks down how this actually works, and as Luis will attest, it really does! Hope you enjoy.
Note: This recipe is tailored for the Clawhammer Supply 10.5 Gallon 120 Volt Brewing System. Watch us use it in the video below.
FULL BREW DAY VIDEO
BENCHMARKS
SG: 1.050
FG: 1.014
ABV: 4.73%
WATER
8 Gallons (32 Quarts)
GRAIN BILL (ALL GERMAN)
4 LBS Vienna Malt
2 LBS Munich Light
3 LBS Pilsner Malt
1.5 LBS Munich Dark
.5 LBS Caramunich
.12 LBS Victory
4 OZ Unroasted Cacao Nibs (this will be added to the kettle along with the grains)
MASH
Add 8 gallons (32 quarts) of water and add grains and cacao nibs, then mash at 156 F (69 C) for 60 minutes. Once mash is done, pull grains and left wort drain from grain basket.
BOIL & HOPS
Pre Boil Volume: 8 Gallons (32 L)
Post Boil Volume: 6 Gallons (22.7 L)
Boil Time: 90 minutes
HOP ADDITIONS
60 Minute Addition:
2 OZ Tettnanger Hops
YEAST & FERMENTATION
Here’s where things get a little weird.
First, cool to 80 F and pitch Saflager 34/70 yeast. Luis made his own yeast starter. We’ve got a video on how to do that.
Ferment at 80 F for 3 weeks (it may need to sit longer if final gravity isn’t reached). Yes, it’s very high.
Here’s the article mentioned in the video that explains how this works. The short answer: the yeast can take it, and the beer still tastes great. In an experiment involving 21 tasters, a few did find differences in the beer fermented at a high temp when directly compared to one fermented at 60 F. However, guess which version most of them preferred? The one fermented at a higher temp.
Heat 1/2 cup of water and 1 TSP gelatin in a microwave at 155 F for 30 seconds. Don’t overdo it or you’ll end up with Jello, this is just so the gelatin dissolves.
Lastly, cold crash at 40 F for 24 hours.
TASTING & CONCLUSION
Despite a few mishaps and an unusually high fermentation temp, the beer turned out great. It has a distinct lager aroma with a nice malty backbone. It’s crisp with subtle hints of citrus from the German hops, and the chocolate comes through nicely without overwhelming the other attributes of the beer, also adding a nice fruity flavor (since the cacao nibs aren’t roasted).
If you haven’t, we definitely recommend checking out the video where you can watch these steps in action! Then go make beer!
Making this beer today!!