With the fall months bringing cooler evenings, I’m hankering for darker beers. In the past, that’s often meant porters and stouts. This year, I’ve been on a big lager roll. In fact, seven out of 20 beers for this year–more than a third!–have been lagers. German pils are of course a regular favorite, but in the dark realm I wanted to try a Czech-style dark lager. This past summer, I had an enjoyable sampling of the Czech Budvar tmavý ležák, and it was delicious! Inspired by that, I tracked down a Czech dark lager recipe in the Dark Lagers book by Kraus-Weyermann and Dornbusch.

This particular recipe, called Tmavý Ležák, promised a classic version of this classic style. To aim for maximum authenticity, I went through the effort of tracking down all of the exact grains. This meant some special orders, to get the floor-malted Bohemian dark malt from Weyermann, for instance. Hopefully the effort and expense would be worth it! I also elected to do a decoction mash as part of this, to experiment a little bit and up the malt character (presumably).

Tmavý Ležák

• 5 lb. 12 oz. floor-malted Bohemian pilsner malt (Weyermann)
• 3 lb. 6 oz. floor-malted Bohemian dark malt (Weyermann)
• 1 lb. Carabohemian malt (Weyermann)
• 6 oz. Carafa Special I malt (Weyermann)
• 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB (add to mash)
• 1 oz. Saaz hop pellets (3.25% alpha), 60 minute boil
• 2 oz. Saaz hop pellets (3.25% alpha), 15 minute boil
• 0.5 tsp. BrewTanB, 10 minute boil
• 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
• 2 oz. Saaz hop pellets (3.25% alpha), 5 minute boil
• 2 pkg. Novalager dry yeast (Lallemand)

Target Parameters

• 1.047 s.g., 1.012 f.g., 4.6% abv, 29 IBU
• Full-volume infusion mash, with 75 minute rest at 144°, 45 minute rest at 160°, 10 minute rest at 168°. I also did a decoction mash during the first rest.
• Claremont water, neutralized to remove carbonates, with final target of 32 ppm Ca, 12 ppm Mg, 54 ppm Na, 50 ppm SO4, 60 ppm Cl, 10 ppm HCO3, RA=-22

Procedure

• First, I heated the strike water to 148°, and added the grains to hit a target mash rest of 144°.
• After 15 minutes with recirculation at 144°, I grabbed approximately a gallon of thick mash, heated it to 160°, and let it sit there for 15 minutes. Then, I brought it to a boil, and boiled for 30 minutes with frequent stirring before adding it into the main mash. The primary mash was held at 144° for this entire time, which means the 144° mash rest was around 75 minutes.
• Next, I raised the mash temperature to 160° and held it there for 45 minutes.
• Finally, I raised the mash to 168°, and held it there for 10 minutes.
• Next, I removed the grains and brought the mash to a boil. I collected 6.75 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.039, for 68% mash efficiency.
• I brought the runnings to a boil, adding hops and finings per the recipe. After 60 minutes, I turned off the heat and chilled to 80° before transferring to the fermenter. Then, I moved the fermenter to the fermentation chamber, where I chilled it the rest of the way (down to 50°).
• I realized that I forgot the CaraBohemian malt in the mash, so had to improvise. I used 1.5 quarts of water with the milled grains, steeped it at 150° to 170° for 30 minutes, filtered, boiled for 10 minutes, and added this directly to the fermenter prior to pitching the yeast. Oops!
• Starting gravity was 1.045. I brewed the beer on 9 September 2023.
• After pitching the yeast, I did the initial fermentation at 52°, before raising to 54° on 26 September. Then, I raised to 58° on 28 September, and 60° on 1 October.
• I cold crashed the beer to 34° on 4 October 2023.
• I kegged the beer on 14 October 2023. Final gravity was 1.010, for 4.7% abv. All told, I hit my numbers pretty well!

Tasting

• Appearance
  • A very clear (but not brilliant), deep brown beer with garnet highlights on its edges. It’s almost chestnut in color when against a light source. The beer pours with a rich, fluffy, and persistent off-tan head, which leaves bits of lacing down the side of the glass.
• Aroma
  • Malty and bread crust aroma, with a bit of cracker. There is a light hop spice, as well as a touch of dried dark fruit as the beer warms.
• Flavor
  • Malt-forward, malty and bread crust flavor, with a medium level of spicy hop bitterness. There is a moderate coffee note and a slight hint of roastiness.
• Mouthfeel
  • Medium-light body, with a dry finish. Moderate carbonation. Very drinkable!
• Would I Brew This Again?
  • This recipe was a ton of effort in terms of ingredients and the decoction, but is also quite tasty and exceptionally easy to drink. The body is a touch thin for what I expected; it might benefit from backing off the hops just a touch, and perhaps ditching the decoction to reduce the length of time that the main mash was held at a low temperature. I suspect that may have dried out this beer a little more than desirable. That said, the overall drinkability tips the scales in favor of this beer!
• Overall
  • 9/10