Another year, another run at my Munich Dunkel recipe. This is my fourth time brewing this one, although the last instance was in 2021. The malt bill is exactly the same, but I swapped in Perle for Magnum and Munich Lager yeast (WLP860) for W34/70. The former change is one of convenience; the latter change is to accentuate the maltiness of the beer a touch. After my previous brews with WLP860 dry yeast, I’ve learned to accept that it’s a slow starter, and not worry!

As a fun side project, I redesigned the logo for this batch (below), using a recent re-interpretation of the size of Dunkleosteus. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Recipe Name

• 10 lb. Munich II malt (Weyermann)
• 0.5 lb. Carafa Special II malt (Weyermann)
• 6 oz. melanoidin malt (Weyermann)
• 1.1 oz. Perle hop pellets (6.3% alpha), 60 minute boil
• 1 Kick carrageenan tablet, 5 minute boil
• 2 pkg. Munich lager dry yeast (White Labs WLP860)

Target Parameters

• 60 minute full volume mash at 152°, with mash-out at 168°
• 1.050 o.g., 1.014 f.g., 4.7% abv, 25 IBU, 23 SRM
• Claremont tap water
• 5 gallon batch

Procedure

• I heated 7.4 gallons of water to 158°, added a Campden tablet, and mashed in. I held the mash at 152° for 60 minutes, with recirculation, and then raised the temperature to 168° for a 10 minute mash-out.
• Once the grains were removed, I had 6.5 gallons of runnings with a gravity of 1.045, for 71% mash efficiency.
• I brought the runnings to a boil, addings hops and finings per the recipe.
• After a 60 minute boil, I turned off the heat and chilled to 67° before transferring to the fermenter.
• After chilling the beer down to 50°, I pitched the yeast.
• I brewed the beer on 6 December 2025. Starting gravity was 1.052.
• The fermentation chamber was held at 52°. Knowing that the dry WLP860 is a slow starter, I peeked into the fermenter and saw a small amount of krausen on 10 December 2025.
• I moved the beer to ambient on 3 January 2026, and kegged it on 24 January 2026. I carbonated the beer with forced carbonation.
• Final gravity was 1.014, for 5.0% abv.

Tasting

• Appearance
  • Very clear, dark brown beer with deep garnet red highlights, pouring with a persistent light tan head.
• Aroma
  • Rich bready malt aroma, with a medium level of chocolate character. No hop or yeast character to speak of – it’s all malt!
• Flavor
  • Medium high maltiness, with a toasty breadcrust quality and a bit of chocolate. Medium bitterness, with a slightly spicy aspect. Clean yeast character.
• Mouthfeel
  • Medium body, medium carbonation, smooth finish, slightly dry.
• Would I Brew This Again?
  • This is such a highly drinkable recipe–probably one of my favorites. There’s not much else to say; it’s a good beer!
• Overall
  • 10/10