I really enjoyed the Munich Dunkel I brewed two years ago, and recently decided to give the recipe another go. This round was nearly identical in terms of ingredients, with the only real change being a lower mash temperature to dry out the beer a bit and reduce residual sweetness. This version is nearly perfect, and has matured nicely while on tap!
Dunkel-Osteus 2019

- 9 lbs. Munich Dark malt (BESTMALZ)
- 6 oz. Carafa Special II malt (Weyermann), added at vorlauf
- 5 oz. melanoidin malt (Weyermann)
- 1.5 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfrueh hops (4.0% alpha), 60 minute boil
- 1 tsp. Fermax yeast nutrient, 10 minute boil
- 1 Whirlfloc tablet, 10 minute boil
- 2 pkg. Saflager Lager yeast (Fermentis W34/70)
Target Parameters
- 60 minute infusion mash, 150°
- 1.050 o.g., 1.010 f.g., 5.2% abv, 22 IBU, 23 SRM
- Water adjusted to hit 82 ppm Ca, 7 ppm Mg, 15 ppm Na, 31 ppm SO4, 94 ppm Cl, 131 ppm HCO3, 44 ppm RA
Procedure
- I used 5.13 gallons of Claremont tap water with 3 gallons of RO water and 5 g of calcium chloride overall, to hit my water targets.
- I mashed in with 3.25 gallons of tap water (with Campden tablet to remove chloramines) at 161.5°, to hit a mash temperature of 150.5°.
- For the sparge water, I mixed 2 gallons of tap water with 3 gallons of RO water and 5 g of calcium chloride.
- After 60 minutes, I added 1.25 gallons of tap water at 185°, let the mash sit for 10 more minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the first runnings.
- Next, I added 3.3 gallons of sparge water, let sit 10 minutes, vorlaufed, and collected the second runnings.
- I collected 6.6 gallons of wort with a gravity of 1.040, for 73% mash efficiency.
- I started the boil, and added the hops, Whirlfloc, and yeast nutrient per the schedule. After 60 minutes, I turned off the flame and chilled the wort down to 70°.
- I transferred the chilled wort to my fermenter, reduced temperature to 54° in my fermentation chamber, and pitched the yeast at this point.
- Starting gravity was 1.046, on 26 February 2019.
- I fermented the beer at 54° for the first week, and raised the temperature to 64° on March 9, 68° on March 12, and cold crashed on March 14. I kegged the beer on 23 March.
- Final gravity was 1.010, down from 1.046, for 4.7% abv.
Tasting
- The Basics
- O.G. = 1.046; f.g. = 1.010; 4.7% abv; 20 SRM; 22 estimated IBU
- Aroma
- Mild chocolate aroma, with no apparent hop aroma.
- Appearance
- Beautifully clear, darkest amber/reddish brown color, with an off-tan persistent head
- Flavor
- Malty beer, with a residual breadiness on the finish; fairly moderate bitterness
- Mouthfeel
- Medium body, with the finish being only very slightly dry. Moderate carbonation, appropriate for style.
- Would I brew this again?
- Absolutely! I think I nailed the style pretty well this time around, particularly in that this version is slightly less sweet than the first one I did. I attribute this to a slightly lower mash temperature (150° vs 154°). Finishing gravity was definitely lower (1.010 vs 1.016), too. I wouldn’t mind a touch more chocolate character on this version (which the last version had), but that could be fixed by a bit more Carafa Special II. I also think I liked the Weyermann Dark Munich a bit better than the BEST version of this malt, which also might explain some of the loss in malt character character. I recall Weyermann’s Dark Munich being just a touch richer in character, so I might switch things up next time. Otherwise, this is another great recipe!
- Overall
- 9/10