Munich Helles Brewday

Having bought a bulk sack of German Pilz malt,  and now (finally) a kegging system, my plans for the summer are to brew a series of light, refreshing beers, in 5 gallon batches (again, finally), many of which use the Pilz as the base malt. My most recent Hefeweissen was the first in the series, and now, the German Helles is the second.


Munich Helles - 5 Gallons

Recipe Specifications
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Boil Size: 7.53 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.88 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.25 gal  
Bottling Volume: 5.17 gal
Estimated OG: 1.051 SG
Estimated Color: 4.9 SRM
Estimated IBU: 20.1 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 70.0 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amt                   Name                                           
5.25 gal              Boston, MA         
                  
10 lbs                Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)          
12.0 oz               Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)                      
4.0 oz                Melanoiden Malt (20.0 SRM)             

2.00 oz               Hallertauer [2.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min    

1.0 pkg               German Lager (White Labs #WLP830)
   
Mash Schedule: Light Body, 150F, 168F, 7.5 Gallon into Kettle

Total Grain Weight: 11 lbs
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Name                    Description                                          Step Temperat Step Time    
Mash Step               Add 17.75 qt of water at 161.2 F                     150.0 F       60 min       
Mash Step               Add 8.80 qt of water at 210.6 F                      168.0 F       10 min       

Sparge: Batch sparge with 2 steps (Drain mash tun , 3.21gal) of 168.0 F water

Notes:
Mash Mineral Additions: 6g Gypsum, 6g CaCl2 into 17.75 qt / 4.44 gal Mash water.


5/27/15
Made a starter with stored WY380, German Lager. By 5/30/15 it appeared that the starter had fully fermented. I am a little concerned that the yeast is not fully healthy.

Immediately after oxygen and pitching.

5/31/15
Brewed on my own. Used the EZ_Water_Calculator_3.02 spreadsheet to calculate my mas water additions. No additions to mash-out or sparge water.

Finally used my cheap Chinese pH meter, after calibrating and adjusting in 7.0 pH solution. Pulled a small sample of the mash, let cool to room temps, and measured pH at 5.2. Right on target! Yay! At mash temps the meter was reading 5.0, but apparently that's meaningless since the meter is not designed for high temps, and the high temps can damage the electrode. I also got some pH meter storage solution to keep the electrode in good shape.

Pre-boil OG was 1.043. Not completely sure of the volume.

Cooled to 110F, then racked to fermentor and placed in fermentation fridge set at 45F to complete cooling.

Post-boil OG was 1.053, and I got about 5.2 gallons into the fermenter, before addition of starter. Slightly high OG, I guess either to being slightly higher efficiency, slightly lower volume, or both.

Gave 60 seconds of pure 02, decanted chilled starter beer, and pitch the starter. The beer was a little too warm, like 50F, but the fermentation schedule will bring it to 45F for 12 hours before ramping to 50F. So probably not a problem.

Took a gravity of the starter - it was about 1.010. So it had fermented properly, and quickly.

6/3/15
A thin lager krausen has formed. It's mostly white with darker chunks of yeast floating on top. Yum! Airlock activity was low. This fermentation style is more typical of lagers.