Gdansk Lager

The idea for this beer was born while browsing the winning recipes for Pils. One recipe attracted my attention. An experienced brewer claim that one of the most successful Pilsners was hopped with a mixture of Saaz hops and Styrian Goldings. The author argued that no other blend had given him such a rich hop aroma. Of course, I wasn’t able to find a recipe or an article, but my attention was so remembered that I decided to check how the beer would come out with these hops.

As the base style I chose Premium Czech Lager, but because of the selection of hops, for my personal use I named the beer from the name of one of my favorite cities in Poland, where beer on the Baltic Sea tastes like nowhere else.

RECIPE DETAILS

Batch size: 25L (6.5 gal)
Mash water: 18L filtered water + 3ml Phosphoric Acid 75%
Sparge water: 16,5L RO filtered water + 1.5ml Phosphoric Acid 75%
Pre-boil gravity: 1.046 (11.4 BLG)
Boil time: 60 min
OG: 1.050 (12.4 BLG)
FG: 1.012 (3 BLG)
IBU*=43 EBC*=7.4 SRM=3.8 ABV=5%
BH Efficienty*=77% Est Mash Eff*=76%
* – EST by Beer Smith3

FERMENTABLES:

AmtName%
3.65 kgPilsner Malt71.2%
0.85 kgPale malt 16.6%
0.30 kgMunich I malt5.8%
0.30kgCara-Pils/Dextrine5.8%
0.03 kgMelanoidin0.6%

HOPS:

TimeNameAmountAlphaUseForm
60 minMagnum19g10.5%First WorthPellet
30 minSaaz25g3.5%BoilPellet
20 minStyrian Goldings25g2.9%BoilPellet
15 minSaaz25g3.5%BoilPellet
10 minStyrian Goldings25g2.9%BoilPellet
5 minSaaz25g3.5%BoilPellet
5 minStyrian Goldings25g2.9%BoilPellet
1 minSaaz25g3.5%BoilPellet
1 minStyrian Goldings25g2.9%BoilPellet

Yeast:

Fermentis Saflager W-34/70 (2 sachets)

Mash:

TempNameTime
69°C (156°F)Mash Step60 min
72°C (162°F)Mash Step15 min
76°C (168°F)Mash Out15 min

BREW DAY– 28/01/2020

Fermentation temp.: 12°C(53°F) 28 days – 16°C(61°F) last 3 days

28/02/2020 Racking to bottling bucket

After a month of fermentation, the beer was already very clear. FG = 1.012

05/03/2020 Bottling

After another 6 days, the beer was bottled with the addition of 145 g of glucose dissolved in one liter of water. Dosing solution with a syringe of 20ml for each bottle.

14/08/2020

After 5 months, I disgusted the last bottle. The beer was excellent from the very beginning, and if it were possible to send it to the competition, I would have done so without hesitation. In my opinion, it is the best lager I have ever brewed so far, and even better than the Pils that received the gold medal in 2019.

At the beginning, the beer has an aroma strongly dominated by Styrian Goldings hops, but after a few months the aromas balance and the beer can easily compete in the Premium Czech Lager category.

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