Beer of the Moment Article - Riggers on Dortmunder

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	Paul Rigby

Dortmunder

History
Unfortunately my usual recount of the history of the “Beer of the Moment” for this month is a non event! Alas the ‘history’ of Dortmunder lager is particularly unremarkable and almost any historical information on the development of German lager is applicable to the so called “Dortmunder Lager” style. It’s only claim to fame, or any distinctiveness from other German lagers, is that the water in Dortmund is particularly hard (lots of dissolved mineral in it – even worse than Adelaide water!) which has a definite and distinctive effect on the flavour profile of lagers brewed in that city.
Dortmund lagers are typically a little higher in alcohol than most German lagers ranging from just under 5% to just under 6% (OG 1.048 to 1.058). Hop character is the most obvious difference with Dorts being more bitter than other lagers at 23 to 30 IBU’s, with moderately high hop aroma and flavour. The hard water contributes to all of these differences as the dissolved minerals in the water effect all chemical processes during the brew from the mash to the boil.


Enhanced Kit Version
Dortmunder Lager is not a style that lends itself very well to kit brewing, as I have stated above the only differenced between Dorts and other lagers is water chemistry and that is an area where I wouldn’t advise kit brewers to go, in fact I usually think twice about it myself! However a reasonable approximation is possible by addressing some of the brewing aspects of the style i.e. slightly higher alcohol and higher hopping rates than the norm for lagers.
I suggest starting out by purchasing a good quality Pilsner kit. There are numerous choices of brands and the quality of the kits are generally excellent and the final decision is yours. I suggest using malt extracts rather than dextrose or sugar, in this case I recommend using a little more than the usual 1kg of light malt extract and increase it to 1.5kg, this should take care of the increased alcohol content. Now the hopping; a Pilsner kit will be well bitter enough (in fact it is over bitter really, but the increase in alcohol and hop flavour and aroma should counteract this a little, even if it doesn’t it is going to be no more bitter than a standard Pilsner). For hop flavour I recommend that you make a “hop tea” by putting half a litre of cold water into a saucepan and add 10 to 15gms of fresh German hop pellets, (The noble Hallertauer would be my preference, however Tettnang, or Hallertau Hersbrucker are also very good), bring to the boil as quickly as you like, and boil for 5 minutes. Add the strained liquid into the fermenter and discard the residue. Procuring the elusive hop aroma is only achievable by dry hopping in the fermenter to that end I suggest that you add 10 to 15gms of German hops (as noted above) toward the end of fermentation.
Follow the usual kit method for the remainder of the brew.

Malt Extract & Mini Mash Version
Base Malt – 3kg Light Malt Extract (Preferably dry)
Mini mash grains - 500gms German Pilsner Malt
300gms German Light Crystal Malt
100gms German Melanoidin Malt
100gms German Wheat Malt

Put 3 litres of cold water in a saucepan and add grains and heat up VERY SLOWLY (over a 25 to 30 minute period) until just short of boiling. Strain the liquid into your fermenter, and discard the grain residue.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 28 IBU's using any German hop, I generally use only noble hops in any of my brews even for bittering but you can really use any hop for this purpose. You could also use higher alpha acid varieties such as German grown Northern Brewer or Perle for bittering, quantity will vary depending on the %AA (alpha acid) of the hops selected. Grain & Grape staff will be happy to do the calculations for you. Hop flavour is somewhat elusive (as are most hop characteristics) to achieve. The usual practice is that an amount of hops are added to the boil for the last 10 minutes, usually added at the same time as kettle finings. With this in mind I recommend that you try adding 20gms of Hallertauer for the last 10 minutes of the boil. I strongly recommend dry hopping with 10 to 15gms again of Hallertauer in the secondary fermenter after racking.
Total boil time should be 90 minutes with the bittering hops boiled for only 60 minutes.
Yeast - I recommend Wyeast 2042 Danish Lager yeast or else Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager, 2206 Bavarian Lager, and if temperature control is a problem then try the Wyeast 2112 Californian Lager, which is more temperature tolerant than the others. If you prefer the convenience of dry yeast then try DCL Saflager.

Full Grain Version
Grains - 4500gms German Pilsner Malt
600gms German Light Munich Malt
300gms German Carapils
100gms German Wheat Malt

Mashing regimes are many and varied. Most modern malts are very well modified and only need a simple single step infusion mash to obtain very good results, with this in mind a simple mash regime is quite adequate for this style – a single step at 66ºC and mash out at 77ºC. Personally I prefer a more complex mashing regime because I am able to gain more control over the balance of the final brew with respect to mouthfeel etc. My current regime is based on my own experience and experimentation and the recommendations of George Fix in his book Brewing Techniques, which is a rest at 40ºC for 25 mins, 60ºC for 45 mins, 70ºC for 15 mins and a mash out at 77ºC for 10 mins.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 28 IBU's using any German hop. I use only “Noble” hops because they are always low in alpha acid but more particularly because being “Noble” they are the best! I generally advise the use of lower alpha hops for all brewing purposes particularly bittering (especially for lower to moderate bitterness beers up to about 30 IBU’s) because if your scales are a little inaccurate two or three grams over in a total weight of twenty or thirty grams of a lower alpha hop will not be noticeable but three grams over in ten or twelve grams using a 12 or 14% AA hop will mean an almost undrinkably bitter beer. You could also use higher alpha acid varieties such as German grown Northern Brewer or Perle for bittering, quantity will vary depending on the %AA (alpha acid) of the particular hops selected.
Dortmunders demand ‘moderate’ hop flavour and aroma and with this in mind I recommend that for flavour add 15 to 20gms of Hallertauer for the last 10 minutes of the boil, for aroma soak 15 to 20gms of Hallertauer at the end of the boil. I strongly recommend dry hopping with 10 to 15gms again of Hallertauer in the secondary fermenter after racking to further enhance the hop character.
Total boil time should be 90 minutes with the bittering hops boiled for only 60 minutes.
Yeast - I recommend Wyeast 2042 Danish Lager yeast or else Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager, 2206 Bavarian Lager, and if temperature control is a problem then try the Wyeast 2035 American Lager, which is more temperature tolerant than the others. If you prefer the convenience of dry yeast then try DCL Saflager.