Beer of the Moment Article - Riggers' Schwarzbier

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	Paul Rigby

Schwarzbier


History
Like many beer styles from various parts of the world Schwarzbier is a little known style which originated and developed its unique characteristics in the region around Kulmbach in Germany. The history of the style is quite unremarkable and has developed, as so many have, into a distinctive regional style with the usual inputs by regal and political dynasties, monasteries, greedy commercial brewers etc etc. Essentially the style is nothing more than a standard German Lager with the addition of some roast malt to darken and sweeten it and a slight reduction in hops to allow that sweetness to come through.
Kostritzer is probably the best known commercial example of the style, this brewery commenced operation in 1543 and has been brewing this unique style of beer continuously since that time.

Enhanced Kit Version (23 Litres)
Schwarzbier is a relatively simple style and is really nothing more than a standard German lager with the addition of a small amount of roasted malt to provide colour and a slightly sweet roasty malt flavour. This style readily lends itself to kit brewing.
I suggest purchasing almost any lager style kit, but preferably a German style lager. As usual I suggest using malt extracts rather than dextrose or sugar, in this case I recommend using a little amber or dark malt extract as part of the adjunct addition. The amount of dark malt extract to add is really a personal choice depending on how dark and roasty you want your beer to be, but I would suggest as a starting point to use 500gms of amber or 250gms of dark and the remainder light. Molasses could also be a useful adjunct in his style, particularly if you choose to use dextrose or sugar instead of malt extract, but be careful of the amount you add - once it’s in you can’t get it out!
Follow your usual kit method for the remainder of the brew.

Malt Extract & Mini Mash Version (23 Litres)
Base Malt – 3kg Light Malt Extract (Preferably dry)
Mini mash grains - 250gms German Carapils
500gms German Light Munich
250gms German (Wyermann) Carafa I (De-husked roasted malt)
Put three 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 back into a saucepan, and discard the grain residue.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 26 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.
Total boil time should be 90 minutes with the bittering hops boiled for only 60 minutes.
Yeast - I recommend Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager yeast or else Wyeast 2124 Bohemian 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 (23 Litres)
Grains - 4200gms German Pilsner Malt
500gms German Light Munich Malt
250gms German Carapils Malt
250gms German (Wyermann) Carafa I Malt (De-husked roasted 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, however in this case, as there is no crystaI malt to provide a body, then I suggest mashing in at protein preparation temperature of 50ºC and rest for 20 mins, raise to 1st saccrification temperature of 60ºC and rest for 45 mins, then raise to 2nd saccrification temperature of 70°C and rest for 15 mins. Raise temperature to mash out of 78°C for 10 mins using either an infusion or direct heat or if you wish to be a little more traditional then a simple decoction to raise to mash out could be employed.
Hops – For bittering aim at around 26 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. If you choose to use higher alpha acid varieties then try German grown Northern Brewer or Perle for the bittering, quantity will vary depending on the %AA (alpha acid) of the particular hops selected.
Total boil time should be 90 minutes with the bittering hops boiled for only 60 minutes.
Yeast - I recommend Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager yeast or else Wyeast 2124 Bohemian 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.