Summer Cellar Bière de Garde

ALL-GRAIN

Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters) OG: 1.076 FG: 1.019 IBUS: 30 ABV: 7.9%

MALT/GRAIN BILL

9 lb (4.1 kg) Pilsner malt 3 lb (1.4 kg) Munich malt 1 lb (454 g) Vienna malt 8 oz (227 g) toasted Victory malt 1 lb (454 g) Pale Belgian Candi Syrup (0.5–3L)

HOPS SCHEDULE

2 oz (56 g) Hallertau [5% AA] at 30 minutes 1 oz (28 g) Hallertau at whirlpool/flame-out 0.5 oz (14 g) Fuggles at whirlpool/flame-out

YEAST

Wyeast 1007 (German Ale) Yeast

DIRECTIONS

Mill the grains and mix with 4.1 gallons (15.77 l) of 163°F (73°C) strike water to reach a mash temperature of 152°F (67°C). Hold this temperature for 60 minutes. Vorlauf until your runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle and allow lauter to dissolve the candi syrup. Sparge the grains with 3.1 gallons (11.8 l) and top up as necessary to obtain 6 gallons (23 l) of wort. Boil for 60 minutes, following the hops schedule.

After the boil, chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, about 60°F (16°C). Aerate the wort with pure oxygen or filtered air and pitch the yeast.

Ferment at 60°F (16°C) for 3 days, then allow the temperature to rise to 70°F (21°C) over the next 4 days. Upon completion of fermentation, crash the beer to 35°F (2°C), then bottle or keg and carbonate to about 2.5 volumes.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

This recipe goes pretty heavy on the flavor/aroma hops compared to some other versions of BDG, but in a beer that is sometimes subject to aging, I like going high on the features that will age out (such as hops character). Much like the Maibock, this is a beer that relies on the development of relatively simple flavors to make its impact, so be sure to source fresh, high-quality malts and take your time in fermentation!