This dark lager boasts a smooth roasted malt character, crisp bitterness and vibrant roasted finish.

Schwarzbier, which literally means “black beer” in German, is a dark lager style that dates back hundreds of years, with roots in Saxony and Thuringia. Despite its deep mahogany-to-black appearance, Schwarzbier isn’t heavy or overly roasty like a stout or porter. Schwarzbiers are clean, crisp, and deceptively smooth, brewed with bottom-fermenting lager yeast that keeps it light and crisp.

The roasted malts provide subtle flavours of coffee, cocoa, and dark bread crust, but without the harsh bitterness you might expect from darker beers. Historically, Schwarzbier was brewed as an everyday drinking lager, enjoyed much like a Pilsner or Helles.

To really nail a clean, crisp Schwarzbier, we would highly reccomend making a yeast starter. Because lagers ferment cool and need a healthy pitch, a starter ensures your yeast is active, plentiful and viable. This helps the beer fully attenuate, prevents off-flavours, and keeps the profile smooth and refreshing rather than fruity or sluggish.

Vitals

Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.010
IBU (Tinseth): 27
BU/GU: 0.53
Colour: 53.5 EBC 

ABV: 5.3%
73% efficiency
Batch Volume: 23 L
Boil Time: 60 min

Mash Water: 18.65 L
Sparge Water: 12.27 L
Total Water: 30.92 L
Boil Volume: 28 L
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.045

Mash

Sacc Rest — 67 °C — 60 min
Mash Out — 75 °C — 15 min

Malts (5.05 kg)

3.55 kg (70.3%) — Joe White Maltings Pilsner, Malt Craft Export — Grain — 3.2 EBC
1.2 kg (23.8%) — Joe White Maltings Munich, Light — Grain — 17.7 EBC
200 g (4%) — Joe White Maltings Roasted Barley — Grain — 1400 EBC
100 g (2%) — Joe White Maltings Chocolate Malt — Grain — 750 EBC

Hops (70 g)

50 g (25 IBU) — Saaz 4.5% — Boil — 60 min
20 g (2 IBU) — Saaz 4.5% — Boil — 5 min

Miscs

1.9 g — Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) — Mash
0.83 g — Gypsum (CaSO4) — Mash
2 ml — Lactic Acid 88% — Mash
1 items — Whirlfloc — Boil — 15 min

Yeast

3 pkg — Fermentis S-23 SafLager West European Lager 82% (recommended)
2 pkg - Fermentis W-34/70 Yeast
1 pkg - Lalbrew Novalager Yeast
2 pkg - Lalbrew Diamond Lager Yeast

Fermentation

Pitching Temp — 12 °C — 1 days
Main Ferment — 12.5 °C — 4 days
Main Ferment — 13.5 °C — 2 days
Main Ferment — 15 °C — 3 days
Diacetyl Rest — 19 °C — 2 days

Carbonation: 2.7 CO2-vol

Water Profile

Ca2+: 24
Mg2+: 0
Na+: 8
Cl-: 34
SO42-: 16
HCO3-: 16

A smooth roasted malt character with a moderate-high bitterness and refreshing crisp crushable finish.