Brewed for our friends at Weary Traveler Freehouse. This dark lager is brewed with Pilsner and De-Bittered Roasted Malts for a jet black appearance and ample roast character without coming off bitter or astringent.

Midnight Traveler

Med Bag of Chips

Ham, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, and arugula.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Sliced turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mustard in a whole wheat wrap.

Fit Turkey Wrap

A rich dark lager that has the complexity of roasted barley without being heavy or cloying.

Mill/crush malts to a medium-coarse crush. Heat strike water to 74°C to achieve a mash temperature of 65°C when grain is added (target mash temperature 64–66°C).

Crush and heat

Add crushed grains to the mash tun and stir to avoid dough balls. Hold mash at 64–66°C for 60 minutes for a moderately fermentable wort that provides some body but finishes clean. Maintain gentle agitation or recirculation (vorlauf) to clarify wort.

Mash in

Raise mash temperature to 76–78°C for 10 minutes (mash out) to stop enzymatic activity and improve lautering.

Mash out

Add gypsum and calcium chloride to strike water before milling, or dissolve and add to the mash tun. The small addition helps accentuate malt backbone and hop clarity without making the beer harsh.

After mash out, begin lautering and sparge with 76–78°C water. Collect enough runoff to yield approximately 23–25 L of wort going into the boil (adjust volume depending on system losses).

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous boil. Once boiling, add Magnum hops (20 g) and start a 60-minute timer.

Bring to boil

With 10 minutes left in the boil, add Irish moss or Whirlfloc and the Hallertau (or Saaz) hops (20 g). This provides a subtle noble hop aroma that complements the roasted character without making the beer hoppy.

Flavor/aroma additions

At flameout, cool wort quickly to yeast pitching temperature (10–12°C for lager yeast) using an immersion, plate, or counterflow chiller. Aerate the wort thoroughly to ensure healthy lager fermentation (oxygenate to ~8–10 ppm dissolved O2 or shake vigorously if small batch).

Transfer cooled wort to a sanitized fermenter. Rehydrate or prepare lager yeast according to manufacturer instructions and pitch at 10–12°C. Aim for a healthy pitching rate (1.0–1.5 million cells per mL per °P) — consider making a starter for liquid yeast.

Pitching

Ferment at 10–12°C until active fermentation is largely complete (about 7–10 days). Gravity should drop steadily toward expected terminal gravity.

Primary fermentation

After main fermentation slows (typically 7–10 days), raise temperature to 15–16°C for 48 hours to allow the yeast to clean up any diacetyl and other off-flavors.

Diacetyl rest

After the diacetyl rest, slowly lower temperature ~1–2°C per day down to 0–2°C and lager (cold condition) for 4–6 weeks. This long, cold conditioning smooths the roasted barley complexity and produces a clean, dark lager character without heaviness.

Lagering

If bottling, prime with 110 g of priming sugar (dissolved in 150 mL boiling water, cooled) and bottle. Condition at room temperature for 2 weeks, then store cold. If kegging, carbonate to ~2.4–2.6 volumes CO2 and serve at 4°C.

Packaging

Pilsner malt (2-row pale)

Munich malt

Caramunich or Crystal 60L

Roasted barley (not black patent)

Flaked barley

Strike water

Sparge water (estimated)

Gypsum (calcium sulfate)

Calcium chloride

Magnum hops (bittering, 14% AA)

Hallertau (or Saaz) hops (aroma)

Lager yeast (German lager strain such as Wyeast 2206 or Saflager W-34/70)

Irish moss or Whirlfloc

Water (to top up to boil volume)

Priming sugar (if bottling)

ACADIAN SKIES

NEW AMERICAN IN

Handcrafted Rum

BOURBON

AGAVE SPIRIT

Handcrafted Vodka

Make ACADIAN SKIES Recipe in just 26h . A rich dark lager that has the complexity of roasted barley without being heavy or cloying.

Acadian Skies Recipe

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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