Name: Buttonwoods Brewerys BECKHART Recipe
Cook time: 168 h
Total time: 168 h
Yield: 64 servings
Cuisine: Czech
Ingredients: 5 lbs Pilsner (Bohemian) malt; 1.5 lbs Munich malt (10L); 0.25 lbs Carafa Special II (dehusked dark malt); 0.25 lbs CaraMunich or Crystal 60L; 0.5 lbs Dark Dry Malt Extract (optional, if partial mash); 1 oz Saaz (4.0% AA) – bittering; 0.5 oz Saaz (4.0% AA) – flavor/aroma; 1 packet Czech lager yeast (Wyeast 2124 or White Labs WLP830 or dry SafLager W-34/70); 5 gal Brewing water (preferably soft, low carbonate); 0.5 tsp Gypsum (CaSO4) or Calcium chloride - adjust; 1 tsp Irish moss or Whirlfloc (clarifier, optional); 3 oz Corn sugar (priming sugar for bottling)

Bootleggers Brown Ale

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

Heat approximately 3.5 gallons (13.2 L) of brewing water to 162°F (72°C) to target a mash temperature of 152°F (67°C) when grains are added.

Heat strike water

Add the crushed Pilsner, Munich, Carafa Special II, and CaraMunich into the mash tun. Pour in the strike water and stir thoroughly to eliminate dry pockets. Target mash temperature: 152°F (67°C). Hold for 60 minutes for full conversion.

Mash in

Raise temperature to 168°F (76°C) for mash-out for 10 minutes by adding near-boiling water or direct heat. This helps stop enzymatic activity and improve lautering.

Mash out

Drain the wort from the mash tun into your kettle until you reach approximately 3.5–4.0 gallons in the kettle. Sparge the grains with an additional 2–3 quarts (0.5–0.75 gallons) of water at 168°F (76°C) until you collect about 5.5–6.0 gallons pre-boil wort (adjust volume to your system’s boil-off rate).

Bring collected wort to a vigorous boil and begin timing a 60 minute boil.

Bring to a boil

At 60 minutes remaining (start of boil), add 1.0 oz Saaz (bittering).

Bittering hop addition

With 10 minutes remaining in the boil, add 0.5 oz Saaz and 1 tsp Irish moss or 1/2 tablet Whirlfloc if using, to aid clarity.

Late hop addition

After 60 minutes total, turn off the heat and chill the wort as rapidly as possible to yeast-pitching temperature (48–55°F / 9–13°C for lager yeast).

End of boil

Use an immersion wort chiller, counterflow chiller, or plate chiller to cool wort to 48–55°F (9–13°C). Transfer wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving behind as much trub as possible.

Top up with pre-boiled and cooled water if necessary to reach 5.0 gallons of wort in the fermenter (account for loss and desired final volume). Aerate or oxygenate wort thoroughly — for lagers it's recommended to pitch with good O2 levels (eg. pure O2 for 30–60 seconds at 10–15 ppm dissolved O2) or vigorous shaking if doing small batches.

Pitch the Czech lager yeast at recommended pitch rate for 5 gallons (use a healthy starter for liquid cultures or rehydrate dry yeast per manufacturer instructions). Target fermentation temperature: 50°F (10°C) for the first week to encourage clean lager characteristics.

After primary fermentation activity subsides (typically 7–14 days), raise temperature slowly (diacetyl rest) to 62–65°F (17–18°C) for 2–3 days to allow the yeast to clean up diacetyl and other off-flavors.

After the diacetyl rest, lower temperature gradually to near-freezing (34–36°F / 1–2°C) and lager (cold condition) for 4–8 weeks to develop clarity and smoothness typical of Czech-style dark lager.

When cold conditioning is complete and beer is clear, prepare for bottling or kegging. If bottling, dissolve 3 oz (85 g) corn sugar in 1 cup of boiling water, cool, and add to bottling bucket. Transfer beer gently to bottling bucket to minimize oxygen uptake and fill bottles, cap, and condition at room temperature for 2 weeks to carbonate.

If kegging, force-carbonate to 2.2–2.6 volumes CO2 at serving temperature and serve conditioned for best flavor.

Serve chilled at 45–50°F (7–10°C) in a lager or pilsner-style glass. Expect a Czech dark lager profile: deep copper to brown color, toasty and biscuit malt notes with mild chocolate/roast from the dehusked dark malt, low hop bitterness, soft Saaz peppery-herbal aroma, and a clean lager finish.

Pilsner (Bohemian) malt

Munich malt (10L)

Carafa Special II (dehusked dark malt)

CaraMunich or Crystal 60L

Dark Dry Malt Extract (optional, if partial mash)

Saaz (4.0% AA) – bittering

Saaz (4.0% AA) – flavor/aroma

Czech lager yeast (Wyeast 2124 or White Labs WLP830 or dry SafLager W-34/70)

Brewing water (preferably soft, low carbonate)

Gypsum (CaSO4) or Calcium chloride - adjust

Irish moss or Whirlfloc (clarifier, optional)

Corn sugar (priming sugar for bottling)

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CZECH – STYLE DARK LAGER

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Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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