Originally brewed for our 6th Anniversary. This Pale Lager was inspired by another Czech lager we love and admire, Budvar.

Wurkvar

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 3.5 gallons (13.25 L) of your brewing water to about 162°F (72°C) to achieve a mash temperature around 150°F (66°C) when grains are added.

Heat strike water

Add crushed Pilsner, Munich, and Carapils malts to the mash tun. Pour the strike water over the grain, stir thoroughly to eliminate dry pockets, and stabilize at 150°F (66°C). Hold this temperature for 60 minutes for full conversion and a light, clean body.

Mash in

Raise mash temperature to 168°F (76°C) for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity and improve lautering.

Mash out

Sparge with approximately 1.5–2.0 gallons (5.7–7.6 L) of water at 168°F (76°C) until you collect ~6.5 gallons (24.6 L) of wort in the kettle (pre-boil volume). Keep flow slow to avoid tannin extraction.

Bring collected wort to a vigorous boil. Watch for boilovers as lighter malts can produce sticky foam.

Bring to a rolling boil

At the start of the 60-minute boil, add 1.0 oz Hallertau. Maintain a steady rolling boil for 60 minutes.

Bittering hop addition (60 minutes)

With 15 minutes remaining, add 1 tsp Irish moss (or 1/2 Whirlfloc tablet). With 5 minutes remaining, add 0.5 oz Tettnang or Saaz for delicate hop aroma. If using any late adjuncts add them now.

Kettle finings and late hop additions

Dissolve 0.25 lb (4 oz) corn sugar in a small amount of boiling wort or water and add to the boil with 10–15 minutes left to lighten body and increase attenuation.

Add corn sugar

At the end of the boil, turn off heat and chill wort quickly to ~50–55°F (10–13°C) using an immersion chiller, plate chiller, or ice bath. Aim to reach pitching temperature within 20–40 minutes to limit DMS production and infection risk.

Cool wort quickly

Rack or siphon cooled wort into a sanitized fermenter. Top up with remaining water to achieve ~5 gallons total if needed. Aerate by shaking, splashing, or pure O2 to reach dissolved oxygen ~8–10 ppm.

Transfer to fermenter and oxygenate

Rehydrate or prepare lager yeast per manufacturer's instructions and pitch when wort is 48–52°F (9–11°C). Ensure proper yeast pitch rate (lager strains typically need a healthy cell count; consider a starter or two for liquid cultures).

Pitch yeast

Ferment at 50–54°F (10–12°C) for 10–14 days until activity slows and gravity approaches terminal.

Primary fermentation (bottom-fermenting)

Raise temperature to 60–65°F (15–18°C) for 2–3 days to allow the yeast to clean up diacetyl and other off-flavors.

Diacetyl rest

After diacetyl rest, lower temperature gradually to 34–38°F (1–3°C) and lager for 4–8 weeks (a minimum of 2–4 weeks acceptable for young lager). This clarifies the beer and produces the crisp, clean Perennial Artisan Ale character.

Cold crash and lagering

If bottling, dissolve 3.0 oz priming sugar in 2/3 cup boiling water, cool, and gently mix into the beer. Bottle and cap, then condition at cellar temperature (~55–65°F / 13–18°C) for 2–3 weeks before chilling. Alternatively, keg and force carbonate to ~2.4 volumes CO2.

Priming and bottling (if applicable)

Chill to 38–45°F (3–7°C). Pour a 16 oz (approximate glass) serving with a moderate head. Glassware: pilsner or lager glass to show clarity and carbonation. Expect a clean, crisp malt profile, low hop bitterness, and a crisp finish — classic American/European lager style.

Serving

Sanitize all fermentation, bottling, and transfer equipment thoroughly with a no-rinse sanitizer before use. If using municipal water, treat for chlorine with a Campden tablet or appropriate filtration prior to brewing.

Pilsner malt (two-row pale)

Light Munich malt

Carapils/Dextrine malt

Corn sugar (dextrose) - for light body/attenuation

Hallertau (whole or pellet) - bittering/character

Tettnang or Saaz (pellet) - aroma

Irish moss (or Whirlfloc) - kettle fining

Lager yeast (e.g., Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Lager or SafLager W-34/70)

Water (brewing water, adjusted to soft-to-moderate sulfate/chloride balance)

Priming sugar (if bottling) - corn sugar

Campden tablet or water treatment (optional) - to remove chlorine

Sanitizer (No-rinse) - for equipment

Perennial Artisan Ale

City Winery Rosé, Apple Brandy, Tropical Green Tea, Lemon, Soda

Good Graces

Black Truffle Ricotta, Wild Mushrooms, Aged Provolone

Mushroom Truffle

Cheese

Rosemary, Parmesan (Regular Fries)

Chef's Selection of Three Meats & Cheeses

Chef's Selection of Three Cheeses

Make Perennial Artisan Ale Recipe in just 24h . Classic Lager. Elmsford, NY - 16oz

Perennial Artisan Ale Recipe

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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