Chuckanut Japanese Lager

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

Mama launches her very own beer, the Shelter. Born and raised in northern France, this blond ale with a strength of 5° will spice up your palate with a hint of Espelette pepper.

Sanitize all fermenter, spoons, siphons, and bottling equipment with a no-rinse sanitizer. Rinse if required by product instructions.

Sanitize

Heat 18 L of brewing water to 74–76°C. Add gypsum (2 tsp) to adjust water profile for a slightly higher sulfate to highlight hop bite and a crisp finish.

Heat strike water

Add crushed pilsner malt, wheat malt, and Carahell to a mash tun. Slowly pour the 74–76°C water over the grain to reach a mash temperature of 66°C. Stir thoroughly to eliminate dry pockets and ensure even temperature.

Mash in

Hold the mash at 66°C for 60 minutes. Stir occasionally and monitor temperature, making small adjustments with hot water if it drops more than 1°C.

Mash rest

Raise temperature to 76–78°C by adding 3–4 L of 90°C water or direct heat and hold for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity and improve wort flow.

Mash out

Sparge the grain bed with 5–7 L of water at 76–78°C until you collect approximately 23 L of wort in the kettle (pre-boil volume). Aim for a total pre-boil volume that will yield ~20 L post-boil.

Sparge

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous rolling boil, watching carefully for boil-overs.

Bring to boil

At the start of the 60-minute boil, add 25 g of Saaz or Hallertau hops for bittering.

Bittering hop addition

With 15 minutes remaining, add 1 tsp Irish moss or other kettle fining to improve clarity.

Irish moss (optional)

With 5 minutes left in the boil, add 20 g of Saaz or Hallertau hops for flavor/aroma.

Flavor/aroma hop addition

With 2 minutes left in the boil, add 2 tsp crushed Espelette pepper. Use slightly less on first batch if you prefer a subtle pepper note; Espelette should give a gentle, aromatic warmth, not overpowering heat.

Espelette pepper addition

After 60 minutes, turn off heat and prepare to chill immediately to avoid dimethyl sulfide (DMS) formation.

End of boil

Cool the wort as quickly as possible to around 20–22°C using an immersion chiller, counterflow chiller, or an ice bath. If using an open kettle, cover with a sanitized lid once cooled to pitching range.

Chill wort

Transfer the cooled wort to a sanitized fermenter, leaving behind trub. Top up with the additional 2 L of water to reach the target volume (~20–22 L).

Transfer and top-up

Aerate the wort vigorously by shaking, splashing, or using an oxygenation stone to dissolve oxygen (aim for 8–10 ppm O2 if using pure O2). Rehydrate or prepare the ale yeast according to package instructions and pitch at 18–22°C.

Aerate and pitch yeast

Ferment at 18–20°C for 5–7 days or until vigorous fermentation subsides. After the active phase, allow a secondary cooling to 16–18°C for another 5–7 days to help clarify and finish fermentation. Expected original gravity ~1.047 and final gravity ~1.010 for ~5% ABV (5°).

Primary fermentation

Measure final gravity to ensure fermentation is complete and stable over 2–3 days. Target FG ~1.010. If stable, proceed to bottling or kegging.

Check final gravity

Dissolve the 150 g of corn sugar in 300 ml of boiling water, cool to ~20°C, and sanitize the fermenter or bottling bucket if needed.

Prepare priming solution

Gently rack the beer into the bottling bucket, mixing with the priming solution to evenly distribute. Fill sanitized bottles and cap, or transfer to a sanitized keg and seal.

Bottle or keg

Bottle condition at 18–20°C for 10–14 days, then chill and test carbonation. If kegging and force-carbonating, carbonate to ~2.2–2.6 volumes of CO2 and condition for 2–4 days at serving temperature.

Carbonation and conditioning

Allow beer to rest for another 1–2 weeks for flavors to marry if desired. The Espelette pepper character will settle into a gentle warmth; longer conditioning (3–4 weeks) will mellow and integrate spices further.

Maturation

Chill bottles to about 6–8°C and serve in a tulip or pilsner glass. Pour gently to leave some yeast behind, enjoy the blond ale with a subtle Espelette pepper note.

Serve

Pilsner pale malt (crushed)

Wheat malt (crushed)

Carahell / light crystal malt (crushed)

Corn sugar / dextrose (priming and gravity adjustment)

Saaz or Hallertau hops (bittering, pellet)

Saaz or Hallertau hops (flavor/aroma, pellet)

Espelette pepper (dried, crushed)

Ale yeast (clean, attenuative strain e.g., SafAle US-05 or Nottingham)

Water (brewing)

Water (top-up for target volume)

Gypsum (calcium sulfate) or brewing salts

Irish moss or kettle fining (optional)

Sanitizer (no-rinse)

Bottles (330–500 ml) or keg

Bottle caps or keg seal

Priming sugar (corn sugar, included above)

Mama brews

Born and raised in northern France, this blond ale with a strength of 5° will spice up your palate with a hint of Espelette pepper.

Shelter

macaroni with Mostoles ham

Make Mama Brews Recipe in just 12h . Mama launches her very own beer, the Shelter. Born and raised in northern France, this blond ale with a strength of 5° will spice up your palate with a hint of Espelette pepper.

Mama Brews Recipe

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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