Mash & Lauter

1. Heat strike water

Heat approximately 15 liters of brewing water to 74°C. This will drop to about 66°C when you add the crushed grains.

2. Mash in

Add the crushed Pilsner malt, pale ale malt and flaked maize to the mash tun. Stir thoroughly to avoid dough balls and reach a mash temperature of 65–67°C. Hold this temperature for 60 minutes to achieve good starch conversion and a light, clean body reminiscent of Estrella Damm.

3. Mash out

Raise mash temperature to 75–78°C (mash out) by adding 2–3 liters of near-boiling water or direct heat. Hold 10 minutes.

4. Sparge

Lauter and sparge with enough water at 75°C to collect approximately 24 liters of wort in the boil kettle (target pre-boil volume ~23–25 L). Aim for around 10–12°Plato gravities pre-boil, depending on efficiency.

Boil & Hopping

5. Bring to boil

Bring the collected wort to a vigorous boil and watch for boil-overs.

6. Bittering addition

At the start of the 60-minute boil, add 25 g Magnum hops (bittering). Boil for 60 minutes total.

7. Clarifier

With 15 minutes remaining in the boil, add 1 tsp Irish moss or whirlfloc to help clarify the wort (optional).

8. Aroma hops

With 5 minutes remaining in the boil, add 20 g Saaz or Hallertau hops for subtle floral/earthy aroma.

9. Cool wort

At flameout, chill the wort quickly to 10–12°C using a wort chiller. Transfer to a sanitized fermenter while minimizing oxygen pickup.

Fermentation & Conditioning

10. Pitch yeast

Aerate the cooled wort by shaking, splashing, or using an aeration stone. Pitch the lager yeast (or rehydrated dry yeast) once wort is at 10–12°C. Aim for an initial fermentation temperature of 10–12°C.

11. Primary fermentation

Ferment at 10–12°C for 7–10 days or until activity slows and gravity has dropped significantly. Expect a clean, slightly dry profile.

12. Diacetyl rest and lagering

Raise temperature to 15–16°C for 48 hours to encourage diacetyl reabsorption if any buttery flavors appear. Then gradually cool to 1–3°C over several days and lager for 3–6 weeks to develop a bright, crisp profile similar to commercial lagers.

Packaging & Carbonation

13. Prepare for bottling

Dissolve 120 g corn sugar in 250 ml boiling water, cool, and add to a sanitized bottling bucket. Rack the finished beer onto the priming solution to evenly mix.

14. Bottle or keg

Fill sanitized bottles and cap, or transfer to a keg. Aim for a carbonation level of 2.4–2.6 volumes CO2 (typical for pale continental lagers).

15. Condition bottles

Condition bottles at room temperature for 10–14 days to carbonate, then chill and cellar. If kegging, carbonate to target and cold-condition for 1–2 weeks before drinking.

Estrella Damm Recipe

Recipe information

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Frequently paired with

Grains & Adjuncts

Hops & Bittering

Yeast & Water

Misc & Additives