Name: The Porter Beer Bars Rauchbierbrauerei Schlenkerla • Helles Recipe
Cook time: 20 h
Total time: 20 h
Yield: 24 servings
Cuisine: German
Ingredients: 5 kg Pilsner malt (floor-malted or best pale base); 0.5 kg Munich malt (10°L); 0.25 kg Vienna malt; 0.15 kg Carapils / dextrine (for head retention); 40 g Traditional Bavarian aroma hops (Hallertau Mittelfrüh or local equivalent); 20 g Bittering hops (Perle or Magnum); 10 g Hop additions for late aroma (same as Bavarian aroma hops); 1 pack Lager yeast (classic German bottom-fermenting strain, e.g., Wyeast 2308, White Labs WLP830, or dry German lager); 25 L Water (soft-moderately soft, chloride:sulfate approx 1:1 to 1:2); 2 g Gypsum (optional, for sulfate boost); 1 g Calcium chloride (optional, for mouthfeel); 2 g Brew day salt (non-iodized); 1 tsp Whirlfloc or Irish moss (optional, for clarity); 140 g Priming sugar (if bottling) - dextrose

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

Bavarian Helles: Brewed with fine Bavarian aroma hops near Nürnberg and lagered in century-old caves beneath the historic brewery.

Heat 18 L of strike water to 74°C. Mash in the crushed malts (pilsner, Munich, Vienna, Carapils) and target a mash temperature of 65°C. Rest for 60 minutes, maintaining temperature ±1°C to promote a clean, slightly dextrinous attenuation typical of Helles.

Mash In

Raise mash to 76°C for 10 minutes for mash out to stop enzymatic activity and improve lautering.

Mash Out

Sparge with approximately 7 L of water at 76–78°C to collect a total pre-boil volume around 27–28 L (adjust for system losses). Aim for an original gravity (OG) around 1.048–1.052.

Sparge

Bring wort to a vigorous boil. At the start of a 60-minute boil add the 20 g bittering hops (Perle or Magnum). Boil for 60 minutes total.

Boil and Bittering Addition

Add 40 g Bavarian aroma hops with 10 minutes remaining in the boil along with 1 tsp Whirlfloc/Irish moss. Add the final 10 g of Bavarian aroma hops at flameout (0 minutes) or as a 5-minute steep off-heat for delicate floral/aromatic lift.

Late Hop Additions

After flameout, allow 5–10 minutes of post-boil steep with the flame off if you did a hop stand, then chill wort quickly to 12°C using an immersion or plate chiller to reduce DMS and preserve hop aroma.

Boil Off and Chill

Transfer chilled wort to the sanitized fermenter, top up with cooled water to achieve final pre-fermentation volume (~23–24 L). Aerate or oxygenate wort thoroughly to ~8–10 ppm dissolved O2. Rehydrate or prepare the lager yeast per manufacturer instructions and pitch at 10–12°C.

Pitching and Fermentation

Hold fermentation at 10–12°C until vigorous fermentation subsides (typically 7–10 days) and gravity drops close to terminal for this yeast. Target an attenuation giving FG around 1.010–1.012 (approx. 4.5–5% ABV from OG 1.050).

Primary Fermentation

When fermentation nears completion (within ~3–4 gravity points of expected FG), raise temperature to 16–18°C for 24–48 hours to encourage diacetyl reduction by the yeast.

Diacetyl Rest

After diacetyl rest and final gravity is stable, cold crash to 2–4°C over 24–48 hours, then lager (cold condition) at 0–4°C for 4–8 weeks. Traditionally, long lagering in cool cellar or cave imparts clarity and a clean, rounded profile—aim for at least 4 weeks; 8–12 weeks will further polish the beer.

Cold Crash and Lagering

If using brewing salts, add gypsum and/or calcium chloride to strike water prior to mash to reach a soft-moderately soft profile; suggested additions listed (2 g gypsum, 1 g CaCl2) to the total mash water. Add 2 g non-iodized salt to mash or sparge water if desired for subtle minerality.

Water Adjustments

For bottling: Prime with 140 g dextrose dissolved in 250 ml boiled and cooled water and mix with the beer at bottling to target ~2.3–2.6 vols CO2. Bottle and condition at 18–20°C for 10–14 days, then cold-condition at 4°C. For kegging: force-carbonate to 2.3–2.6 vols CO2 at 3–4°C.

Packaging

If clarity is a priority, use Whirlfloc/Irish moss at 10 minutes left in the boil (listed above). Be meticulous with cold conditioning to ensure a bright Helles. Maintain sanitation throughout all transfers and packaging steps.

Pilsner malt (floor-malted or best pale base)

Munich malt (10°L)

Vienna malt

Carapils / dextrine (for head retention)

Traditional Bavarian aroma hops (Hallertau Mittelfrüh or local equivalent)

Bittering hops (Perle or Magnum)

Hop additions for late aroma (same as Bavarian aroma hops)

Lager yeast (classic German bottom-fermenting strain, e.g., Wyeast 2308, White Labs WLP830, or dry German lager)

Water (soft-moderately soft, chloride:sulfate approx 1:1 to 1:2)

Gypsum (optional, for sulfate boost)

Calcium chloride (optional, for mouthfeel)

Brew day salt (non-iodized)

Whirlfloc or Irish moss (optional, for clarity)

Priming sugar (if bottling) - dextrose

Rauchbierbrauerei Schlenkerla • Helles

Make Rauchbierbrauerei Schlenkerla • Helles Recipe in just 20h . Bavarian Helles: Brewed with fine Bavarian aroma hops near Nürnberg and lagered in century-old caves beneath the historic brewery.

Rauchbierbrauerei Schlenkerla • Helles

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

Food Pairings

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