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A light lager brewed in the Bamberg tradition with a portion of beechwood smoked malt. Light and crisp with subtle smoke notes and a clean malty finish.

Mill the malts (if not pre-crushed). Heat 3.5 gallons of brewing water to 165°F (74°C) to account for mash temperature drop.

Mill and Heat

Combine crushed Pilsner, Vienna, Munich light, beechwood-smoked malt, and Carapils in the mash tun. Aim for a strike temperature that results in a mash temperature of 150°F (65.5°C). Stir thoroughly to avoid dough balls.

Mash In

Hold the mash at 150°F (65.5°C) for 60 minutes. Gentle stir every 15 minutes to ensure even temperature. This single infusion mash yields a light, fermentable wort with balanced body.

Protein Rest / Saccharification

Raise temperature to 168°F (76°C) and hold for 10 minutes to stop enzymatic activity and improve wort flow.

Mash Out

Sparge with enough 168°F (76°C) water to collect about 6.5 to 6.75 gallons of pre-boil wort in the kettle (adjust to your system losses). Aim for an overall mash efficiency consistent with your equipment.

Sparge

Bring the collected wort to a rolling boil. Watch for boil-overs as malt sugars foam.

Bring to a Boil

At start of a 60-minute boil, add 1.0 oz Hallertauer (or Saaz). This addition targets a moderate bitterness ~18–22 IBU for a light lager profile.

Bittering Addition

With 15 minutes left in the boil, add Irish moss or Whirlfloc (1 tsp) and the final 0.5 oz of Hallertauer for aroma. If using yeast nutrient, add according to package at 10–15 minutes left.

Fining & Aroma Addition

After 60 minutes total, turn off heat. Chill wort quickly to avoid DMS formation and to preserve delicate smoke aromas.

End of Boil

Use an immersion, counterflow, or plate chiller to cool wort to 50°F (10°C) as quickly as possible. Rapid chilling reduces the risk of off-flavors and aids cold break.

Cool Wort

Transfer chilled wort to a sanitized fermenter. Top up with pre-boiled, cooled water if needed to reach 5.0 gallons total. Aerate vigorously for 60–90 seconds (or shake/oxygenate) to provide dissolved oxygen for the lager yeast.

Transfer and Aerate

Pitch the lager yeast starter or rehydrated packet at 50°F (10°C). If using a dry lager strain, follow manufacturer's rehydration instructions. Maintain fermentation temperature between 50–54°F (10–12°C) for primary fermentation.

Pitch Yeast

Ferment at 50–54°F (10–12°C) for 10–14 days until vigorous activity subsides and specific gravity is near final gravity (approx. 1.008–1.012 depending on attenuation).

Primary Fermentation

After primary fermentation shows stable gravity (typically day 7–10), raise temperature to 60–65°F (15–18°C) for 24–48 hours to allow the yeast to clean up diacetyl.

Diacetyl Rest (if needed)

After the rest, slowly lower temperature by ~10°F per day down to near-freezing (35–40°F / 2–4°C). Lager (cold condition) the beer at 35–40°F (2–4°C) for 4–6 weeks to develop clarity, mellow the smoke character, and produce a clean finish.

Cool Down and Lager

When lagering is complete and final gravity is stable, prepare priming sugar (3.25 oz — ~3.25 oz corn sugar for 5 gallons) by dissolving in 2/3 cup (approx. 160 ml) boiling water and cooling. Sanitize bottling equipment.

Prepare for Bottling

Transfer beer gently to a bottling bucket, mix in cooled priming solution gently to avoid oxygen pickup, and fill sanitized bottles. Cap and store at 65–70°F (18–21°C) for 10–14 days to carbonate.

Bottle

After carbonation, cold-condition bottles at cellar temperature (50–55°F / 10–13°C) for a week if possible, then refrigerate before serving to allow flavors to settle. Best after additional 2–4 weeks of bottle age for optimal integration of smoke.

Condition

Serve cold (45–50°F / 7–10°C) in a pilsner glass. The Rauch Lager should be light and crisp with subtle beechwood smoke on the nose and palate, balanced by clean lager maltiness and a restrained hop bitterness.

Pilsner (base) malt

Vienna malt

Munich light malt

Beechwood-smoked malt (Rauchmalz)

Carapils / dextrin malt

Hallertauer Mittelfrüh (or Saaz) - 4% AA

Hallertauer Mittelfrüh (or Saaz) - 4% AA (aroma)

Water (brewing water adjusted to soft, low bicarbonate profile)

Lager yeast (e.g., Wyeast 2124/White Labs WLP830 or Saflager W-34/70)

Yeast nutrient (optional)

Irish moss or Whirlfloc (optional, kettle fining)

Priming sugar (for bottling)

Rauch Lager

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Make Rauch Lager Recipe in just 72h . A light lager brewed in the Bamberg tradition with a portion of beechwood smoked malt. Light and crisp with subtle smoke notes and a clean malty finish.

Rauch Lager Recipe

Descriptors

Tasting Notes

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