This xBmt was accomplished by a member of The Brü Membership in collaboration with Brülosophy as part of The Brü Membership xBmt Collection. Whereas members who select to take part on this sequence usually take inspiration from Brülosophy, the majority of design, writing, and modifying is dealt with by members except in any other case specified. Articles featured on Brulosophy.com are chosen by The Brü Membership management previous to being submitted for publication. Go to The Brü Membership Fb Group for extra info on this sequence.
Writer: James Gould
Typically mistaken for specialty malt, Vienna malt is definitely a flippantly kilned base malt that can be utilized instead of commonplace pale and pilsner malts in quite a lot of types, although serves because the function malt in Vienna Lager. At 3.5 °L, Vienna malt falls between Pilsner and Munich malts on the colour spectrum, imparting a nice mix of traits every are recognized for.
A rumor that has made its means round brewing circles is that the Vienna malt bought by sure maltsters is definitely simply Pilsner and Munich malts blended to realize the same colour and taste profile. Opinions on this appear to be break up– whereas some view it as leading to a decrease high quality product, others really feel the mix is a stable Vienna malt analog and therefore take no situation with the observe.
I haven’t personally invested a lot emotion on this matter, so for me, it’s extra of a realistic matter– if I occur to be out of Vienna malt, can I exploit a mix of Pilsner and Munich malts to get the place I intend to go? Whereas I’ve used all of those malts in varied combos through the years, I made a decision to place this one to the check to see for myself!
| PURPOSE |
To guage the variations between a Vienna Lager the place the bottom malt consists of both 100% Vienna malt or a mix of 80% Pilsner and 20% Munich malts.
| METHODS |
For this xBmt, I used the MeanBrews Vienna Lager as a base for the recipe.
MeanBrews Vienna Lager
Recipe Particulars
| Batch Measurement | Boil Time | IBU | SRM | Est. OG | Est. FG | ABV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 gal | 60 min | 23.6 | 13.2 SRM | 1.052 | 1.006 | 6.04 % |
| Actuals | 1.052 | 1.006 | 6.04 % | |||
Fermentables
| Title | Quantity | % |
|---|---|---|
| Pilsner | 8.375 lbs | 71.28 |
| Munich I | 2.125 lbs | 18.09 |
| Caramunich II | 10 oz | 5.32 |
| Melanoidin | 8 oz | 4.26 |
| Carafa III | 2 oz | 1.06 |
Hops
| Title | Quantity | Time | Use | Kind | Alpha % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnum | 11 g | 60 min | Boil | Pellet | 16.2 |
| Hallertauer Mittelfrueh | 25 g | 10 min | Boil | Pellet | 4 |
Yeast
| Title | Lab | Attenuation | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saflager Lager (W-34/70) | Fermentis | 83% | 53.6°F – 59°F |
Notes
| Water Profile: Ca 31 | Mg 5 | Na 19 | SO4 53 | Cl 51 |
After gathering the water for two batches, I weighed out and milled the grain.
When the waters had been correctly heated, I included the grains then checked to verify the mashes had been at my goal temperature.
About quarter-hour into every mash relaxation, I took measurements displaying each had been on the identical 5.2 pH.
Left: Vienna malt 5.2 pH | Proper: Pilsner + Munich malts 5.2 pH
In the course of the mash rests, I ready the kettle hop additions.
As soon as the mashes had been completed, I batch sparged to gather my goal pre-boil volumes then proceeded to boil the worts for 60 minutes, after which they had been rapidly chilled. Refractometer readings confirmed the wort made with Vienna malt was at 1.048 OG whereas the one made with a mix of Pilsner and Munich malts was at 1.052 OG. Equal quantities of wort from every batch had been transferred to sanitized fermenters the place they had been pitched with a pack of Saflager W-34/70. After every week of fermentation, I started regularly elevating the temperature of the beers to 70°F/21°C over a couple of days. With all indicators of exercise absent after one other week, I took hydrometer measurements displaying a slight distinction in FG.
Left: Vienna malt 1.005 FG | Proper: Pilsner + Munich malts 1.006 FG
At this level, I cold-crashed the beers in a single day earlier than transferring them to kegs, which I positioned in my keezer and burst carbonated for twenty-four hours earlier than lowering the gasoline to serving strain. Following every week of chilly conditioning, the beers prepared for analysis.
Left: Vienna malt | Proper: Pilsner + Munich malts
| RESULTS |
A complete of 27 individuals of various ranges of expertise participated on this xBmt. Every participant was served 2 samples of the beer made with Vienna malt and 1 pattern of the beer made with a mix of Pilsner and Munich malts in cups marked with distinctive letters. Whereas 14 tasters (p<0.05) would have needed to precisely determine the distinctive pattern with a view to attain statistical significance, 12 did (p=0.15), indicating members on this xBmt had been unable to reliably distinguish a Vienna Lager made with Vienna malt as the bottom malt from one the place a mix of Pilsner and Munich malts had been used as an alternative.
My Impressions: Out of my 5 semi-blind triangle check makes an attempt, I appropriately recognized the odd-beer-out simply 2 occasions, which admittedly had been simply guesses. These beers had been perceptibly an identical to me.
| DISCUSSION |
Vienna Lager is a refreshing fashion of beer recognized for its toasty and candy malt character, which it will get from the beneficiant use of the aptly named Vienna malt. There’s been hypothesis that some maltsters’ Vienna malt is absolutely only a mix of lighter Pilsner malt and darker Munich malt, which has been contested by different maltsters. Apparently, tasters on this xBmt had been unable to reliably distinguish a Vienna Lager the place Vienna malt was the one base malt from one the place the bottom malt consisted of 80% Pilsner malt and 20% Munich malt.
The actual fact these beers had been comparable sufficient as to be indistinguishable by each tasters and me appears to counsel the traits of Vienna malt could be intently replicated by mixing Pilsner and Munich malts, a minimum of when utilized in a Vienna Lager recipe that features different specialty malts. Whereas this proves nothing concerning the claims of maltsters advertising such a mix as Vienna malt, it’s an attention-grabbing discovering nonetheless, although it’s potential the variations would have been extra obvious within the absence of specialty malts.
Going into this xBmt, I anticipated the beers to be fairly comparable, although I used to be satisfied they’d be distinctive sufficient for many to inform aside. Suffice to say, the actual fact this wasn’t the case was fairly shocking to me, to the purpose I query whether or not it’s value shopping for Vienna malt if I’ve Pilsner and Munich malts available. For enjoyable, I entered the model of this beer made with the malt mix into the 2023 OpFerm and 2023 Bluebonnet Brew-Off competitions; whereas it didn’t place in both, it did obtain a mixed rating of 39 as a Czech Amber Lager in OpFerm and a 38 as a Vienna Lager within the Bluebonnet Brew-Off.
James Gould of Tomball, Texas was impressed to get into brewing whereas watching Breaking Dangerous and considering, “I may make meth,” although he opted for the extra authorized choice of creating beer as an alternative. He’s at the moment a member of each the Cane Island Alers and The Brü Membership. James is a husband and father of two who works as a System Administrator. When he’s not working or brewing, he enjoys taking part in guitar and internet hosting pals in his storage the place the beer flows freely.
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