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No Drums Jack Black Lager

Brewed: 03/26/2023   Kegged: 04/02/2023

In winter / spring of 2023, I had been thinking a lot about renewing my BJCP Goal with the 2021 guidelines. 
JackBlack.jpg
I had also played around some with Pressure Fermentation

One of the styles I came across that combined those two interests was International Dark Lager.

A darker, richer, and somewhat sweeter version of international pale lager with a little more body and flavor, but equally restrained in bitterness. The low bitterness leaves the malt as the primary flavor element, and the low hop levels provide very little in the way of balance.

One of the Commercial Examples of the style is "Shiner Bock", and I decided to search the internet for clones of that beer.

As it turns out, BYO's site has a Shiner Bock clone, and that recipe calls for grits. Having never used grits in a beer recipe, that was another thing that interested me.

JackBlackLager.jpg

So ... I came up with an International Dark Lager recipe that uses grits.

I wanted my beer darker than the BYO recipe, so I added quite a bit more black malt.

The name comes from a scene from one of the Muppets movies that I thought was funny. My favorite Muppet Animal was in an anger management class and was not allowed to play drums because it was a "trigger" for him.

The other Muppets kept trying to get him to play and at one point he said "No Drums! No Drums! Jack Black said No Drums!"

Trust me, it was funny. You probably had to be there.

So, I've been waiting for quite awhile to call a beer "No Drums". And now this recipe is the perfect opportunity "No Drums Jack Black Lager".

I brewed the beer with an overnight mash and pressure fermented at room temperature.

We'll see how it turns out.


For more about this beer, see Sheppy's Blog: Jack Black Lager


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No Drums Jack Black Lager --- Batch 1

Style International Dark Lager Batch Size 5.50 gal
Type All Grain Boil Size   6.60 gal
Brewhouse Efficiency   68.00   Boil Time   60 minutes

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity 1.046 SG Estimated FG 1.009 SG
Recipe Bitterness 13.0 IBUs (Rager) Alcohol by Volume 4.8 %
BU : GU   0.284        
Recipe Color 27.6 SRM
Color
   
Measured OG:   1.046    Measured FG:    1.010
ADF:   77.6    Measured ABV:    4.7

Ingredients

Ingredients
Amt Name Type # %/IBU Volume
7.85 gal Denver, Colorado Water 1 - -
8.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash) Water Agent 2 - -
1 lbs 8.0 oz Grits (1.0 SRM) Adjunct 3 14.6 % 0.13 gal
6 lbs 8.0 oz Base Malt 2 Row (Proximity) (2.0 SRM) Grain 4 63.4 % 0.51 gal
1 lbs Vienna (Proximity) (3.5 SRM) Grain 5 9.8 % 0.08 gal
12.0 oz Blackprinz (500.0 SRM) Grain 6 7.3 % 0.06 gal
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 7 4.9 % 0.04 gal
1.000 oz Talus (HBC 692) [6.20 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 8 13.0 IBUs -
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins) Fining 9 - -
1.0 pkg Saflager Lager (DCL/Fermentis #W-34/70) [50.28 ml] Yeast 10 - -
0.50 tsp Gelatin (Bottling 1.0 days) Fining 11 - -

Mash Profile

Mash Steps
Name Description Step Temperature Step Time
Saccharification Add 31.40 qt of water at 155.9 F 150.0 F 45 min
Heat Heat to 156.0 F over 10 min 156.0 F 20 min


If steeping, remove grains, and prepare to boil wort

Recipe Notes
Make yeast starter before brew day.
Water profile assumes BeerSmith Denver profile start
Final: Ca=107; Mg=9; Na=21; SO=51; Cl=157; HCO3=104;
Prepare grits in cereal mash to get gelantenous. Add this to the rest of the mash about .5 hour into it.
Mash / boil as directed on recipe.
Chill as close to 50 degrees as possible. Ferment cold for one week, let the temperature rise 1 or 2 degrees a day until in the 60's.
After a week, let the fermentation finish off at room temperature.
Keg. Once the keg has chilled for 24 hours, add geletin to 3/4 cup 150F water, and add to keg.
Carbonate.
Drink and enjoy.

Brewing Record

Brew Date:   Strike Temp:  
Mash Temps:  
Pre-boil OG   (1.042 SG)   Pre-boil Vol   (6.60 gal)
Actual Mash Efficiency   Pitch Temp    
Fermentation            
Day 1: 
Day ... 
Day ... 

 
Brewing Notes:
03/12/2023 esheppy
Bought ingredients yesterday while at 6 and 40. Not sure when I'll brew.
03/26/2023 esheppy
Brew Day today. Overnight mash, starting draining and heating at 5am. Preboil volume around 7.25 gallons. SG 1.041. Added a little sugar to bring up to 1.043.
03/26/2023 esheppy
Rest of brew day went well. OG right on plan. Pitched at about 55 degrees and pressured to around 19 psi.
03/27/2023 esheppy
Tilt says 1.044 at 59 degrees. Pressure fell to around 11psi. Seeing the very start of fermentation signs. Tighten spunding a touch.
03/28/2023 esheppy
Tilt battery might have died. Really nice thick kraussen. PSI just tough over 20. Released some psi to get down below 20.
03/30/2023 esheppy
Kraussen pretty much gone and now I can connect to the tilt again. 1.010 at 67. Spunding at 17psi. Beer really starting to clear up.
03/31/2023 esheppy
Tilt at the same as yesterday. The psi is at 20. I actually think I could keg this anytime.
04/04/2023 esheppy
Kegged Sunday. So far I'm 0 for 2 on this whole pressure transfer thing. Not sure what was going on ... but liquid would not go through the floating dip tube. The PSI was close to 20, so even if there was a clog, it should have had enough to get through. I ended up using my auto-siphon to get the beer out. Releasing the pressure caused the trub to come up into solution and as a result, I got a bunch of sludge into the keg. Between Sunday and now, I've probably wasted a 6 pack getting down to clear beer, but I think we're finally there. Kegerator set at 15 psi, and still carbonating.
04/08/2023 esheppy
Well ... after getting past the sludge ... this is a nice beer. I think I can actually taste the grits. Nice "light dark" beer. Easy to drink. Might not last real long.
04/22/2023 esheppy
Yummy beer. Nice coco flavor. The grits add an interesting corn flavor and aroma. Light body. Clean beer. Nicely balanced.
05/10/2023 esheppy
Took to Big Brew Day. Was a hit. Power like this beer. They didn't even think the grits were weird 😎
05/18/2023 esheppy
Shared with the in-laws. My mother-in-law REALLY likes this beer. Can't blame her really.
06/04/2023 esheppy
Still going but close to kicking. Great light dark lager.
06/08/2023 esheppy
Killed the keg. Lots of sludge at the bottom of this one. Absolutely going to have to try this as a proper lager. Also need to try other beer recipes with grits.
Comments:
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