Monks’ Fortitude Märzen

Monks’ Fortitude Märzen

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) 
OG = 1.056  FG = 1.013 
IBU = 24  SRM = 9  ABV = 5.7%  

Monks’ Fortitude is an homage to the malty Märzens of Franconia. Located in scenic Franconian Switzerland, Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe was once a monastery with a turbulent history, dissolved twice over the centuries before falling into private hands. I’d like to think it was the beer the monks brewed that gave them the fortitude to endure those troubling times. 

Ingredients
8.5 lbs. (3.9 kg) Vienna malt (3 ºL)
3 lbs. (1.4 kg) German dark Munich malt (10 ºL)
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) CaraRed® malt (20 ºL)
4.8 AAU Hersbrucker hops (first wort hop) (1.6 oz./45 g at 3% alpha acids) 
1.5 AAU Hersbrucker hops (30 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g at 3% alpha acids)
0.25 oz. (7 g) Hersbrucker hops (5 min.)
Yeast nutrients (10 min.)
Whirlfloc (10 min.)
White Labs WLP835 (German Lager X), Omega Yeast OYL-111 (German Bock), or Mangrove Jack’s M84 (Bohemian Lager) yeast
3⁄4 cup corn sugar (if priming) 

Step by step
If using liquid yeast, make a yeast starter two days prior to brew day. For your water, treat 10 gallons (38 L) of reverse osmosis water with 1⁄2 tsp. lactic acid for mash acidification, 1 g gypsum, 1 g Epsom salt, and 5 g calcium chloride. 

Urban Winkler extols the virtues of a triple decoction mash as the old school way of achieving Märzen’s signature maltiness, but you can get away with a double or single decoction. You can also do a “hoch-kurz” step mash with or without a protein rest. Alternatively, perform a single-infusion mash at 152 °F (67 °C).

Mash in for a 10-minute protein rest at 131 °F (55 °C). Raise temperature to 145 °F (63 °C) and rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pull your first decoction and let it rest at 145 °F (63 °C) for 20 minutes before boiling for 10 minutes. Add it back to the main mash to raise the temperature to 162 °F (72 °C) for a 30-minute rest. Pull a second decoction and boil 15 minutes before adding back to the main mash to bring it up to 169 °F (76 °C) for a 10-minute mash out. 

Sparge to collect 6.75 gallons (25.5 L) of wort once your mash has reached conversion, adding first wort hops to the kettle while sparging. Boil for 75 minutes adding hops, nutrients, and kettle fining per schedule. After the boil, cool wort, pitch plenty of yeast, and aerate well if using a liquid yeast strain. Ferment between 46–48 °F (8–10 °C) until primary fermentation is finished (7–9 days), then lager for 4 weeks around 32 °F (0 °C). 

Spunding is ideal when it comes to carbonation. Aim for 2.4 volumes of CO₂. Bottle-conditioning also helps produce a rounder carbonation than forced carbonation. It’s common to filter Märzen or let it drop bright, but an increasing number of brewers are serving their Märzen unfiltered. 

Extract with grains option: Substitute 3 lbs. (3.9 kg) each of Pilsen and Munich dried malt extracts for the Vienna and dark Munich malt. If using liquid yeast, make a yeast starter two days prior to brew day. For your water, treat 6 gallons (23 L) of reverse osmosis water with 1⁄4 tsp. lactic acid, 1⁄2 g Epsom salt, and 3 g calcium chloride. 

Place crushed grains in a muslin bag and steep in the brewing water as the temperature rises to 170 °F (77 °C). Remove grains, allowing the liquid to drip back into the kettle. Remove from heat and stir in the malt extract. Once fully dissolved, add the first wort hops and bring the wort to a boil. 

Boil for 60 minutes. Follow the fermentation, carbonation, and packaging suggestions from the all-grain recipe.