Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company’s Croydon is Burning clone

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.063 FG = 1.016
IBU = 21 SRM = 16 ABV = 6%

Ingredients
11 lbs. (5 kg) rauch malt
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) light Munich malt
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) Carapils® malt
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) melanoidin malt
3.2 oz. (91 g) Carafa® III malt
4.5 AAU Herkules hops (60 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 15% alpha acids)
3.4 AAU Tettnanger hops (10 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 4.5% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP835 (German X Lager) or Wyeast 2206 (Bavarian Lager) or White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) or SafLager W-34/70 yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Mill the grains, then mix with 4.1 gallons (15.6 L) of 166 °F (74 °C) strike water to achieve a single infusion rest temperature of 152 °F (67 °C). Hold at this temperature for 60 minutes. Mashout to 170 °F (77 °C). Vorlauf until your runnings are clear before directing them to your boil kettle. Batch or fly sparge the mash to obtain 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) of wort. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated above left in the boil. At 15 minutes left in the boil, add a kettle fining agent of your choice.

After the boil, rapidly chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, which is 52 °F (11 °C) for this beer. Pitch yeast and aerate well. Ferment cold for about 36 to 48 hours, ramping to 65 °F (18 °C) once the beer is about two thirds of the way through fermentation, about an SG of 1.034 (8.5 °Plato). Hold this temperature until terminal gravity is reached. Cold crash to 35 °F (2 °C) before transferring to lagering vessel for approximately one month. Bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.5 volumes.

Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company’s Croydon is Burning clone

(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.063 FG = 1.016
IBU = 21 SRM = 16 ABV = 6%

Ingredients
6 lbs. (2.7 kg) rauch malt
3 lbs. (1.36 kg) extra light dried malt extract
0.75 lb. (0.34 kg) Carapils® malt
0.5 lb. (0.23 kg) melanoidin malt
3.2 oz. (91 g) Carafa® III malt
4.5 AAU Herkules hops (60 min.) (0.3 oz./8.5 g at 15% alpha acids)
3.4 AAU Tettnanger hops (10 min.) (0.75 oz./21 g at 4.5% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP835 (German X Lager) or Wyeast 2206 (Bavarian Lager) or White Labs WLP830 (German Lager) or SafLager W-34/70 yeast
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step
Bring 2.3 gallons (8.8 L) of water to roughly 166 °F (74 °C). Steep the milled malts in a nylon bag for 45 minutes before removing and allowing the bag to drain. Add enough water to bring the total volume to 6.5 gallons (24.6 L) before adding the dried malt extract. Add extract while stirring. Once fully dissolved, heat wort to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the indicated times left in the boil. At 15 minutes left in the boil, add a kettle fining agent of your choice.

After the boil, rapidly chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, which is 52 °F (11 °C) for this beer. Pitch yeast and aerate well. Ferment cold for about 36 to 48 hours, ramping to 65 °F (18 °C) once the beer is about two thirds of the way through fermentation, about an SG of 1.034 (8.5 °Plato). Hold this temperature until terminal gravity is reached. Cold crash to 35 °F (2 °C) before transferring to lagering vessel for approximately one month. Bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.5 volumes.

Tips for Success:
Croydon is Burning uses traditional German malts including lots of rauch malt. Fear not extract brewers because you can easily perform a partial mash using a medium-sized nylon bag to harness the unique, complex character that comes from rauch malt. Currently, there’s no commercial extract versions of the malt and liquid smoke will give you only a shadow of the actual beer.

The second tip is to remember that rauchbiers are lagers; you can’t rush them. “Be patient, and let the yeast do the work,” as Jeremy mentioned to me. NCBC has been able to go from grain to glass in 42 days but there’s no rush. A strong, healthy pitch for a lager and the use of pure oxygen for aeration will go a long way to ensure a fermentation without faults.