All-Grain Recipe

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.040   FG = 1.002
IBU = 0   SRM = 2   ABV = 5%

My deepest thanks go to Andrés Erazo of Cervecería Quiteña for these recipes. These represent one approach to producing modern chicha beer, not the only way. The goal of this beer is a Champagne-like chicha beer, very dry and highly carbonated. See the “Sourcing Ingredients” section of the article for more information about obtaining some of these ingredients that are less common outside of South America.

Ingredients

5 lbs. (2.3 kg) malted corn
3 lbs. (1.4 g) Pilsner malt
1 lb. (450 g) unmalted wheat
3–4 oz. (85–113 g) Horchata lojana herbal tea blend
LalBrew Belle Saison, Wyeast 3711 (French Saison), or Yeast Bay Wallonian Farmhouse yeast
2 g Lallemand WildBrew Sour Pitch or other Lactobacillus of choice
Brettanomyces Bruxellensis of choice, such as Yeast Bay Beersel Brett Blend
¾ cup corn sugar (if priming)

Step by Step

Mash the grains in 152 °F (67 °C) water for 60 minutes. Slowly ramp up to 170 °F (76 °C). Transfer mash to lauter tun lined with straw. Sparge slowly and collect 6.5 gallons (24.5 L) of wort.

Boil the wort for 90 minutes. Add herbal tea at knockout, stir, let steep for 20 minutes, then chill wort to 95 °F (35 °C). Run off half the wort into your first fermenter. Pitch the Lactobacillus in this fermenter and give it two or three days to sour at temperatures up to 104 °F (40 °C).

Chill the remainder of the wort to 68 °F (20 °C) and rack it into the second fermenter and then pitch the saison yeast. Allow yeast to free rise in temperature up to 79 °F (26 °C).

When the first (Lacto) fermentation is complete, mix it into the second fermenter, and allow the blended batch to ferment dry. When fermentation is complete, rack the beer, bottle condition with the Brett, or keg and force carbonate to 2.4 v/v.

Corn Meal Option

Replace the malted corn with 4.5 lbs. (2 kg) pre-cooked white corn meal (such as P.A.N. brand), increase the Pilsner malt to 3.5 lbs. (1.6 kg), and eliminate the unmalted wheat from the all-grain recipe. Follow the same step-by-step instructions, adding the corn meal to the mash with the Pilsner malt.