Great Northern Brewing Co.’s Fred’s Black Lager clone
According the The Great Northern’s website, “A dark beer with a soft bite, Fred’s is brewed using a special de-bittered dark malt, fermented cold & lagered at least 4 weeks. A smooth brew with light roastiness.”
Fred’s Black Lager clone
(Great Northern Brewing Co., Montana)
(5 gallons/ 19 L. extract with grains)
OG = 1.052 FG = 1.012
IBUs = 28 SRM = 24 ABV = 5.2%
Ingredients
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) Muntons light, unhopped, liquid malt extract
2 lbs. (0.9 kg) light dried malt extract
1 lb. (0.45 kg) 2-row pale malt
10 oz. (0.28 kg) Carafa® Special malt (400 °L)
6 oz. (0.17 kg) Munich malt
7 oz. (0.19 kg) Carawheat® malt (40 °L)
6.5 AAU Magnum pellet hops (60 min.) (0.5 oz./ 14 g of 13% alpha acid)
1.85 AAU Hallertauer pellet hops (10 min.) (0.5 oz./14 g of 3.7% alpha acid)
1⁄2 tsp. Irish moss (last 15 minutes)
White Labs WLP 830 (German lager) or Wyeast 2308 (Munich lager) yeast
0.75 cup (150 g) corn sugar for priming (if bottling)
Step by Step
Steep the crushed grain in 2 gallons (7.6 L) of water at 154 ºF (68 °C) for 30 minutes. Remove grains from the wort and rinse with 2 quarts (1.8 L) of hot water. Add the liquid and dried malt extracts and bring to a boil and add the hops and Irish moss as per the schedule. Add the wort to 2 gallons (7.6 L) of cold water in a sanitized fermenter and top off with cold water up to 5 gallons (19 L).
Cool the wort to 75 ºF (24 ºC). Pitch your yeast and aerate the wort heavily. Allow the beer to cool over the next few hours to 65 ºF (18 ºC). When evidence of fermentation is apparent drop the temperature to 52 ºF (11 ºC). Hold at that temperature until fermentation is complete (approx. 10 days).
Transfer to a carboy, avoiding any splashing to prevent aerating the beer. Condition for 2 weeks at 42 ºF (5 ºC) and then bottle or keg. Allow to carbonate and age for 4 weeks and enjoy your Black Lager.
All-grain option:
This is a single step infusion mash. Replace the malt syrup with 6.75 lbs. (3 kg) 2-row pale malt and increase the Munich malt to 3.5 lbs.(1.6 kg). Mix the crushed grains with 3.5 gallons (13 L) of 172 °F (78 °C) water to stabilize at 154 ºF (68 ºC) for 60 minutes. Sparge slowly with 175 ºF (79 ºC) water. Collect approximately 6 gallons (23 L) of wort runoff to boil for 60 minutes. Reduce the 60 minute hop additions to 0.4 oz. (11g) Magnum and 0.4 oz. (11g) Hallertauer to allow for the higher utilization factor of a full wort boil. The remainder of this recipe and procedures are the same as the extract with grains recipe.
