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Vienna lager examples12/4/2023 Can use some caramel malts and/or darker malts to add color and sweetness, but caramel malts shouldn’t add significant aroma and flavor and dark malts shouldn’t provide any roasted character. As with Märzens, only the finest quality malt should be used, along with Continental hops (preferably Saazer types or Styrians). Vienna malt provides a lightly toasty and complex, Maillard-rich malt profile. Authentic examples are increasingly hard to find (except perhaps in the craft beer industry) as formerly good examples become sweeter and use more adjuncts. Now nearly extinct in its area of origin, the style continues in Mexico where it was brought by Santiago Graf and other Austrian immigrant brewers in the late 1800s. This style is on the watch list to move to the Historical category in future guidelines that would allow the classic style to be described while moving the sweeter modern versions to the International Amber or Dark Lager styles.ĭeveloped by Anton Dreher in Vienna in 1841, became popular in the mid-late 1800s. Regrettably, many modern examples use adjuncts which lessen the rich malt complexity characteristic of the best examples of this style. Many Mexican amber and dark lagers used to be more authentic, but unfortunately are now more like sweet, adjunct-laden Amber/Dark International Lagers. American versions can be a bit stronger, drier and more bitter, while modern European versions tend to be sweeter. Actually, the BJCP Style Guideline for 2015 (Comments and Style Comparison sections) capture the essence of the style:Ī standard-strength everyday beer, not a beer brewed for festivals. I try to avoid any crystals in most every lager style, but a light hand is permissible. Anton Dreher copied the way that the British made pale ale malt in smokeless kilns.įor what it is worth, Weyermann now sells a Vienna Barke malt that is very flavorful. Vienna malt is kilned roughly to the same color as pale ale malt. As far as to crystal malt, I have found over the years that 5 to 6% is the Goldilocks zone where it adds color and body without adding to much caramel flavor. I think that near 100% Vienna is the way to go. I have brewed Vienna using various amounts of pils, munich, crystal/caramel, and colored malt in the past, but most have been underwhelming. It does not taste the same and continental lager is all about the malt. Personally, I know that some of the craft maltsters produce good malt, but I personally avoid using domestic malt in continental lager. It has a good taste and it is cheaper than most other continental pils malt offerings. I have stuck with Avangard pils because I have gotten a consistent year-to-year extraction rate. Weyermann is becoming my favorite maltster for continental malts other than pils.
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