Lager Malt - does it still need step mashing?

[hairybiker]

Hi I am temped to brew the Grolsh from Dave Line's book, but he calls for a stepped mash, I seem to remember a discussion on this a while back and can't remember if the answer was that modern malt don't need this?

Not usually a Lager brewer, but my mate used to brew this ~20 years ago and I remember it being good at the time - with a nick name of "The Yellow Death"

I have all the ingredients, just no easy way of doing a stepped mash.

 

[Aleman]

No current malt that we can get easily in the UK requires step mashing . . . there may be a benefit to the beer from doing so, but it's pretty small generally, and can easily be compensated for with careful selection of adjuncts (like using a small proportion of Munich malt or an even smaller amount of melanoidin malt)

 

[markp]

It might have been one of my posts you were referring to hairybiker.....I recently did a Belgian Special with lager malt and wondered exactly the same thing as you.

Aleman advised that no step mash was required; so I duly did the brew and mashed at 66 degrees.
I missed my OG by 2 points (IIRC)......and I've missed by more than that when using pale malt and a few speciality grains.

 

[hairybiker]

Cheers for the replies, @markp it was a couple (+) years ago on the email list that I remember seeing it, wasn't using any Lager malt then so noted it only in passing.

So thats Sat sorted out then, 3 (ish) Gals of Grolsh :

 

[unclepumble]

Don't bother step mashing, Grolsch is not step mashed therefore why should you need to step mash?

Just leave it to ferment out in primary for longer than you would with an ale 14 days would be about right for the recipe you are making, however how close your going to get with DL's recipe I am not sure, & I am unsure which lager yeast would give you the correct flavour profile as grolsch use a strain that is unique to their beer and AFAIAA not available commercially.

UP

 

[hairybiker]

I must admit not being too interested in cloning the Grolsch, as long as it is drinkable that is fine :

As I said my mate used to brew it back in the 80's so look forward to tasking it again, and it has been years since I last tasted REAL Grolsch anyway, not the "Brewed in the UK" cr*p :evil: