After the boil is complete, perform a 5-minute whirlpool and then rapidly chill the wort to slightly below fermentation temperature, which is 47 °F (8.5 °C) for this beer. Pitch yeast.

Maintain fermentation temperature of 47 °F (8.5 °C) for 3.5 weeks or until the completion of primary fermentation, whichever is later. Then, reduce temperature to 38 °F (3.5 °C) gradually by dropping the temperature one degree every 2 days and rest there for 1 week. Perform a similar drop in temperature until you reach 32 °F (0 °C) and lager for 3-4 weeks. Bottle or keg the beer and carbonate to approximately 2.5 volumes.

Tips for Success:
Aim for a massive 2-L starter (OG = 1.035) to provide enough healthy cells for a strong fermentation; Bierstadt recommends 210 million cells per mL. This will allow you to go cold and slow. They’ve also noticed that when fermenting as cold as they do, the precursors for diacetyl aren’t formed, which allows them to eliminate that step. If you do detect diacetyl in your beer, feel free to perform a D-rest. If you have the ability to capture carbon dioxide in solution via a spunding valve, you can come one step closer to fully replicating their beer. Typically, you can rack off the trub after 2 weeks in primary or when there’s roughly 1 degree Plato remaining of fermentation in order to naturally carbonate. Finally, everything about this beer is centered around patience. Don’t rush the mash protocol and especially don’t rush the fermentation.

Thanks to Bill Eye and Ashleigh Carter, co-founders of Bierstadt Lagerhaus,, for this recipe!