Camden Town Hells Lager

[Stapsin]

Anyone got a decent clone recipe of this?

[Barley Water]

Well I have never had that particular Helles however the formulation is easy, it's all in the execution. I just brewed one Monday and I use the Great Jamil's recipe. 3/4 of a pound of Light Munich malt, 4 ounces of Melonodin malt and the rest good German pils malt. Enough noble hops to get you to 18 IBU's at 60 minutes. I'm using 2206 but several lager yeasts will do the job credibly. That recipe is designed for infusion mashing techniques but I did a short decoction just because...well, it makes me feel good. Anyhow, happy brewing and good luck.

[Stapsin]

Cheers for your reply mate. Gonna be getting a recipe together in the next couple of days. Would highly recommend this lager it's pretty decent!

[YeastWhisperer]

Alternatively, helles can be made using 100% pilsner malt and a single decoction mash. In my humble opinion, a single decoction mash produces a much more authentic tasting product than using specialty malts and an infusion mash.

When performing a single decoction mash, one mashes-in like one is performing a single infusion mash at 65C. The heaviest 40% of the mash is decocted (transferred) to a pot (kettle) after allowing the mash to rest at 65C for thirty minutes. The decoction should be mostly grain with just enough liquid to keep it from sticking to the pot while heating. The decoction is brought up to 70C and held there until conversion is complete, which usually takes around 15 minutes. The decoction needs to be stirred while heat is applied to the pot or it will scorch.

One can test for the presence of starch using tincture of iodine (the colored stuff that stains everything in which it comes into contact). A teaspoon or two of liquid is removed from the decoction, and a drop or two of iodine is added to this liquid. Conversion is complete when the iodine no longer turns blue-black. One can ignore the reaction between the iodine and any grain pieces that are part of the sample because the grain will test positive long after the liquid tests negative for starch due to residual unmodified starch. A deep reddish color indicates the presence of dextrins, which are partially degraded starch (dextrins improve body and head retention). A positive test for dextrins is not a positive test for starch.

The decoction is brought up to 100C and held there for 15 minutes after the liquid in a sample tests negative for unconverted starch. This step causes amino acids to bind to sugars, producing melanoidins (Malliard reaction). It also gelatinizes any unmodified starch that is left in the grain. The decoction is slowly combined with the mash after being held for 15 minutes at 100C. If performed correctly, the combined mash should be at a temperature of around 72C +/- 2C. The combined mash should be allowed to rest for 15 minutes before recirculating and sparging. The enzymes in the liquid fraction that was left behind while the decoction was being processed will convert any starch that was gelatinized during the boil, which is why we pull a thick decoction and not a thin decoction.

If one likes to mash-out at a temperature higher than 72C, a thin decoction can be pulled, brought up to boil, and recombined with the main mash. Alternatively, the mash can be brought up to one's desired mash temperature via a boiling water infusion. I guarantee that the resulting product from a simple single decoction mash will be smoother and more authentic tasting than adding specialty malts to pilsner malt.

[legion]

Thanks for taking the time to type that out yeast whisperer.

[YeastWhisperer]

You're welcome. Performing a single decoction mash is more difficult than performing a single infusion mash, but I personally feel that the results are worth the extra effort. Boiling the decoction enhances malt flavor in a way that is difficult replicate using specialty malt.