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Brewing Pious Monk Dunkel + Recipe – Church Brew works – Pittsburgh, Pa

Pittsburgh, Pa is my home town. It’s where I grew up and where I learned about beer. I’m not talking about Iron City or Rolling Rock. Both or which are no longer made there. Though both do have their place. I’m talking about great beer from Penn Brewery, Church Brew Works and East End Brewing Co. The three main craft breweries that existed in the 90’s and earl 2000’s. Before the glut of breweries that now inhabit ever where.


When I learned that Pious Monk Dunkel from Church Brew Works was listed in the American Homebrewers Association’s list of 51 Craft Beer Clone Recipes of 2019 I knew I had to brew it. I scaled up the recipe to 6 gallons and waited. Not having been to Church Brew for several years, 5 weeks was a long time to wait. I had never done a lager before. How was this going to come out with out a fermentation chamber?

I researched how to perform a decoction mash. I read more than a few articles about lagering at warmer temps. Brew day came and went with out an issue. The beer fermented out in less than a week. Rested for another week and In to the keg it went. After 5 weeks I was rewarded with a memory that I had not encountered in a long time. I had a very accurate clone of one of my favorites.

Don’t be afraid of brewing a lager at less than ideal temperatures. Lagers are not as fragile as you have been led to believe.

You can find the original 5 gallon Pious Monk recipe over on the AHA website. The modified 6 gallon recipe as I brewed it is included below.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 90 min 31.3 IBUs 18.6 SRM 1.052 1.006 6.1 %
Actuals 1.053 1.012 5.5 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Viking Munich Malt Light 5 lbs 40.4
Viking Pilsner Malt 5 lbs 40.4
Melanoiden Malt 14 oz 7.07
Carafoam 12 oz 6.06
Caraaroma 8 oz 4.04
Carafa II 4 oz 2.02

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Perle 0.85 oz 90 min Boil Pellet 8
Tettnang 0.85 oz 20 min Boil Pellet 4.5

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Baking Soda 4.00 tbsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.50 tbsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.00 Items 15 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 6.00 tsp 15 min Boil Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
German Lager (WLP830) White Labs 77% 50°F - 55°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Protein Rest 140°F 35 min
Saccharification 154°F 45 min
Mash Out 168°F 10 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 4 days 67°F
Secondary 10 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

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Music By:
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Brewing a Nugget Nectar Clone + Recipe – Tröegs Independent Brewing

I had originally started thinking about brewing a Nugget Nectar clone way back in 2017 when I brewed the Blizzard of Hops clone. I didn’t start thinking about it seriously till I ran across a recipe in the October 2011 issue of BYO magazine. That recipe was clarified in the January/February 2012 issue.


Further research lead me to a The Session interview that the Trogner brothers did in the Summer of 2011. In that interview they detailed out their original recipe for Nugget Nectar. Including the hops used and the grain bill that included 80% Vienna malt.

The only things missing from their recipe were the hops used for dry hopping. I took some educated guesses on what the exact dry hops should be. Some of which was dictated by the hops left over from the brew day.

Over all this is a very good recipe. I’m very happy with the results. Though it’s not very accurate to what Nugget Nectar is now. The recipe has definitely changed over the years. If you are looking for a recipe from years past, this is the one you want to use.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 90 min 95.9 IBUs 9.4 SRM 1.074 1.017 7.6 %
Actuals 1.071 1.018 7.1 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Vienna Malt (Briess) 14.25 lbs 80.28
Munich 20L (Briess) 1.75 lbs 9.86
Pilsner (2 Row) Bel 1.75 lbs 9.86

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Nugget 0.7 oz 90 min Boil Pellet 13
Simcoe 0.7 oz 90 min Boil Pellet 13
Simcoe 0.55 oz 30 min Boil Pellet 13
Palisade 1.1 oz 10 min Boil Pellet 8.3
Simcoe 1.1 oz 1 min Boil Pellet 14
Nugget 1.1 oz 1 min Boil Pellet 13
Warrior 0.55 oz 1 min Boil Pellet 15
Columbus (Tomahawk) 0.55 oz 1 min Boil Pellet 15
Nugget 2.2 oz 10 min Aroma Pellet 13
Nugget 2 oz 4 days Dry Hop Pellet 13
Warrior 1.45 oz 4 days Dry Hop Pellet 15
Columbus (Tomahawk) 1 oz 4 days Dry Hop Pellet 14
Palisade 0.9 oz 4 days Dry Hop Pellet 7.5

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Baking Soda 2.00 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.50 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.00 Items 15 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 6.00 tsp 15 min Boil Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
American Ale (1056) Wyeast Labs 75% 60°F - 72°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 152°F 90 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 10 days 68°F
Aging 7 days 65°F

Notes

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/oct-2011-byo-nugget-nectar-clone-og-doesnt-add-up.273597/

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Brewing a Double Chinook IPA

After brewing a Chinook Session IPA a few months back I started looking around for a double Chinook recipe. While I was looking for an Arrogant Bastard clone I started reading this thread over on Home Brew Talk. It featured all Chinook hop additions. With a little modification I was able to up the grain percentage to create a double IPA.


This turned out to be a great IPA. It did take longer to carbonate in the keg than I would have expected. It was fully carbed in about 3 weeks. Though it was very drinkable at 2 weeks.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 60 min 108.8 IBUs 16.1 SRM 1.083 1.019 8.6 %
Actuals 1.079 1.012 9.0 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Viking Pilsner Malt 17 lbs 88.31
Aromatic Malt 9 oz 2.92
Biscuit Malt 9 oz 2.92
Caramunich I (Weyermann) 9 oz 2.92
Special B Malt 9 oz 2.92

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Chinook 1.1 oz 60 min Boil Pellet 13
Chinook 1.1 oz 45 min Boil Pellet 13
Chinook 1.1 oz 2 min Boil Pellet 13
Chinook 2.2 oz 60 min Aroma Pellet 13
Chinook 2.2 oz 4 days Dry Hop Pellet 13
Chinook 2 oz 0 min Dry Hop Pellet 13

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Baking Soda 2.00 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.50 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.00 Items 15 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 6.00 tsp 15 min Boil Other

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Nottingham Yeast (-) Lallemand 75% 62°F - 72°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 152°F 60 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 10 days 68°F
Secondary 10 days 68°F
Aging 7 days 52°F

Notes

Originallyl came from here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/arrogant-bastard-clone.71867/

Dry hop in the keg with the final 2 Oz..

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Brewing a Mad Elf Ale Clone + Recipe – Tröegs Independent Brewing

Mad Elf from Tröegs Independent Brewing is one of my favorite seasonal holiday brews. I look forward to its arrival. Occasionally they will release a batch in July for “Christmas in July.” I’ve never figured out if they brew a new batch just for that or hold over some from the Winter for later distribution. Either way, if you haven’t had any, you need to find some.


My first stop in cloning this beer was this thread. There is a lot of good information there. Including the recommendation to only use 4 Oz. of chocolate malt. My original recipe had 8 Oz. which would have been double what was needed.

That thread lead me to this thread which has a complete recipe. Unfortunately that recipe is off with it’s hop additions. According to the Tröegs website Mad Elf only has 15 IBU’s.

With all of that information I put together my own recipe which is listed below. I would make some additional changes to my next attempt. The dark munich I used was too dark. I would change that out for light or regular munich. Something in the 3 – 5L range. I would also add additional cherries raising the amount from 4 to 6 cans.

Either way you brew this, it’s still great. It’s one of my favorite beers and now home brews. Get out there and get one before they are all gone.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 90 min 22.2 IBUs 14.2 SRM 1.104 1.019 11.5 %
Actuals 1.092 1.011 10.9 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Viking Pilsner Malt 17.5 lbs 76.92
Viking Munich Malt Dark 2.5 lbs 10.99
Chocolate Malt 4 oz 1.1
Honey - Clover 2.5 lbs 10.99

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Sterling 1 oz 90 min First Wort Pellet 7.5

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Baking Soda 2.00 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.50 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.00 Items 15 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 6.00 tsp 15 min Boil Other
Sweet Cherries 2.00 lb 0 min Secondary Flavor
Tart Cherries 2.00 lb 0 min Secondary Flavor

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Belgian Strong Ale (1388) Wyeast Labs 76% 65°F - 75°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 152°F 60 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 4 days 67°F
Secondary 10 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

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Music By:
Nicolai Heidlas
Atmosphere
https://soundcloud.com/nicolai-heidlas/

The Juice is worth the Squeeze – Imperial Grapefruit IPA

I’ve been looking at brewing a grapefruit IPA for a while. I was reading HomeBrewTalk.com a few months back when I came across a recipe that sounded promising. Using the provided recipe for The Juice is worth the Squeeze I made some adjustments. Those adjustments took in to account the hops I had on hand and my equipment. What I ended up with truly did taste like grapefruit.


The only thing I really need to mention is that you will need to make sure all of the grapefruit zest is filtered out before you keg this. I had problems with the zest clogging the dip tube. I had to disassemble the keg out post several times to clean it out. It was a simple process but one that taught me a valuable lesson about making sure you get all of the debris out of your brew before kegging.

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
6 gal 75 min 105.6 IBUs 7.1 SRM 1.074 1.014 8.0 %
Actuals 1.072 1.007 8.7 %

Fermentables

Name Amount %
Viking Pilsner Malt 15 lbs 88.24
Munich Malt - 10L 1.25 lbs 7.35
Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L 12 oz 4.41

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
Chinook 0.65 oz 60 min First Wort Pellet 13
Chinook 0.65 oz 45 min Boil Pellet 13
Centennial 1 oz 30 min Boil Pellet 10
Citra 1 oz 15 min Boil Pellet 12
Simcoe 1 oz 15 min Boil Pellet 13
Citra 1 oz 4 days Dry Hop Pellet 12
Simcoe 1 oz 4 days Dry Hop Pellet 13

Miscs

Name Amount Time Use Type
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) 1.50 tsp 60 min Mash Water Agent
Whirlfloc Tablet 1.00 Items 15 min Boil Fining
Yeast Nutrient 5.00 tsp 15 min Boil Other
Grapefruit Peel 2.00 oz 0 min Boil Flavor
Grapefruit Peel 2.00 oz 4 days Primary Flavor

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
Safale American (US-05) DCL/Fermentis 77% 59°F - 75°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Mash In 150°F 75 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Primary 4 days 67°F
Secondary 10 days 67°F
Aging 30 days 65°F

Notes

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/the-juice-is-worth-the-squeeze-imperial-ipa.654977/

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Music By:
Nicolai Heidlas
Atmosphere
https://soundcloud.com/nicolai-heidlas/