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.

Music By:
Scott Buckley
https://www.scottbuckley.com.au/