Vienna malt for amber lagers
Vienna lager was one of the first amber lagers in the world. The malt behind it is still one of the most useful in brewing. Here is what Vienna malt does, how much to use and a recipe you can brew at home.
A malt with a famous beer behind it
Vienna malt is named after the city where it was first used for lager. Anton Dreher, a brewer at Schwechat near Vienna, introduced the Vienna lager style around 1841. It was amber, smooth and malty, a softer cousin of the darker Munich lagers of the time.
Today Vienna malt is used in Vienna lager, Märzen, Festbier and many Mexican amber lagers. It is also a handy malt for adding a deeper gold and a touch of toast to pale beers.
How it differs from Pilsner and Munich
Vienna malt is kilned a little hotter than Pilsner malt and less than Munich. That gives it more colour and a gentle toasty, bready note while keeping enough enzymes to convert itself. Weyermann's Vienna malt, for example, is listed at 6 to 9 EBC, about 3 to 4 Lovibond, with up to 100% allowed in the grist.
In practice, a beer brewed with all Vienna malt comes out deep gold rather than amber. The amber colour of a Vienna lager usually comes from adding small amounts of Munich or caramel malt. Our guide to Weyermann Pilsner malt is a good comparison for the pale end.
How much to use
There are three common ways to use it:
- 10 to 30% in a pale lager or Kellerbier for a deeper colour and more malt depth.
- 50 to 100% in a Vienna lager, Märzen or Festbier, where it carries the beer.
- A share of the base in an amber ale, alongside pale ale malt.
Vienna also works well as a partial swap in beers you already brew. Replace a fifth of the Pilsner malt in a light lager with Vienna and the beer gains a little colour and a rounder malt flavour without tasting like a different style.
Because Vienna has plenty of enzymes, you can mash it alone with a simple single infusion. There is no need for special steps.
A 20 litre Vienna lager recipe
This recipe targets about 1.052 to 1.055 original gravity at a typical homebrew efficiency of around 70%.
- Vienna malt: 4.0 kg (80%)
- Pilsner malt: 0.75 kg (15%)
- CARAMUNICH or a similar medium caramel malt: 0.25 kg (5%)
- Total: 5.0 kg (100%)
Mash at 65 to 66 °C for 60 minutes, then mash out at 76 to 78 °C. Boil for 60 to 75 minutes. Bitter to about 20 to 25 IBU with a noble-type hop such as Hallertau or Saaz, with a small late addition for aroma. The finished beer should be clear amber, with a toasty malt flavour and a clean, fairly dry finish.
Fermenting a lager at home in India
Vienna lager needs lager yeast fermented cold, at about 9 to 12 °C. In most Indian homes the room is 25 to 35 °C, so that means a fridge or chest freezer with an external temperature controller. Without temperature control, the beer will taste fruity rather than clean.
After primary, raise the temperature to around 15 to 18 °C for two or three days for a diacetyl rest. Then chill as cold as your fridge allows, close to 0 to 2 °C. Lager it there for three to four weeks. Our guide to CARABOHEMIAN malt covers another option if you want a richer, more caramel amber.
Buying and storing Vienna malt
Many homebrew shops in India import European malts in small packs. Buy Vienna malt whole if you have a mill, or crushed just before you brew. Crushed malt goes stale quickly in humid weather.
Check the pack date too. Small repacks sometimes sit on a shelf for months. Fresh malt smells sweet and bready. Old malt smells flat or musty and gives a duller beer.
Keep unopened bags in an airtight container in the coolest room you have. Vienna malt starts at up to 5.5% moisture on Weyermann's sheet, a little higher than some base malts, so it has less margin before it softens. If the kernels no longer snap crisply when you bite them, they have picked up moisture.
Where to go next
Once you have brewed a Vienna lager, the next step is learning to design your own grists: choosing base, caramel and roasted malts on purpose to hit a colour and flavour target. That is where homebrewing starts to become brewing science.
Your first step: brew the recipe above and keep a sample of the finished beer to compare with a commercial amber lager side by side.
Common questions
What colour is Vienna malt?
Pale, about 6 to 9 EBC on Weyermann's sheet. A beer made from all Vienna malt is deep gold rather than amber.
Can Vienna malt be used as a base malt?
Yes. It has enough enzymes to convert itself and can make up to 100% of the grist.
What temperature should I ferment a Vienna lager at?
About 9 to 12 °C with a lager yeast, followed by a diacetyl rest and several weeks of cold lagering.
Who created the Vienna lager style?
Anton Dreher, a brewer at Schwechat near Vienna, introduced it around 1841.
