Biere de Mars Attacks!

My first attempt at a biere de mars was a compilation of leftover ingredients cobbled together out of leftover ounces of hops and a dunkelweizen that never got brewed (see Ratchet biere de mars). Although it eventually turned into an interesting beer, it is barely reminiscent of the French biere de mars style that is a cousin to the German marzen (and not too far off from vienna and oktoberfest beers). I wanted to give this style another go with a legitimate biere de mars recipe, hence this recipe was concocted. Originally I planned to brew this beer in March 2014 but I never got around to it so I am brewing it now because I have the room to brew this one gallon recipe and I need to grow up my lager yeast for several other lagers I want to brew in the coming months.

This recipe is modeled upon the biere de mars recipe in Farmhouse Ales but with an unusual mix of French Aramis and Celeia hops to create an unusual citrusy take on the biere de mars style. Saaz and Saaz-like hops might be more appropriate for the style but I don't think the citrus notes from these hops will be entirely unusual. New Belgium's excellent biere de mars had lemon peel and lemon verbana and those lemony flavors worked well. I expect to capture the same compatibility but with a slightly different flavor profile.

Biere de Mars Attacks! Recipe

Batch size: 1 gallon
Est. OG: 1.067
Est. FG: 1.014
Est. ABV: 7%
Est. IBU: 31.4
Est. SRM: 19.8

Grain Bill

48.6% 1 lb. 4 oz. Belgian Pilsner [2 SRM]
29.2% 12 oz. wheat malt [2 SRM]
19.5% 8 oz. Munich malt [9 SRM]
2.7% 1 oz. black patent malt [500 SRM]

Mash Schedule

60 minute mash at 152F
0.8 gallons infused at 164F
0.8 gallons sparge water at 180F

Water Profile

Bru'n Water Brown Balanced
RO Water adjusted

Calcium: 59.1
Magnesium: 10.4
Sodium: 15.2
Sulfate: 70.7
Chloride: 54.8
Bicarbonate 31.4

Mash Additions

Gypsum 0.2g
Epsom salt 0.3g
Baking soda 0.2g
Calcium chloride 0.3g
Chalk 0.1g
Lactic acid 0.2ml

Sparge Additions

Gypsum 0.2g
Epsom salt 0.3g
Calcium chloride 0.3g
Lactic acid 0.4ml

Boil Schedule

90 minute boil

0.15oz. Celeia [4.5% AAU] FWH
0.10oz. Belma [12.10% AAU] at 60 min
0.07oz. Aramis [8% AAU] at 20 min
0.10oz. Celeia [4.5% AAU] at whirlpool
0.03oz. Aramis [8% AAU] at whirlpool

Fermentation

Pitch 60ml Buvar WY2000 yeast at 52F with oxygen.
Hold temperature at 55F until attenuation reaches 75% of expected attenuation.
Raise to 62F at 1.020 gravity for diacetyl rest.
Hold until gravity is stable.
Lager 2-3 weeks.
Bottle.

Brewday & Fermentation Notes

Brewed 10/30/14.

First runnings gravity: 1.074
Pre-boil gravity: 1.047
Pre-boil volume: 1.4g
Post-boil gravity: 1.038
Post-boil volume: 1.1g

Brewhouse efficiency: 70%

10/30/14: Pitched lager yeast at 50F and raised temperature to 52F on temperature controller.
11/3/14: Raised temperature through day to 55F.
11/4/14: Raised temperature to 64F for remainder of fermentation and diacetyl rest.
11/15/14: Bottled to 2.8vol. FG: 1.016