[BrewBama]

I am planning a Vienna Lager and have the following recipe.  My question is when I shop for "CaraMunich" have a choice of I, II, or III.  I believe I want "I" but want to check with the experts first.  What is your recommendation.

9lb German Pilsner
4oz CaraMunich
2oz Carafa Special II

1 oz Perle 60 Min
.5 oz Saaz 1 min

S-189 x 2 sachets

[majorvices]

For a Vienna Lager you don't want any crystal/caramel malts. 100% vienna and maybe some color malt like carafa to adjust color.

[hopfenundmalz]

This one turned out pretty good for me. No Cara Munich but some Pils, Vienna, Dark Munich, and Cara Amber.

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/attachments/presentations/pdf/2014/Long%20Live%20Lagers.pdf

[majorvices]

I used to use cara-red in one of my "red lager" recipes and I enjoyed the crispness of the beer much better when I dropped it. Now I use mostly Best Vienna malt, about 25% pils and crafa special II at sparge to adjust color. Then again I haven't won any awards yet with it. So YMMV.

[BrewBama]

Thanks folks.  I appreciate it.  Cheers!

[brewinhard]

As much as the style guidelines recommend "No crystal malts" in a vienna, I think a well made vienna can contain a small amount.  In fact, there have been some NHC gold medal winners who have added substantial amounts of crystal malts to their award winning Viennas. So, I don't think 4 oz is out of the question here either.  I would think you could either use Caramunich II (37-40L) or Caramunich III (57-60L) for this depending on the color you were looking for in your final product and what type of crystal sweetness you desired.  III is bit more intense than II, but not by much IMO, especially when only 4 oz are to be added.

[BrewBama]

I appreciate the comment.  So...I've read the style guideline and I see where it says "Can use some caramel malts and/or darker malts to add color and sweetness, but caramel malts shouldn’t add significant aroma and flavor and dark malts shouldn’t provide any roasted character."  I suppose since it only lists caramel to adjust color and sweetness that eliminates other malts such as CaraMunich.  Is that correct?

That's what's great about this site.  I appreciate the input from everyone.  I really look forward to this brew.  It will be my first brew in this style and especially this yeast.

[majorvices]

FTR I don't give a damn what the style guides say. Ever. That was a personal recommendation based on my own experience. I think that a base of 100% vienna is a great place to start. I Personally only think you want to add crystal malts with a light hand. But there is no disputing what wins and loses in comps. Except that sometimes what wins or loses makes a better 2 oz pour than an actual back to back 16 oz session beer.

But I certainly only think that style guides should be used as a starting point, and in no way should they be a mold we craft all of our beer by.

[BrewBama]

FTR I don't give a damn what the style guides say. Ever. That was a personal recommendation based on my own experience. I think that a base of 100% vienna is a great place to start. I Personally only think you want to add crystal malts with a light hand. But there is no disputing what wins and loses in comps. Except that sometimes what wins or loses makes a better 2 oz pour than an actual back to back 16 oz session beer.

But I certainly only think that style guides should be used as a starting point, and in no way should they be a mold we craft all of our beer by.

Great point.  I am a KCBS CBJ and I feel the same way about "one bite BBQ".  You'd never want to eat a whole meal of what the comp guys cook.  I guess it applies here as well.

[brewinhard]

Except that sometimes what wins or loses makes a better 2 oz pour than an actual back to back 16 oz session beer.

Very true indeed.