[mtnandy]

I am going to be doing my first Dunkel in a couple weeks and am trying to formulate a recipe. Here is what I have so far:

6 lbs Munich 15.5 SRM
4 lbs Best Pilsner
4 oz Carafa II
2 oz Hallertauer 3.5%, boil 60 min
WLP 833 German Bock Lager yeast, 3L starter on stir plate

Triple decoction mash, 95F, 122F, 152F
batch sparge

I decoction mashed a bohemian pilsner last week, and hit 81% efficiency, which is way better than any single infusion I have done, so I want to stick with the decoction. How do my temps look?

As far as malt goes, I have seen people rave about Best Malz, but I can only locate pilsner. I can get several different kinds of Munich, so I am not sure which one to use. My choices are: Munich 15.5L, Munich 10L, and Munich 7L (not sure on the malster of any of those). Which should I go for, or does anyone have a website where I can order some Best Munich?
As far as the yeast goes, how well does 833 work in a Dunkel? I am trying to make this beer medium-dry, and I want a lot of the malty goodness without a lot of the sweetness. I will also have a yeast cake of 2001 Urquell Lager available, but I am not sure how well that one works for Dunkels.

[denny]

I'm not much of a fan of low temp rests for multi step mashes.  I'd recommend maybe a beta rest, and alpha rest, and a mashout for your steps.  I'd use the 10L Munich if it's from a good maltster.  IIRC, 833 is the Ayinger yeast.  Ayinger makes my favorite dunkel so you should be good there.

[blatz]

Rebelbrewer.com is a source for Best Munich, though only the light.

I would go with the Weyermann Dark Munich (aka Munich II) which is not as dark as what you have listed, and should be pretty easy for you to source (Rebel, Northern, Morebeer all carry it).

I would not use the 15.5L you have listed - the really dark Munich IIs tend to be more like melanoiden malt to me, and are best as a specialty malt, whereas the dark munich malts from Best or Weyermann are much lighter (8-12L) and can be used to virtually 100% of the grist.  A grist of 90% Munich II and 10% Pils is quite divine.

I don't know what your final SRM is estimated to be, but I would be cautious with 4oz of Carafa II - that amount per 5gal seems to be my personal taste threshold - I have found when using it for color only, to keep it <4oz and preferably at 1-2oz per 5 gal - YMMV - plus, after having Ayinger Dunkel and others, the best examples have tended to be in the mid to lower SRM range of the style IMO.

The hop and yeast selections are perfect, and I'll leave the comments on the decoctions/rests to the experts - I'm too lazy to decoct, not to mention, I like what I get the way I do it as is 

[mtnandy]

I managed to find a site that has Best Dark Munich. Has anyone ever bought from Weber Organic Homebrew Supplies?

I changed up the recipe a bit:

8 lbs Best Munich Dark
2 lbs Best Pilsner
2 oz Carafa II

the estimated SRM right now is showing 13.6. How much will it darken due to the decoction mash?
Denny, what would you recommend for rest temps if I do beta, alpha, and mash-out with a double decoction? i see that the beta range is 131-150 and alpha is 154-162. If I want a slightly more fermentable wort should I stay on the lower end of both rests?

[blatz]

the estimated SRM right now is showing 13.6. How much will it darken due to the decoction mash?

recipe looks very good now !

I believe it will be slightly darker than the calculated given a double or triple decoction, so if it bumps to 15-16, I'd think you're golden.

you could add one more ounce of carafa II if you really wanted, but if it were mine, I would brew it as is, and then if the final color isn't what you wanted, adjust on the next run of that recipe - with those ingredients, I guarantee, it is not going to suck!

[denny]

I managed to find a site that has Best Dark Munich. Has anyone ever bought from Weber Organic Homebrew Supplies?

I changed up the recipe a bit:

8 lbs Best Munich Dark
2 lbs Best Pilsner
2 oz Carafa II

the estimated SRM right now is showing 13.6. How much will it darken due to the decoction mash?
Denny, what would you recommend for rest temps if I do beta, alpha, and mash-out with a double decoction? i see that the beta range is 131-150 and alpha is 154-162. If I want a slightly more fermentable wort should I stay on the lower end of both rests?

I'd do 30-45 min. at 145 and 30 min. at 158, then the mashout.

[Pawtucket Patriot]

FWIW, I just brewed a dunkel about a month ago with around 78% Global Dark Munich (15L), 20% Best Pils, and 2% Carafa III.  It tastes outstanding -- not too melanoidin-like for my tastes.  I'm going to brew the same exact recipe in a few weeks using a double decoction mash with beta and alpha steps as follows: 145F for 25 min, 158 for 45 min.  I'll also do a mash-out at 168.

[stlaleman]

100% Munich 10L is the way to go.

[mtnandy]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I am going to keep my recipe as is for now, and change one variable on each subsequent brew of this style. I am a little stumped on the water profile. I use Bru'n water and I'm not sure if I should use the brown malty profile or the Munich boiled profile. Right now, I have my water adjusted to:

Ca - 26.4, Mg - 6.5, Na - 5.2, SO4 - 25.7, Cl - 8, Bicarb - 80.6, Hardness - 93, RA - 44, est. pH - 5.3

Are these levels appropriate for the style?

[hopfenundmalz]

Here is what Kai has on his site for his Dunkel water chemistry.  He only used 99% Munich II, though.

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Dunkel

[barliman]

Are there any of the following yeasts that you guys would stay away from? 

WLP/ WY
820 / 2206
830 / 2124
833 / 2487
838 / 2308