ChromosBeer Black Lager

ChromosBeer Black Lager is rated 4.6 out of 5 by 20.
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Dark in color, but not heavy like a stout or porter, this black lager may change your mind about dark beers. Using a special cold-steeping method for the black malt to reduce bitter tannins, Chromos has a malty flavor accentuated by subtle chocolate and roasted notes, but it finishes very clean and crisp like a standard lager or pilsner. The addition of Mt. Hood hops balances the other ingredients in perfect harmony giving you a smooth tasting lager without being overly sweet.

$27.95
SKU
90-15222-00
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ChromosBeer Black Lager

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$27.95

Summary

    What You Get

    1 Can of American Lager Brewing Extract (HME)

    1 Packet of Dry Brewing Yeast (Under the Lid of the Brewing Extract)

    1 Packet of BrewMax Booster

    1 Packet of BrewMax LME Pale

    1 Packet of 2-Row Malt

    1 Packet of Black Malt

    1 Packet of Mt. Hood Pellet Hops

    3 Hop Sacks

    1 Packet of Saflager S-23 Yeast

    1 Packet of No-Rinse Cleanser


    For Fans Of

    Sam Adams Black Lager

    Uinta Brewing Baba Black Lager


    Brew Specs

    Flavor: Malty

    Original Gravity: 1.055

    Final Gravity: 1.014

    ABV: 5.3%

    SRM: (Color): 21

    IBU: (Bitterness): 18


    STEP 1: SANITIZING

    Cleaning is one of the most important steps in brewing. It kills microscopic bacteria, wild yeast, and molds that may cause off-flavors in your beer. Make certain to clean all equipment that comes in contact with your beer by following the directions below:

    1. Fill clean keg with warm water to line mark 1 on the back, then add ½ pack (about 1 tablespoon) of No-Rinse Cleanser and stir until dissolved. Once dissolved, the solution is ready to use. Save the remaining ½ of No-Rinse Cleanser because you will need it for bottling.

    2. Screw on lid and swirl the keg so that the cleaning solution makes contact with the entire interior of the keg, including the underside of the lid. Note that the ventilation notches under the lid may leak solution. Allow to sit for at least 2 minutes and swirl again.

    3. To clean the spigot, open it fully and allow liquid to flow for 5 seconds and then close

    4. Pour the rest of the solution from the keg into a large bowl. Place your spoon/whisk, can opener and measuring cup into the bowl to keep them cleaned throughout the brewing process. Leave them immersed for at least 2 minutes in cleaning solution prior to using.

    5. After all surfaces have been thoroughly cleaned, do not rinse or dry the keg or utensils. Return lid to top of keg, proceed immediately to brewing.


    STEP 2: BREWING

    Brewing beer is the process of combining a starch source (in this case, a malt brewing extract) with yeast. Once combined, the yeast eats the sugars in the malt, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2). This process is called fermentation.

    1. 2 hours before brewing, put the Black Malt into a muslin sack and steep it in 2 cups of room temperature water.
    Cover with a plastic wrap or a lid and let sit for 2 hours at room temperature then discard the sack of grains (do not
    squeeze).1. Remove the yeast packet from under the lid of the can of Brewing Extract (you won’t be using this), then
    place the unopened can and BrewMax LME in hot tap water.

    2. Add the 2-row to 1 Muslin Hop Sack tying it closed

    3. Using a measuring cup, pour 6-8 cups of water into your clean 4-quart or larger pot (Use just enough water to
    cover the grains).Bring your pot of water up to above 155 degrees F.

    4. Add the grain sack to the hot water and steep for 30 minutes between 155-165 degrees.

    5. Carefully lift the grain sack out of the pot, and place into a strainer/colander. Rinse the sack over the pot with 1 cup
    of hot water each. Let drain. Do NOT squeeze the grain bag. Discard grain bag. 

    6. Place the contents of the Mt. Hood hop packet into a muslin sack and trim away excess material. 

    7. Add the dark grain water you steeped earlier (step 1) and bring the wort to a low rolling boil, then add the hop sack
    and let simmer at a low boil for 5 minutes.Then remove from heat.

    8. Open the can of Brewing Extract and LME and pour the contents into the hot mixture in your pot. Stir until
    thoroughly mixed. This mixture of unfermented beer is called wort.

    9. Fill your fermenter with cold tap water to the mark 1 on the back. If using any other fermenter this would be
    approximately 1 gallon of water. 

    10. Pour the wort, including the hop sacks, into your fermenter, and then bring the volume of the fermenter to mark 2
    by adding more cold water. Leave the hop sacks in the wort for the duration of fermentation. (If you have a different
    fermenter top it off with cold water to the 8.5-liter mark).

    11. Stir your wort mixture vigorously with your sanitized spoon or whisk.

    12. Sprinkle the Saflager S-23 yeast packet into the keg, and screw on the lid. Do not stir.

    Put your fermenter in a location with a consistent temperature between 53° and 59° F (12°-15° C), and out of
    direct sunlight. Ferment for 21 days.


    STEP 4: BOTTLING & CARBONATING

    After 21 days, taste a small sample to determine if the beer is fully fermented and ready to bottle. If it tastes like flat beer, it is ready. If it’s sweet, then it’s not ready. Let it ferment for 3 more days (24 total). At this point, it is time to bottle. Do not let it sit in the fermenter for longer than 24 days total.

    1. When your beer is ready to bottle, fill a 1-gallon container with warm water, then add the remaining ½ pack of the No-Rinse Cleanser and stir until dissolved. Once dissolved, it is ready to use

    2. Distribute the cleaning solution equally among the bottles. Screw-on caps (or cover with a metal cap if using glass bottles) and shake bottles vigorously. Allow to sit 10 minutes, then shake the bottles again. Remove caps and empty all cleaning solutions into a large bowl. Use this solution to clean any other equipment you may be using for bottling. Do not rinse.

    3. Add 2 Carbonation Drops to each 740-mL bottle. For 1-liter bottles, add 2 ½ drops; for ½-liter bottles add 1 drop. Alternatively, you can add table sugar using this table as a guide. 

    4. Holding the bottle at an angle, fill each bottle to about 2 inches from the bottle’s top.

    5. Place caps on bottles, hand tighten, and gently turn the bottle over to check the bottle’s seal. It is not necessary to shake them.

    6. Store the bottles upright and out of direct sunlight in a location with a consistent temperature between 70°-76°F or 21°-24°C. Allow sitting for a minimum of 14 days. If the temperature is cooler than suggested it may take an additional week to reach full carbonation. 


    TIP FROM OUR BREWMASTERS

    After the primary carbonation has taken place your beer is ready to drink. We recommend putting 1 bottle in the refrigerator at first for 48 hrs. After 48hrs. give it a try and if it is up to your liking put the rest of your beer in the fridge. If it does not taste quite right, leave the bottles out at room temp for another week or so. Keep following this method until your brew tastes just how you like it. 

    This process is called conditioning and during this time the yeast left in your beer can help clean up any off-flavors. Almost everything gets a little better with time and so will your beer

    Rated 5 out of 5 by BlueZebra from So so so good! This one is a fun one to brew because a) it's a partial mash and b) the yeast prefers to ferment at lower temperatures. I brewed this just before Thanksgiving knowing that my garage would provide for the perfect fermentation environment. The original recipe called for brown rice flakes. But the folks at Mr. Beer indicated the recipe had been changed from the rice to a bag of booster. The beer bottled with an ABV of 4.86% and was allowed to carbonate/condition for 4 weeks. The color is amazing! The flavor is malty, full but balanced with a slight sweet caramel finish. The only complaint (and this may have more to do with me than the recipe) is the lack of head retention. If I could get this beer to wind up with a thick creamy head, it would be perfect.
    Date published: 2017-12-27
    Rated 5 out of 5 by Hopsnmalts from Enter this in a contest That’s what my friends say. They all like my reds and marzens. This one was a cut above. It was good before I carbonated it
    Date published: 2017-11-02
    Rated 5 out of 5 by guitarspaz from Worth the effort I finally got a fermentation setup so that I could do lagers and this was my first. I was real intimidated to do this one because it sounded complicated. But I found the video on YouTube with the guy that came up with this recipe, and I recommend watching it. It is a long video, but its full of information. I ended up buying an induction burner so that I could do this one properly. The video is also best to watch because the recipe doesn't tell you everything. The recipe neglects to tell you to put in the booster. The recipe doesn't tell you to give this 3 days at room temperature before bottling. The results were outstanding! I felt it matched my favorite "1554" black lager very closely, in fact, it was better.
    Date published: 2021-06-01
    Rated 5 out of 5 by Shrike from My First Lager and It's Great! I just poured the trub bottle of ChromosBeer right at minimum conditioning time. This is a tasty beer, crisp like a lager should be but with a good dark character. There's a subtle roasted flavor that comes through even though the black malt was cold-steeped (having never used cold-steeped grains I was unsure how much flavor they'd add). It's malty, but a well-balanced malty. There's not a trace of "twang". I'll be brewing this one again.
    Date published: 2018-03-29
    Rated 5 out of 5 by Dan G from My most popular beer last summer I made this one for a relative’s 40th birthday party(black, heheh) last year, and people were raving about it all night. I had kept a bottle back for myself, which I enjoyed weeks later — it really was a delicious, light-bodied brew, with a deceptive dark color. I like pretty much all beers, btw, and enjoy them for what they’re intended to be. This one really stood out.
    Date published: 2020-04-13
    Rated 5 out of 5 by StauHausBrew from MrChromosBeer! Aroma: slight roastiness, some very light yeast fruitiness Color: dark but good clarity due to extended lagering Head: creamy, tan, and persistent Flavor: malty with some chocolate notes and lingering bitterness Overall: This is a nice change-up from Stouts & Porters and a really tasty beer!
    Date published: 2019-01-12
    Rated 5 out of 5 by JVogelmeier from Great beer First time lagering. Wanted to branch out and do something different. Originally brewed in September and bottles the second week of October. Cracked the first one in Halloween. Got to say. It was really smooth. It looks heavier than it is. Almost two weeks later, the beer tastes even better.
    Date published: 2020-11-11
    Rated 5 out of 5 by Papa from Great I think the kit was great. I just haven't got it brewed yet do to the hunting for the instructions. Now that I got them I can't wait to brew the great kit. Thank you so much
    Date published: 2017-10-22
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    I'm with 19Tom81. Ingredients include BrewMax Booster. But there is no mention of booster in the instructions. What gives?

    Asked by: Mikey1963
    Hello! Checkout the web form details for this recipe. This beer no longer contains a Booster pack. Cheers!
    Answered by: MRBEER
    Date published: 2021-09-27

    Your positive pressure write up and “earliest you can bottle your beer” video talks about not letting your beer ferment more than 7, 10, or 14 days in the barrel before bottling.  Otherwise it will get off tastes.   Why does this recipe say 21 days?  

    Asked by: Ktk2
    When we are talking about the 7-14 day range we are usually talking about refills or simple recipes. If we have more complicated recipes that have a lot of fermentables or ones that are lagers then we may recommend 21 days. That is why it is always important to follow the instructions for the particular beer that you are brewing. Each one can be a little different.
    Answered by: RobertMrBeer
    Date published: 2021-04-05

    Can I use LME Smooth instead of LME Pale?

    Asked by: Caber20
    Yes, you can use a smooth instead of the Pale, it just might make your beer slightly darker.
    Answered by: RobertMrBeer
    Date published: 2021-01-25

    In the brewing instructions the fermenting temp is 53-59, but the bottle conditioning temp is between 70-76. I would think if the yeast needs to ferment at a lower temp, then it should bottle condition at the same temp, but maybe I’m wrong? 

    Asked by: JT3_Jon

    I'm brewing a batch of Chromo's Black lager. The ingredients come with Brewmax booster. But the directions never mention putting it in the wort, is this a mistake. 

    Asked by: 19Tom81
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