Goldfinger founder and brewer Tom Beckmann says the beer offers a creamy richness while presenting “flavors of berries, toast, nuttiness, and subtle spices,” largely driven by the addition of wild rice.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons/19 liters
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.044 (11°P)
FG: 1.010 (2.5°P)
IBUs: 28
ABV: 4.5%
MALT/GRAIN BILL
6.7 lb (3 kg) Rahr North Star Pils
1.1 lb (500 g) wild rice
8 oz (227 g) Weyermann Caramunich I
4 oz (113 g) acidulated malt
1.3 oz (37 g) Weyermann Carafa Special III
HOPS SCHEDULE
0.9 oz (26 g) Mt. Hood at 60 minutes [14 IBUs]
1.1 oz (31 g) Zuper Zaazer at 15 minutes [10 IBUs]
0.5 oz (14 g) Mt. Hood at 15 minutes [4 IBUs]
YEAST
Yeast Bay Cream City Lager
DIRECTIONS
First, cook the cereal mash: Mill about 1 lb (500 g) of pilsner, mix with the wild rice, and mash in at 161°F (72°C); rest 10 minutes, then bring to a boil and hold at 200–212°F (93–100°C) for 20 minutes. Mill the remaining grains, mix in cereals—cooled with water—to mash in at 135°F (57°C), and rest 15 minutes. Raise to 145°F (63°C), rest 45 minutes; raise to 162°F (72°C), rest 30 minutes; then raise to 172°F (78°C) and mash out. Recirculate until the runnings are clear, then run off into the kettle. Sparge and top up as needed to get about 6 gallons (23 liters) of wort, depending on your evaporation rate. Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops according to the schedule. After the boil, chill to about 50°F (10°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast. After the boil, chill to 50°F (10°C), aerate the wort, and pitch the yeast. Ferment at 50°F (10°C) for 10 days, or until complete, gravity has stabilized, and the beer has cleared a forced diacetyl test. Crash to 32°F (0°C), package, and carbonate to 2.5–2.6 volumes of CO2.
BREWER’S NOTES
Use cold water to cool the cereal mash before mixing with the malt, so you don’t denature all the enzymes. We target a pH of 5.4–5.5 in the mash and 5.1–5.2 at knockout.
