Notch Brewing in Salem and Boston, Massachusetts, has earned a strong following for its devotion to session-strength beers and traditional lagers. Launched by experienced brewer Chris Lohring as a brand in 2010, its core beers—a session IPA and a Czech-inspired 10° pale lager—are mainly produced at contract breweries. However, with the opening of their own brewery-taproom in Salem in 2016 and then a second brewery-taproom in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood in 2021, Lohring and his team have been able to make their Czech-style beers in a more traditional way—including decoctions, open fermentation, natural fermentation, and long lagering times.
This week’s recipe exemplifies that approach, as a triple-decocted Czech-style desítka (i.e., a pale lager of about 10°P). Notch first brewed the beer in 2020 to celebrate the 10th anniversary.
ALL-GRAIN
Batch size: 5 gallons (19 liters)
Brewhouse efficiency: 72%
OG: 1.042
FG: 1.012
IBUs: 35
ABV: 4%