The air is cool, the leaves are changing and it’s time to get ready for winter. For most people, this means stocking up on firewood and food. For us, it means laying in a solid supply of homebrew. This month, we’ll brew a classic oatmeal stout and a refreshing Dortmunder, a light but strong German pale lager. And after a long summer of lagering, our Oktoberfest will be ready on the 16th.

Dort: The German Export
Dortmunder, sometimes called Dort but more often known as “export,” is a golden German lager. Export originated in Dortmund, an industrial city in the north of Germany. In medieval times, this local style was exported widely throughout the Westphalia region and across the border in the Netherlands, which is how it got the “export” nickname. Despite the implication, this style is not widely known or promoted. Once considered to be a blue-collar beer, its image has suffered in recent years. These days, it simply fills a niche — like schwarzbier, rauchbier and dunkel, styles all overshadowed by the nation’s popular pilsner, Oktoberfest and wheat beers.

Export is heavier-bodied than a pilsner, with less hops, more alcohol and higher original and final gravities. It has a rich malt aroma, a firm malty body with a bittersweet finish, and a late burst of hops. The guidelines for Dort are as follows: The original gravity ranges from 1.048 to 1.056; the alcohol by volume is between 5 and 6 percent; the bitterness is at 29 IBUs; and the color is 3 to 5 SRM.

The best-known examples come from Dortmunder Actien Brauerei (DAB) and Dortmunder Union, both in Dortmund. Each of these beers is clean and flavorful. The alcohol is evident, more so than in a pilsner, but they finish smooth and malty.

Several American breweries produce the style as well, but two great beers always come to mind: Great Lakes Dortmund Gold (made by Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland, Ohio) and Stoudt’s Gold (by Stoudt Brewing Company in Allentown, Pennsylvania). The Great Lakes Gold has won multiple medals, including a gold from the GABF and four “world champion” titles from the World Beer Championships. It’s grainy and dry with an aroma of newly mown hay. The alcohol by volume is 5.8 percent and the bitterness is 30 IBUs.

If you’re brewing your Dort with extract, try to find a pilsner malt extract or something with a pilsner and light Munich combination, like  Bierkeller Light. Why? Because we  are essentially brewing a strong pilsner. We’ll add some light caramel malt in a grain bag for more color and flavor, but the base needs to remain fairly light; remember, the color is only 3 to 5 SRM. Aside from that, you want the distinctive malt flavor that comes from good German extracts.

For mashing, we’ll stick with our standard single-infusion technique, although decoction mashing may appeal to purists. Remember: Decoction mashing will yield more color and make your beer darker.

Typical hops for the Dortmund export style are Hallertau, Saaz, Tettnang or various combinations of them. Great Lakes Brewing uses a rather unique combination of Cascade and Hallertau. Other German hops like Spalt, Brewer’s Gold or Hallertau Hersbruck will probably work, as well.

Since this is a lager, normal procedure should be followed. Use either the simplified lager schedule listed in this recipe (and often employed in this column) or the longer lagering schedule from the Oktoberfest we brewed in June (see Brew Your Own, Summer 2000).

The yeast can vary a bit, but some of the best strains to use for this style are German and Munich lager yeast. Kolsch yeast can even be used to produce a good Dortmunder. I have used the Wyeast 2565 in my homebrew recipe with great results, although some people might find it a little dry for their taste. White Labs also sells a kolsch yeast (WLP-029), but I haven’t had a chance to try it.  

The grain bill is composed of American two-row, with carapils for body and Belgian cara-Vienne (40° Lovibond). The hops are Tettnang for bittering and Hallertau to finish.

One note of interest: If you’d like to see what Dort looks like under a microscope, go to http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/beershots/beers/
dortmunder.html.

The “Beer Shots” site, sponsored by Florida State University, offers microscopic views of beers from around the world, from Budweiser to Tsing Tao.

Dortmunder (German Export)
(5 gallons, extract with grain)
OG = 1.052  FG = 1.012  IBU = 25

Ingredients

• 6 lb. Bierkeller pale malt extract syrup
• 1 lb. carapils or dextrin malt
• 0.5 lb. crystal malt (20° Lovibond)
• 5.6 AAU Tettnang hops (1.25 oz. at 4.5% alpha-acid)
• 1.75 AAU Hallertau hops (0.5 oz. at 3.5% alpha-acid)
• 2 pt. starter of Munich or German lager yeast (Wyeast 2308, White Labs WLP-830 or equivalent)
• 3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step
Steep crushed grain in 5 gallons of 150° F water for 30 minutes. Sparge grains with enough 168° F water to make 5.5 gallons. Heat to boiling and add extract syrup. Total boil will be 60 minutes. At beginning of boil, add Tettnang hops and continue for 45 minutes. Add Hallertau and boil remaining 15 minutes. Whirlpool and cool to 50° F to pitch starter. Oxygenate-aerate well. Ferment at 50° F for 7 days, transfer to secondary and cool to 45° F. Ferment for 7 more days or until gravity is about 1.012 and fermentation stops. Cool to 40° F for 3 more days. Rack, prime and bottle condition at 50° F for another week before drinking.

All- grain option:
Omit the extract syrup and reduce first hop addition to 5.06 AAU (1.125 oz. at 4.5% alpha acid). Mash 8.5 lbs. pale pilsner malt (Ireks or Weyermann) along with the other grains in 3 gallons of 150° F water for 30 minutes. Sparge with enough 168° F water to collect 5.75 gallons of wort. Total boil time is 90 minutes. Add Tettnang at start of boil. In 75 minutes add Hallertau and boil final 15 minutes. Proceed as above for fermentation.

Oatmeal Stout: To your health
So far in this column, we’ve covered several different stouts. For a new twist, we decided to try the classic oatmeal stout.

Oatmeal stout is an ancient English tradition that began as a variation of sweet stout. Since stout was often marketed as a health drink, British brewers added oatmeal to their stouts to promote the healthy image and add fullness of body and flavor. This practice died out in the 1960s and ’70s but was revived in the 1980s by Samuel Smith Old Brewery in Tadcaster, for the purpose of export to the U.S.

Oatmeal stout has a firm, smooth and silky body. It’s rich and malty, with chocolate and coffee in the nose and a hint of nuts and roasted grains dominant in the finish. It should be full bodied and have moderate bitterness, although IBUs and hop rates may be fairly high to balance the malt bill and specialty grain flavors.

Oatmeal stouts fall within the following numbers: The original gravity is between 1.038 to 1.056 (9.5-14° Plato); final gravity ranges from 1.008 to 1.020 (2.0-5.0° Plato); the alcohol by volume is between 3.8 and 6 percent; the bitterness falls between 20 to 40 IBUs; and the color is at least 20 SRM.

Before you brew, you might want to sample some commercial oatmeal stouts. I recommend Samuel Smith’s. It’s a benchmark oatmeal stout in flavor, body and craft. There’s also Young’s Oatmeal Stout (made by Young’s and Company in London), a solid and very English stout. Maclay Oat Malt Stout, brewed in Scotland, is also very good. It’s smooth and chocolately, with the typical yeast character you expect from beers brewed in the United Kingdom.

Oatmeal stouts in our country are also good, but are often stronger than those across the pond. Adler Brau of Appleton, Wisconsin, makes a medium-sweet oatmeal stout with a rooty, gingery aroma. Oasis Brewpub in Boulder, Colorado, makes one as well. Their version, “Zoser Stout,” has a bitter-chocolate aroma and palate, firm body and a Scotch malt whiskey finish. It won a silver medal at the World Beer Cup 2000. (The first-place finisher in the category was Oscar’s Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, by Pioneer Brewing Company in Black River Falls, Wisconsin.)

For extract brewers, this is one of the best styles to brew. You’ll find that several good kits are available. The alternative is to find a dark, unhopped malt extract from your local homebrew supply shop. Ask which brand they’d recommend, but an extract made from good British malts would be the best choice. The specialty grains listed in the recipe can then be steeped for more body and flavor to enhance your extract brew. The specialty grains consist of carapils, caramel (80° Lovibond), chocolate malt, roasted barley and, most important, flaked oats.

The oats are like any adjunct I mention here: a flaked, pre-gelatinized product. It will not gum the mash as much as simple rolled oats and it’s cleaner, with less dust. This is important if you’re an all-grain brewer and want to avoid the dreaded “stuck mash.” Our all-grain recipe contains 10 percent flaked oats by total grist weight, which is typical for the style.

There is no better beer for the novice brewer. Dark beers, particularly ones that use a lot of dark grains, are hard to ruin. The flavor always seems to work out, the color is dark so clarity isn’t an issue, and the big body and specialty grain bill always produce a tall, lasting head.

For most stouts, the hop selections are English varieties like Fuggle or Kent Goldings. You can use higher alpha bittering hops, as in this recipe, which employs Bullion. If you’re sick of Bullion, try some other UK bittering hops like Target, Admiral or Progress.

Yeast selection is wide-open on this style. Any British ale, London, ESB or English ale yeast will do. White Labs, Wyeast and others make a wide variety. Use what you like best. And if you’re not sure, use the Wyeast 1318 or WLP-002 listed in the recipe.

Oatmeal stout
(5 gallons, all grain)
OG = 1.052  FG = 1.012  IBU = 32

Ingredients

• 5.5 lbs. English two-row malt (Beeston or Hugh Baird)
• 1 lb. flaked oats
• 0.75 lbs. crystal malt (80° Lovibond)
• 1 lb. carapils or dextrin-type malt
• 0.50 lbs. chocolate malt
• 0.25 lbs. roasted barley
• 6.4 AAU Bullion hops
• (0.75 oz. of 8.5% alpha-acid)
• 4.5 AAU Kent Goldings hops
• (1 oz. of 4.5% alpha-acid)
• 1 pt. starter of English ale yeast
• (Wyeast 1318 or White Labs WLP-002)
• 2/3 cup corn sugar for priming

Step by Step
Mash grain in 3.25 gallons of water for 60 minutes at 150° degrees. Sparge with 168° F water to yield 5.75 gallons of wort. Total boil time is 90 minutes. At beginning of boil add Bullion hops and continue for 75 more minutes. Add Kent Goldings and boil for remaining 15 minutes. Whirlpool and cool to 69° F to pitch starter. Then oxygenate-aerate well.

Ferment at 68° F for 7 days then transfer to secondary. Continue fermentation at 69° F until gravity is about 1.012 (3° Plato), about another week. Prime and bottle. Age one more week before drinking.

Extract with grain option:
Substitute the pale malt for 5 lbs. dark, unhopped malt extract syrup made with British malts. Increase Bullion to 1 oz. (8.5 AAU).         Start with 5 gallons of water in boil kettle. Steep crushed grains at 150° F for 30 minutes. Remove bag and rinse with enough 168° F water to make 5.5 gallons. Add extract. Total boil time is 60 minutes.

At beginning of boil add Bullion hops and continue for 45 minutes. Add Kent Goldings hops and boil for remaining 15 minutes. Whirlpool and cool to 69° F to pitch starter. Ferment and condition as above.

Style columnist Mikoli Weaver is professionally trained chef and a former professional brewer. He lives in Portland, Oregon and is a contributing writer to BYO.