Lichtenhainer & Steak

I am not usually one to pair food and beer and honestly as much as I like beer I don't generally enjoy having it with a meal and would prefer water or tea. As summer is winding down I was reminiscing about grilling the past few months and thought I would share a pleasurable pairing of beer and food I discovered. Lichtenhainer is not a style for everyone and most people I offer it to have a taste and set it aside. Think smoked Berliner Weisse. The quenching nature of a light sour wheat beer with the added smokiness is the perfect beer on a summer day to couple with a grilled steak. I actually quit drinking my batch of Lichtenhainer to reserve it for grilled meals. There are plenty of ways to brew this and I suggest a little research on the style or on Berliner Weisse for options, ideas, and inspiration. Brewing with Wheat by Stan Hieronymus should probably be the first stop. When brewing an ancient or extinct style a little history makes for a good tale when convincing your friends to drink the stuff. Also, it opens the door for creativity in the process. In the end, use pilsner malt a good amount of wheat a small amount of smoke and keep the hops light.

Lichtenhainer Recipe:
Specifics:
Batch Size: 5 gallons
Anticipated OG: 1.032
Anticipated SRM: 2.4
Anticipated IBU: 4.4
Boil Time: 30 minutes
Grain:
3.5 lbs. Pilsner
2.25 lbs. White Wheat Malt
.25 lbs. Cherry Wood Smoked Malt

Hops:
.5 oz French Strisselspalt @ First Wort
.5 oz French Strisselspalt @ 30 minutes

Yeast:
Wyeast 3638 Bavarian Wheat
Lactobacillus Culture

Mash Schedule:
I didn't write it down and won't speculate here but there are plenty of options with this one. It will turn out fine with a single infusion mash but likely improved with a more complicated approach.

Notes:
I drew almost six gallons of wort with batch sparge, added .5 Strisselspalt at first wort and boiled to just over 5 gallons in 30 minutes, adding .5 oz additional Strisselspalt at 30 minutes.

The Lacto culture was my homegrown stuff but either a Berliner blend on its own, or a Lactobacillus slant/pack with any mild yeast would work just fine.

Tasting Notes:
The smoke in this beer lessens over time as the sourness increases, sending it through different incarnations over time. It is very pale in appearance with a tight white head. Light bodied and very quenching. A great hot day beer and a fun one to surprise your friends with. The lacto helps this beer age much more gracefully than a typical wheat beer.