Ground Hog Premium Lager
Brewed: 6/5/2026 Kegged:
My intention of brewing 1519 Barker Exportbier was to capture the essence of how I remember my favorite beer in college, Michelob.
As discussed in In Search of Michelob, if was not until after I brewed the beer that I actually did any research on how to recreate the beer ... and I came across an article How to Brew a Reconstruction of the Original Michelob Beer.
While I was extremely happy with the design of 1519 Barker Exportbier, I decided I wanted to try brewing something closer to Jack Horzempa's recipe.
The recipe isn't exact to Jack's, but pretty close.
We'll see how it turns out.
Originally, I named this beer "Michel-not", but I never really liked that name. I thought it should refer in some way to my time at Bradley University, similarly to 1519 Barker.
Before I lived at 1519 Barker, I was in the dorm "U-Hall" (University Hall). Freshman and Softmore year, my roomate and I were on the Ground Floor. We called ourselves "Ground Hogs". All the intramural sports teams we formed were named "Ground Hogs". We were just known universally as "Ground Hogs".
So, I'm calling this beer Ground Hog Premium Lager.
The first time I'm brewing this beer is May of 2026, after entering the recipe in November of 2024.
If you'd like to read more about this beer, check out Sheppy's Blog: Ground Hog.
| Michel-not Lager --- Batch 1 (392) |
| Style | Czech Premium Pale Lager | Batch Size | 5.50 gal | |||
| Type | All Grain | Boil Size | 6.60 gal | |||
| Brewhouse Efficiency | 65.00 | Boil Time | 60 minutes |
Recipe Characteristics
| Recipe Gravity | 1.050 SG | Estimated FG | 1.011 SG | ||||
| Recipe Bitterness | 38.1 IBUs (Rager) | Alcohol by Volume | 5.0 % | ||||
| BU : GU | 0.769 | ||||||
| Recipe Color | 3.7 SRM |
|
|||||
| Measured OG: | 1.051 | Measured FG: | |||||
| ADF: | Measured ABV: |
Ingredients
| Amt | Name | Type | # | %/IBU | Volume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.42 gal | Denver, Colorado | Water | 1 | - | - |
| 4.00 g | Calcium Chloride (Mash) | Water Agent | 2 | - | - |
| 2.00 g | Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash) | Water Agent | 3 | - | - |
| 2.00 tsp | Lactic Acid (Mash) | Water Agent | 4 | - | - |
| 11 lbs 4.0 oz | Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM) | Grain | 5 | 100.0 % | 0.88 gal |
| 0.500 oz | Magnum [13.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min | Hop | 6 | 18.4 IBUs | - |
| 0.500 oz | Magnum [11.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min | Hop | 7 | 16.1 IBUs | - |
| 1.000 oz | Saaz [2.50 %] - Boil 15.0 min | Hop | 8 | 1.9 IBUs | - |
| 1.00 Items | Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 10.0 mins) | Fining | 9 | - | - |
| 1.00 tsp | Yeast Nutrient (Boil 10.0 mins) | Other | 10 | - | - |
| 1.500 oz | Saaz [2.50 %] - Boil 5.0 min | Hop | 11 | 1.7 IBUs | - |
| 1.0 pkg | Saflager Lager (DCL/Fermentis #W-34/70) [50.28 ml] | Yeast | 12 | - | - |
| 1.500 oz | Saaz [2.50 %] - 0.0 Days Into Aging for 5.0 Days | Hop | 13 | 0.0 IBUs | - |
Mash Profile
| Name | Description | Step Temperature | Step Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saccharification | Add 29.70 qt of water at 158.9 F | 152.0 F | 45 min |
| Heat | Heat to 158.0 F over 10 min | 158.0 F | 15 min |
| Mash Out | Heat to 170.0 F over 7 min | 170.0 F | 10 min |
If steeping, remove grains, and prepare to boil wort
Recipe Notes
Based on recipe in the article: https://www.morebeer.com/articles/Brewing_Original_Michelob_Recipe
If harvesting yeast from previous batch, make 6 cup starter a day or two before brew day.
Brewing salts in the mash water. This should bring Denver water profile (as defined by BeerSmith) to
Ca=87,Mg=8,Na=21,SO4=90,Cl=92,HCO3=104
Acid addition based on BeerSmith predicted pH to 5.3.
Mash and boil as directed
Chill to around 50 degrees. Rack to fermentor and add pitch yeast. Ferment between 50 and 55 for one week. Then, let temperature rise to ambient.
Keg. Include dry hops in hop filter in the keg.
Add gelatin after a day or two in the refrigerator.
Carbonate and drink.
Brewing Record
| Brew Date: | Strike Temp: | |||||
| Mash Temps: | ||||||
| Pre-boil OG | (1.045 SG) | Pre-boil Vol | (6.60 gal) | |||
| Actual Mash Efficiency | Pitch Temp | |||||
| Fermentation | ||||||
| Day 1: | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
| Day ... | ||||||
Brewing Notes
5/12/2026 Ordered ingredients. Decided to change the name from "Michel-not Lager" to "Groundhog Premium Lager". Think I'll be brewing this weekend.
5/14/2026 Picked up ingredients today. Looking like I'll brew on Sunday.
6/4/2026 Think I'll finally brew this weekend.
6/6/2026 Brew day went well today. Up at 6:30. Did some bike rides during the mash and then while heating up from mash to boil. Also one after. Everything went great. 1.051 OG. Yeast pitched just after noon. Cooling system at 55 at pitch.
6/8/2026 Well, damn. Already forgot to switch ice last night. Fermentation at least got started low. Rocking now. Tilt says 1.037 at 65. Set temp to 59. See how long it will take to cool down.
6/9/2026 Still bubbling, but seems to be slowing down from yesterday. Tilt says 1.013 at 60 degrees. I'll probably unplug the pump at the end of the day. Thinking about adding dry hops today. Or might just follow the plan and add them to the keg.
6/10/2026 Not much bubbling now. Tilt said 1.007 at 60 this morning. I set the controller to 64, and now the temp is right at the 62. Will probably unplug today (I know I wrote the same thing yesterday). I decided to add the dry hops right to the top of fermenter. Relying on hop creep to scrub oxygen. There is a little yeast on the top still. Might keg as early as this weekend.
6/11/2026 Unplugged this morning. Tilt says 1.006 at 65 right now.
5/12/2026 Ordered ingredients. Decided to change the name from "Michel-not Lager" to "Groundhog Premium Lager". Think I'll be brewing this weekend.
5/14/2026 Picked up ingredients today. Looking like I'll brew on Sunday.
6/4/2026 Think I'll finally brew this weekend.
6/6/2026 Brew day went well today. Up at 6:30. Did some bike rides during the mash and then while heating up from mash to boil. Also one after. Everything went great. 1.051 OG. Yeast pitched just after noon. Cooling system at 55 at pitch.
6/8/2026 Well, damn. Already forgot to switch ice last night. Fermentation at least got started low. Rocking now. Tilt says 1.037 at 65. Set temp to 59. See how long it will take to cool down.
6/9/2026 Still bubbling, but seems to be slowing down from yesterday. Tilt says 1.013 at 60 degrees. I'll probably unplug the pump at the end of the day. Thinking about adding dry hops today. Or might just follow the plan and add them to the keg.
6/10/2026 Not much bubbling now. Tilt said 1.007 at 60 this morning. I set the controller to 64, and now the temp is right at the 62. Will probably unplug today (I know I wrote the same thing yesterday). I decided to add the dry hops right to the top of fermenter. Relying on hop creep to scrub oxygen. There is a little yeast on the top still. Might keg as early as this weekend.
6/11/2026 Unplugged this morning. Tilt says 1.006 at 65 right now.