lager

[frankr1977]

Hi,

I was toying with the idea of brewing a Czech style lager. I don't have a dedicated brew fridge so I was thinking of just fermenting at whatever temperature it is in my garage over the winter using a lager yeast and just accepting that I can't age it at 4degs. Failing that I was wondering how different would it be if I used lager ingredients but a top acting yeast and fermented like an ale? Any thoughts?

[mozza]

If you opt for an ale yeast I would recommend wlp029 German kolch yeast. To be honest my all saaz brew with it earlier this year tastes exactly like a lager (or an imported lager)

[Rick_UK]

I did a Czech style lager last year in the garage and it turned out great. I only lagered it for 2 weeks at about 4'c and it was lovely. I fermented it at 14'c (lowest setting on aquarium heater) for about 2 weeks with Brewferm lager yeast which took about 5 days to get going though so I would recommend using a starter and pitching at a warmer temp. I have since made a lager with notty yeast fermented at 15'c which is good but not as true to style as the first with more ale type esters.

Rick

[Matt]

Back in 08 some of us made Kolsch and it was excellent. +1 for that idea