'Nice' lager recipe

[davidmpye]

Hi guys,

Just starting to get into AG brewing,and thought I'd try to kick off with a lager, really because my friends will probably prefer that to most of the ales I like.

I've got the 'big book of brewing', which has a couple of lager recipes in - are any of these any good? If not, would anyone be able to share a really nice lager recipe that might not scare off people who aren't ale drinkers?

Cheers,

David

[Whorst]

90% Lager Malt
10% Munich
30 IBU's from a German hop variety
Take the first half gallon of the first runnings and boil the *&^%$ out of them.

I like WLP-838 Southern German Lager. I've pitched it warm and then dropped after signs of fermentation.
After fermentation, lager for 5 weeks at 35F.

[arkadiuszmakarenko]

I would recomend cream ale. Similar style to lager.
2.5kg lager malt.
0.5 kg rice or natural flaked corn.
Boil rice, blend it, and add to mash. Mash in 65C for 90 minutes. Boil it for 70 minutes with 20-25g of any good noble hops. If you like you can add some late hops like saaz , but not too much 15-25g. In last 15 minutes add can of golden syrop and irish moss.
Ferment using Wyeast california lager, us05, or any neutral ale yeast (there is plenty choice from whitelabs).
If you can, you should lager this beer in 0C for few weeks, and carbonate it well. For best crispy taste you should mature this beer for at least 2 months, but after a month it will be nice aswell.

Or Polish ale.
4kg Pilsener malt
30g marynka hops
60g lubelski hops
Mash it in 67C for 60 minutes.
Boil it for 60 minutes with marynka hops, then add 35g of lubelski 20 minutes before end, and the rest on flame out.
(You can use, any modern bittering hops for bitternes, and Saaz for taste and aroma)
Ferment it using US-05, Nottingham in low temperatures (16C). Carbonate it high (like lagers) and mature for a while longer than usually (3 months)

[davidmpye]

Thanks for taking the time to share those recipes - I admit I do like the sound of the one with golden syrup in

As I'm a complete newbie at AG brewing, could I just ask a couple of simple questions?

What kind of hops would you suggest as noble hops? Also, the saaz hops - would you add them at the same time as the others, or later in the boil?
How much irish moss would you recommend?

Also, any idea what the gravities approximately should be?

As I'll be using corny kegs to serve, I am guessing I need to do something like this:

Primary fermentation into a bucket (approx how long, or until what gravity?)
Then into a 'budget' plastic keg to clear for maybe a few weeks?
Then, once clear, into the corny.

Also, when should it be put in the cold? While in the plastic keg to clear, or once in the corny?

Final question: Does it need any finings or should it clear by itself in time?

Cheers, and sorry for the questions!

David

[coatesg]

What kind of hops would you suggest as noble hops?

Hallertau, Spalt, Saaz, Tettnang. (That's the noble hops). Saaz is commonly found in Czech style pilsners like Urquell.

As an aside, if this is your first AG attempt, I'd maybe recommend starting with a slightly easier beer first (like an ale) to get the hang of mashing, sparging, etc. The ferment is much easier to handle (you really need to ferment lager cold - about 10C which usually means getting a fridge to ferment in unless you're lucky and have a cellar or a cave to ferment in; and you need to pitch a load of yeast which means big starters or lots of packs) and you don't need to do the "lagering" bit afterwards which takes a while and where you need to have the ability to hold the temp at around 0-4C.

[davidmpye]

No pics unfortunately, but had a go at the Cream Ale recipe as provided by Arkadiusz

Put it into beer engine, and it gave me an OG of 1.041 (75% mash efficiency) - got 1.042
Final gravity should be 1.006 (4.6%ABV

Hopped with 25 grams of Saaz (3.3%AA) at the start, added another 15 grams for the last 15 minutes. Predicted IBU is 14.
I pitched the yeast warm (Saflager S-23) - around 20'C, waited 12 hours then put it in a cupboard in the stairwell of my block of flats (13'C) and will leave it there for a week or so then see how it is doing - it's foaming nicely at the moment!

Will report back on results once its done.

Cheers,

David

[delta9]

Here's a familiar one from that Clone Book...

Grolsch Lager 5 gallons (19L)


Grains
German 2-row Pilsner malt (4.6kg)
German Light Crystal Malt (113g)
German Munich Malt (57g)

Mash for 90 mins.

Hops
35g Hersbrucker 2.5%
35g Saaz 2.5%

90 Mins Boil
28g Hersbrucker (90 mins)
28g Saaz (90 mins)

7g Hersbrucker (15 mins)
7g Saaz (15 mins)
1 TSP Irish Moss

Yeast
1st choice: Wyeast's 2042 Danish lager yeast
(Ferment at 42-52°F [6-11°C])
2nd choice: Wyeast's 2247 Danish II lager yeast
(Ferment at 42-52°F [6-11°C])


Original From the book below... Not sure if I have translated that above correct)

Grolsch Lager

Grolsche Bierbrouwerij, Groenlo, Holland

The Grolsch Brewery was started in 1898 and has been brewing their popular Pilsner ever since. Light-bodied, medium golden Grolsch has a stark white, frothy head with a fresh mown grass and light yeast nose. Smooth and light-bodied, the flavor is initially bitter with a strong hop and slight toasted grain flavor. The aftertaste is long and dry with a lingering bitterness. Grolsch is known for its bottles with ceramic swing-tops that are highly coveted by homebrewers today.

Yield: 5 gallons (18.9 L)


Final gravity: 1.012-1.014


SRM 3.5

Original gravity: 1.055-1.057


IBU 29


5.5% alcohol by volume


Crush and steep in ½ gallon (1.9 L) 150°L (65.5°C) water for 20 minutes:

4 oz. (113 g) 2.5°L German light crystal malt
2 oz. (57 g) German Munich malt

Alternate Methods

Mini-mash Method: Mash 3.25 lb. (1.5 kg) German 2-row Pilsner malt and the specialty grains at 150°F (65.5°C) for 90 minutes. Then follow the extract recipe omitting 2.25 lb. (1 kg) DME at the beginning of the boil.

All-grain Method: Mash 10.25 lb. (4.6 kg) German 2-row Pilsner malt with the specialty grain at 150°F (65.5°C) for 90 minutes. Add 6 HBU (25% less than the extract recipe) of bittering hops for 90 minutes of the boil. Add flavor hops and Irish moss for the last 15 minutes of the boil and the second flavor hops for the last 10 minutes.


Strain the grain water into your brew pot. Sparge the grains with ½ gallon (1.9 L) water at 150°F (65.5°C). Add water to the brew pot for 1.5 gallons (5.7 L) total volume. Bring the water to a boil, remove the pot from the stove, and add:

6.5 lb. (3 kg) M&F extra-light DME
1 oz. (28 g) Northern Brewer @ 8% AA (8 HBU)
(bittering hop)

Add water until total volume in the brew pot is 2.5 gallons (9 L). Boil for 45 minutes then add:

¼ oz. (7 g) German Hallertau Hersbrucker (flavor hop)
1 tsp. (5 ml) Irish moss

Boil for 5 minutes then add:

½ oz. (14 g) Czech Saaz (flavor hop)

Boil for 10 minutes, remove pot from the stove, and cool for 15 minutes. Strain the cooled wort into the primary fermenter and add cold water to obtain 5 gallons (18.9 L). When the wort temperature is under 80°F (26.6°C), pitch your yeast.

1st choice: Wyeast's 2042 Danish lager yeast
(Ferment at 42-52°F [6-11°C])
2nd choice: Wyeast's 2247 Danish II lager yeast
(Ferment at 42-52°F [6-11°C])

Ferment in the primary fermenter 5-7 days or until fermentation slows, then siphon into the secondary fermenter. Bottle when fermentation is complete with:

¾ cup (180 ml) corn sugar

Serve at 40°F (4°C) in a Pilsner glass.

Other lagers in this book, just ask if you want the recipes

Lagers

Bock and Double Bock

Ayinger Maibock, 77

Brasal Bock, 136

Caesarus Imperator Heller Bock, 129

Celebrator Doppelbock, 80

Moretti Doppio Malto, 123

Unicer Super Bock, 126

Dark Lagers

Dixie Blackened Voodoo Lager, 146

St. Pauli Girl Dark, 84

Xingu Black Beer, 160

Light Lagers

33 Export, 30

Asahi Dry Draft Beer, 24

Bin Tang Pilsner Lager, 22

Castle Lager, 16

Cerveza Imperial, 41

Cerveza Panama Lager Alemania style, 44

Elephant Malt Liquor, 71

Estrella Galicia Especial, 127

Famosa Lager, 43

Foster's Lager, 33

Golden Eagle Lager Beer, 23

Grolsch Lager, 117

Gulder Export Premium, 15

Harp Lager, 121

Hatuey, 151

Heineken Lager, 118

Keo Beer, 131

Kirin Lager, 25

Lion Lager, 17

Maccabee Premium Beer, 132

Mamba Malt Liquor, 12

Marathon, 116

Medalla Light Cerveza, 39

Molson Ice, 138

O. B. Lager Beer, 28

Razor Edge Lager, 34

Samuel Adams Boston Lager, 156

Singha Malt Liquor, 29

Steinlager, 36

Tsing-Tao, 21

West End Export Lager, 35

Windhoek Special, 14

Zambezi Premium Export Lager, 20

Pilsner

Almaza Pilsener Beer, 133

Bitburger Premium Pils, 79

Bohemia Beer, 139

Efes Pilsener, 134

Kumburak Bohemian Pilsner, 70

Ngoma Togo Pils, 19

Pilsener of El Salvador Lager Bier, 42

Pilsner Urquell, 69

Tafel Pilsner Lager, 13

Warsteiner Premium Verum, 85

Zywiec Beer, 125

Vienna, Marzen/Octoberfest, Helles

Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen, 78

Dos Equis, 140

Elliot Ness Lager, 147

Negra Modelo Dark Beer, 141

Ngoma Malt Liquor Awooyo Special, 18

[nobby]

90% Lager Malt
10% Munich
30 IBU's from a German hop variety
Take the first half gallon of the first runnings and boil the *&^%$ out of them.

I like WLP-838 Southern German Lager. I've pitched it warm and then dropped after signs of fermentation.
After fermentation, lager for 5 weeks at 35F.

I have made my first Lager to the same grain bill and 35 IBU's of Saaz but used Brewlabs Pilsner yeast at 15 C. Its one of the best beers I have ever made.

[verno]

The medalla would be great, I recently tried it in mexico or is that modello and they are different?

Sam Adams would be great?

What is the book actually called?

Thanks
Verno