Lagering Quetion.

[Midlife]

Hello! I've got a Samual Adams Boston Lager clone going nicely, recipe is lager malt, crystal, German hops and wlp830 Yeast.... It's been fermenting at 14 all week nicely, my quetion is do I still lager this i.e. is it a beer still needing that smooth finish? Ultimately I will serve at 12-14c. So was wondering if I need to do the lager process.

Cheers

Doug.

[scotsloon]

My approach with all my lagers is to lager on the basis of 1 week for 10 ABV points, so for a 1.040 OG lager I would lager for 4 weeks at around 2*C. This inhibits the development of estery flavours thus allowing the lager to retain its clean taste.

[Hugh Jampton]

You need to lager otherwise you may as well brew an ale. I lager at 1 degree for 6 weeks and serve at 7 degrees. 12 to 14 is far too warm.

[Midlife]

That's an interesting point, I can understand the lagering process and I have started the that. But when I've had SA Boston lager here and in the U.S. and it's served at ale temprature, it tastes just right. I am not sure this beer is right for 6-7C? Is it technically a lager?

[Barley Water]

Well it's a standard O.G. beer (by American standards anyway) so I would think you could lager about 4 weeks and that should get the job done. You will find that the beer will really clear out generally if you can get it close to freezing and just let it sit. You will find that the longer it sits, the more the flavors meld together and become very smooth and it will really get nice and clear without filtering (which I never do myself on principle). The main difference between lagers and ales is that you don't get the fruity yeast character with lagers, if you do it correctly anyhow. Because of the way my process work, I end up effectively lagering my ales also but you won't get rid of any esters lagering. Actually, if put on a desert island with only one kind of beer I would go for an ale every time but I do also enjoy a nice lager.