Brewing lager from Wheeler/Protz European Beers at Home...

[Brewedout]

I'm thinking of brewing a lager from the 'Brew Classic European Beers at Home' by Wheeler/Protz and wondered if anyone had done any of these already and could make a recommendation? Thinking about the summer (hopefully!)

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[IPA]

My advice would be to start with the Heller Kolsch on page 85. It looks like a lager and is much easier to brew. It helps if you use a Kolsch yeast.I brewed a couple of barrels for a French wedding and nobody realised that they weren't drinking lager But what do French people know about beer anyway
If you can adjust your water correctly and have the ability to control your fermentation temperature try the real Budweiser Budvar on page 124.
Then try a dark lager such as the Kaltenberg Konig Ludwig Dunkel on page147
It is an excellent book containing first class recipes.

Happy Brewing

[chastuck]

The Jever Pils in that book is worth trying as well (pg 133). The recipe uses pale malt rather than lager malt and I used a S05 yeast for mine. A German friend of mine was amazed how much like the real thing it was, including the intense bitterness, which is unusually quite high for a lager style. It doesn't quite match the right colour of the real Jever though as pale, rather than lager, malt is used.

[Eric]

As said, that's a wonderful book, from which I've also brewed several recipes. Currently, I have about 30 bottles remaining of a Westmalle Dubbel, but have brewed only one pale lager, Grolsch. That was OK and went down well in the warm summer that followed, but the main problem is that for most of the year when I'm in the UK, I much prefer to drink pale ales and darker beers.

[Brewedout]

Thanks for all of the feedback so far! I've brewed a few recipes from this book and have really enjoyed them. I started on Wheelers 'how to brew book' and love his recipes. I agree with you all it's a great book. I'm currently drinking his recipe for Schlenkerla Rauchbier. It's been lagering for a a good few months.
I appreciate the recommendations so far, I'm looking for a brew that I can hopefully drink in the summer sunshine... Aka a brew of hope, or a dream brew!
In terms of water I suspect I'd have to buy some Tesco Ashbeck to hit the right figures.
I'm happy to lager as I have a brew fridge and can control temps easily enough. I just need to get a few brews in so I don't interrupt tge lagering as the keggerator is too warm at 12C.


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[Cobnut]

At present, you could probably lager in the corner of your garage. Or even outside!

[Brewedout]

True, although a very variable temperature!

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[Brewedout]

As said, that's a wonderful book, from which I've also brewed several recipes. Currently, I have about 30 bottles remaining of a Westmalle Dubbel, but have brewed only one pale lager, Grolsch. That was OK and went down well in the warm summer that followed, but the main problem is that for most of the year when I'm in the UK, I much prefer to drink pale ales and darker beers.

I also tend to drink more pale ale and dark beers, I'd thought about brewing the Westmalle. Which yeast did you go with?

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[TheSumOfAllBeers]

True, although a very variable temperature!

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just use more yeast then. I got a 50L keg that I use for pressure fermenting. With the conditions we have now, I could lager in it with the spunding valve set to something mild and just wheel the keg in to stop it freezing ...

Its a new house, and the kids playroom extension is actually quite cold. If I knew that, I would have set it up as a lagering shed ...

[Brewedout]

True, although a very variable temperature!

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just use more yeast then. I got a 50L keg that I use for pressure fermenting. With the conditions we have now, I could lager in it with the spunding valve set to something mild and just wheel the keg in to stop it freezing ...

Its a new house, and the kids playroom extension is actually quite cold. If I knew that, I would have set it up as a lagering shed ...

It's not about the quantity of the yeast (although this is adjusted based upon temperature for pitch rates) it's about the stability of the temperature. Some lagers are kept at a low constant temperature for months on end. Unless you're underground the temperature will vary quite a lot from day to day week to week. For example one lager I've been looking at is kept at 2C for months. Although cold atm, it isn't likely to stay this way much longer. Consistency is key for success and also makes getting a second brew repeatable.

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[Eric]

I also tend to drink more pale ale and dark beers, I'd thought about brewing the Westmalle. Which yeast did you go with?

Well, possibly it's mine. In 3+ years with me it's been top-cropped 30 to 40 times, an ale yeast used by a now defunct brewery. It needs frequent rousing for 2 to 3 days, yet it can comfortably produce 10% ABV beers, although if allowed to get too warm, it will create some hotter alcohols.

For the Westmalle Dubbel, fermentation temperature was allowed to rise to 23C in 18 hours, from when it was cooled to 21C. Rousing stopped when gravity was 1021, on the 4th day. Then the beer was gently cooled over 4 days, then conditioned at ~12C until one month from brew day when it was bottled.

[Brewedout]

I also tend to drink more pale ale and dark beers, I'd thought about brewing the Westmalle. Which yeast did you go with?

Well, possibly it's mine. In 3+ years with me it's been top-cropped 30 to 40 times, an ale yeast used by a now defunct brewery. It needs frequent rousing for 2 to 3 days, yet it can comfortably produce 10% ABV beers, although if allowed to get too warm, it will create some hotter alcohols.

For the Westmalle Dubbel, fermentation temperature was allowed to rise to 23C in 18 hours, from when it was cooled to 21C. Rousing stopped when gravity was 1021, on the 4th day. Then the beer was gently cooled over 4 days, then conditioned at ~12C until one month from brew day when it was bottled.

Sounds interesting, I really should look into reusing yeast rather than starting from fresh each time.

Just from curiosities point of view what was the brewery which originally supplied the yeast?

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[Eric]

Just from curiosities point of view what was the brewery which originally supplied the yeast?

Sorry, but I'll not divulge that on a public forum. The yeast was since banked by a brewery that bought the intangible assets of the defunct brewery from the liquidator.

[Brewedout]

Just from curiosities point of view what was the brewery which originally supplied the yeast?

Sorry, but I'll not divulge that on a public forum. The yeast was since banked by a brewery that bought the intangible assets of the defunct brewery from the liquidator.

Yes that's probably quite wise

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[Eric]

Thanks. Primarily, that yeast was used because it was to hand, could be regulated by controlled rousing and would handle a 7% ABV with ease. I'm sure there are others more suited and better for the task.

About the same time as Graham pieced together the printed recipe, in "THE TASTE OF BEER" Roger Protz wrote that....
the kettle is directly fired by gas to give a burnt malt, toffee character during the boil.
The brewing water is hard.
They use French and Bavarian summer barleys kilned to produce extremely pale Pilsner style malts.
Whole Hop flowers are used, they are reticent about naming all varieties, but admitted to Styrian Goldings, Tettnanger from Bavaria and Czech Saaz in the kettle in three stages.
Candy sugar was also added during the boil.
The Dubbel is russet coloured due to some dark malt and dark candy sugar and is chocolatey, fruity and spicy.
It enjoys slow secondary fermentation in tanks for three weeks then bottled with priming sugar and reseeded with the same yeast used for primary fermentation.

From that it may be possible to revive the original yeast strain from a bottle.

Sorry if I've taken this thread off track.