Favorite Lager recipe

I've got a room in my house that without heat is about 5 degrees Celsius, but has a baseboard heater in it, so I can have it as warm as I like.

Would like to try my first lager... what is everyone's favorite recipe?

Was thinking of Brewing Classic Styles Bo Pils.. as I love a crisp, hoppy pilsner.

Munich Helles from BCS of course

My favorite commercial lager is definitely Great Lakes Eliot Ness, and my favorite homebrew lager is my pseudo clone.

Recipe doesn't matter as much as process and ingredients. I'll be so boldly immodest to say that the SMaSH Pilsner I made October 21 is as good as any craft lager. It's shockingly similar to Victory Prima, but fresher than I can find that beer and with better foam. My presumption is that you could sub in any nobleish hop or any high-quality base malt and get just as good a product in the glass as long as the process is just as flawless.

10lb Briess Undermod Pils
RO water plus 3gm CaCl2
Double decoction 53-64-75ºC, pH ~5.65, single batch sparge
1.5oz leaf Spalt Select @90 & @10
1/2 Whirlfloc tablet, 2gm Wyeast nutrient
1pkg 2308 stepped from 1L to 4L, pitch 8ºC then hold to 10ºC
Ferment 3 weeks, rack, and lager for 4 weeks

I can't choose. I like so many.
Hopville . "Amber Waves" Vienna Lager Recipe - this is a first run and something I will try to improve in the next few batches.
Hopville . "Polenta CAP" Classic American Pilsner Recipe
Hopville . "Vanguard Pils" German Pilsner (Pils) Recipe
Hopville . "Negra Celebración" Dark American Lager Recipe
Hopville . "Mr. Bock" Traditional Bock Recipe
I've got a lot more and cant pick favorites. I always have a lager bubbling.

brettwasbtd said:

Munich Helles from BCS of course

Click to expand...

Brewing this Saturday. Haven't figured out whether I'm going to do a single or double decoction yet. What do you do when you brew it?

Here's Kristen England's Helles and decoction method. JZ's is a single infusion.
The Northern Brewer Homebrew Forum • View topic - Decocation Mash Effeciency

Good read. I'm doing something very close to that now for my single decoctions. The only difference is I skip the protein rest.

I've done a double only once (on a no-boil berliner), and basically did this then pulled a second decoction.

Airborneguy said:

Brewing this Saturday. Haven't figured out whether I'm going to do a single or double decoction yet. What do you do when you brew it?

Click to expand...

I do single for everything. Im just lazy like that. Although my last beer i had some temp miss caclulations and kinda did a step mash from 148 to 152.

I've made the BCS Helles, single infusion, and it was delicious.