What is the right lager for me?

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simon.f.doran

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Hello. im new to this forum (hope this is the right section)

Having just turned 18, i have little knowlege of beer and lager.

My parents have allways made wines and beer when younger and I think it could be a laugh.

My question is what lager would you recomend? I really like Grolsh and Heineken but have gone off things like carlsberg. Please sugest something for me...

Will my parents old equipment still be okay, we have a range of 5gallon plastic barrels (i think thats the right size, they are the big ones) and a couple of 1/2 size ones. also we have some of the buckets and hose.

Thanks

Simon
 
Oh, yes, it's fine!

The reason we asked where you were is for a couple of reasons- one is to make sure you are here legally. We ask all brewers to be of legal age in the country they reside it, so they can participate in the forum.

The other reason is because there are a LOT of different kits and ingredients available depending on where you live. Some of the items I use you'd likely not get in the UK. We do have other brewers here from the UK, and they could be much more helpful than I can with ingredients.

Here's a good place to start: howtobrew.com. That will help with the basics of how to begin. Also, our wiki has great info.

Feel free to ask any questions and look around a bit.

Welcome to HBT! :mug:
 
Without actually having tasted it its worth a try- I would get that and another 2kg of light malt extract. Add about oz of Hallertauer hops at 60min and 1oz at flame out.

Should be a good simple beer!
 
I've used a few of the can kits and they make a nice beer and a great way to get started. A lot of them say to add sugar but they are much better if you add malt extract instead.

Have fun and welcome to HBT!
 
Yup, a low and constant temperatures are always needed in producing best tasting lagers!
 
I would recommend not starting out with a lager, they take longer and are harder to make than ales. If you like lager, your first beer should be a light golden ale as that'll taste pretty similar.
 
so it is much harder to make larger then?

If i do make it, will i need to put it in a freezer, or can i just keep it outside in the cold garrage?

Simon
 
Lagers aren't necessarily harder but its easier to get wierd flavors in them if you screw up and the wierd flavors are more noticable, I REALLY wouldn't recommend a lager for your first batch.

Freezer would be too cold you don't want it below freezing, you want it a few degrees above freeing. A refridgerator would be about right.

What's the temp of your garage? And more importantly, what temp would it be a month from now?

What I'd do is brew a Kolsch, those are the most lager-like ales.
 
It's not that it's harder. It's just a little more involved.

To make ale, you buy an ale yeast, mix up the wort, and ferment at room temperature. Two or three weeks later, you bottle.

To make a true lager, you should make a yeast starter to have enough yeast. You ferment it for about 2 weeks at 50 degrees, and then raise it to 65 degrees for 48 hours for a diacetyl rest, if one is needed. Then you rack to the secondary, and begin the lagering phase. You lower the temperature 5 degrees per day, until you have it at 34 degrees where you keep it for 4-6 weeks or longer. Then you bottle.

Now, there are some kits that say "lager" on them (Coopers, I think, is one) that you make the first way I described, as an ale. They just call their kit "lager"- it truly isn't. You can make acceptable beer with them, but you shouldn't expect something like Becks or Heineken or Grolsch at all.

Here's some good reading on basic beer brewing: http://howtobrew.com/intro.html
 

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