I plan to brew one AG on saturday. I know this has been brought up a couple of times, but I didn't see a whole lot in the recipe section regarding this. I was wondering on the amount of corn and rice to use. Also the amount of hops to use, since I've never done an IBU calculation, so a little leader with a generic AA% would be of most help. What temperature would you suggest for mashing? I was considering mashing overnight since feedback has stated that will result in an extra dry beer. I want to try to use a maximum of corn/rice. I'll be using 2-row as my base, but I do have some alpha amylase as well. What kind of finishing hops and how much? Would 1/4 oz suffice?
Brewing an american light
- Thread starter cockybitz
- Start date
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Beermaker
The NAVY WALRUS
8 lbs.Standard 2-Row
3 lbs.Bohemian Pilsner Malti
2.5 lbs.Corn Flaked (Maize) i
.5 oz.Cascade (Pellets, 6.3 %AA) boiled 60 min.
1 oz.Czech Saaz (Pellets, 3 %AA) boiled 15 min.
1.00 oz.Willamette (Pellets, 5 %AA) boiled 1 min. i
Yeast : WYeast 1056 American Ale
PredictedLite American LagerCompliance
Original Gravity
1.035 1.030 - 1.040
Terminal Gravity
1.003 0.998 - 1.008
Color
2.14 ° SRM2.00 - 3.00 °SRM
Bitterness
10.8 IBU 8.00 - 12.00 IBU
Alcohol (%volume)
4.2 %3.20 - 4.20 %
3 lbs.Bohemian Pilsner Malti
2.5 lbs.Corn Flaked (Maize) i
.5 oz.Cascade (Pellets, 6.3 %AA) boiled 60 min.
1 oz.Czech Saaz (Pellets, 3 %AA) boiled 15 min.
1.00 oz.Willamette (Pellets, 5 %AA) boiled 1 min. i
Yeast : WYeast 1056 American Ale
PredictedLite American LagerCompliance
Original Gravity
1.035 1.030 - 1.040 Terminal Gravity
1.003 0.998 - 1.008
2.14 ° SRM2.00 - 3.00 °SRM
10.8 IBU 8.00 - 12.00 IBU
4.2 %3.20 - 4.20 %
Beermaker
The NAVY WALRUS
1.92 lbs.Liquid Light Extract
1.85 lbs.Dry Extra Light Extract
.28 lbs.Corn Sugar
.28 lbs.Rice Syrup
.5 oz.Tettnanger (Pellets, 4.50 %AA) boiled 60 min.
Yeast : White Labs WLP810 San Fransisco Lager
Predicted Lite American Lager Compliance
Original Gravity
1.034 1.030 - 1.040
Terminal Gravity
1.0030 .998 - 1.008
Color
2.35 °SRM 2.00 - 3.00 °SRM
Bitterness
9.8 IBU 8.00 - 12.00 IBU
Alcohol (%volume)
4.0 % 3.20 - 4.20 %
1.85 lbs.Dry Extra Light Extract
.28 lbs.Corn Sugar
.28 lbs.Rice Syrup
.5 oz.Tettnanger (Pellets, 4.50 %AA) boiled 60 min.
Yeast : White Labs WLP810 San Fransisco Lager
Predicted Lite American Lager Compliance
Original Gravity
1.034 1.030 - 1.040
1.0030 .998 - 1.008
2.35 °SRM 2.00 - 3.00 °SRM
9.8 IBU 8.00 - 12.00 IBU
4.0 % 3.20 - 4.20 %CA-LT1
Well-Known Member
Here's what I do
10 lb 2-row
4 lb rice. I cook it on the stove as regular rice (2 cup water/cup of rice), then add that to the mash tun with the grain.
Mash at 149 for 60 min
1 oz medium alpha% hops at 60
1 oz at 15 min
I get 10 gal of beer that finishes around 1.004 for 4.5% ABV
10 lb 2-row
4 lb rice. I cook it on the stove as regular rice (2 cup water/cup of rice), then add that to the mash tun with the grain.
Mash at 149 for 60 min
1 oz medium alpha% hops at 60
1 oz at 15 min
I get 10 gal of beer that finishes around 1.004 for 4.5% ABV
Bob
Well-Known Member
No need to mash forever.
Stick with 20-30% adjunct - most light lagers use ~50%, but that's often impractical for home brewers as that has its own set of "interesting" challenges.
For an accurate taste, use 6-row malt and mash using steps. I prefer Fix's 50/60/70C schedule. See here. You won't need amylase when using 2-row, not even if you're going 1:1 with malt:adjunct. 2-row gives a different flavor, but it's not drastic.
I wouldn't use flavor/aroma hops in this style. I'd use a very flavor-neutral bittering variety and boil 60 minutes. That's it.
Fermentation will make or break a beer like this. Aerate really well and pitch an appropriate amount of lager yeast (Wyeast 2035 - American Lager is my choice). Ferment at ~50F until 75% of attenuation is reached, then diacetyl rest until final FG is reached. Then rack and lager for at least a month.
The beer should be star-bright when served. You can fine it, but I often filter my pale lagers; I can rent a plate-and-frame filter from my LHBS and buy some 1-micron filter sheets. Then I force-carbonate and serve. If you filter, filter cold. I bring mine to as near to 35F as I can get it before filtering.
Cheers!
Bob
Stick with 20-30% adjunct - most light lagers use ~50%, but that's often impractical for home brewers as that has its own set of "interesting" challenges.
For an accurate taste, use 6-row malt and mash using steps. I prefer Fix's 50/60/70C schedule. See here. You won't need amylase when using 2-row, not even if you're going 1:1 with malt:adjunct. 2-row gives a different flavor, but it's not drastic.
I wouldn't use flavor/aroma hops in this style. I'd use a very flavor-neutral bittering variety and boil 60 minutes. That's it.
Fermentation will make or break a beer like this. Aerate really well and pitch an appropriate amount of lager yeast (Wyeast 2035 - American Lager is my choice). Ferment at ~50F until 75% of attenuation is reached, then diacetyl rest until final FG is reached. Then rack and lager for at least a month.
The beer should be star-bright when served. You can fine it, but I often filter my pale lagers; I can rent a plate-and-frame filter from my LHBS and buy some 1-micron filter sheets. Then I force-carbonate and serve. If you filter, filter cold. I bring mine to as near to 35F as I can get it before filtering.
Cheers!
Bob
Bob, thank you very much. I will actually be using S-05 due to my inability to lager. I'm not very concerned with clarity since even my ales finish very clear. Not sure if it due to my water quality or the poly-clar and irish moss. I don't really know the differences in hops. Do you have any suggestions on what kind to use, or a link that lists the attributes of a multitude of hops? What amount of 5% AA hops would you use for 1.030 SG @ 5 gallons? Since I do actually like the flavor that corn imparts, I plan on using flaked corn and I'll be using flaked rice to lighten the body as well. Would I benefit from mashing overnight? What about the use of beano in the secondary?
Bentpirate
Well-Known Member
For Hops, I would look at Saaz or Perele for bittering and either a cascade or Hersbrucker for aroma. Research the differences but this is where I would start.
Bob
Well-Known Member
Oh! Well, it'll be different, because you'll end up with more esters than a pure lager strain, but still good beer.
Probably a little bit of all. Patience, kettle finings (irish moss, Whirlfloc), and package finings (polyclar, etc.) all have their place.
A good rule of thumb is: The stronger or more distinctive the flavor/aroma characteristics of the variety, the more likely that flavor/aroma will end up in the finished beer when the style is so light. The citrus flavor of Cascades, for example, may very well come through in a Light Lager, even if boiled for 60 or 90 minutes.
That's dependent on your boil. Your software should tell you. Use pellets to lessen the vegetative mass you're boiling, choose a less-strongly-flavored variety like Mt Hood, and boil at least 60 minutes to reduce if not eliminate flavor contribution.
As I've already noted, you needn't mash overnight, nor will you require extra enzymes. Mash relatively low if using single infusion - 149-150F - or use the Fix sequence of step mashing I outlined above. Either will ensure good attenuation without the addition of additional enzymes or excessively long rests.
You can save money by opting for instant Minute Rice added directly to the mash instead of brewer's flaked rice. There is no practical difference.
Cheers,
Bob
jjones17
Well-Known Member
I have used s-05 on a similar recipe before. It was extremely tart for the first month after 3 weeks on a primary and 2 weeks in the bottle. My theory is the very low FG did not hide the estery tangy flavors well at all.
However, after a month or more, the beer was actually fantastic.
However, after a month or more, the beer was actually fantastic.
Have you taken a look at BierMuncher's Cream of 3 Crops? https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f62/cream-three-crops-cream-ale-66503/ (71% 2-row, 23% Corn, 6% rice). My personal approach to his recipe is 63% 2-row, 18% flaked corn and 18% flaked rice. 150 mash for 90 minutes. Galena for bittering (doesn't take much) and Crystal. S-05 at 62º (yes, lower than many go, but no problems with this workhorse yeast yet). Irish moss in the boil and gelatin in the secondary help clean this up, but I only keg, so that also helps.
