Lager-Like Ale.

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venquessa

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I'm looking of a recipe for my next 5 gallon batch.

I'd like to try an extract Lager-like, ie. Light malts, pilsner levels of hops (hoping to use Saaz for bitter and flavor/aroma), and Ale yeast, warm ferment.

Any ideas?
 
18C/64F is about the lowest ambient I can get for 5gl without putting the FV bin out in the apartments shared hallway and that would leave it exposed to some very cold nights and I couldn't guarantee it would stay above 57F.
 
Try a Kolsch or California Common recipe. If you keep the temps at the low end of the yeast, you'll end up with an incredible crisp, clean lager-like beer.
 
18C/64F is about the lowest ambient I can get for 5gl without putting the FV bin out in the apartments shared hallway and that would leave it exposed to some very cold nights and I couldn't guarantee it would stay above 57F.

That is pretty warm, as fermentation itself produces heat and sometimes it can be as much as 8-10 degrees warmer than ambient, especially in the summer.

You can try a water bath, like in a bin or a cooler, with a couple of frozen water bottles exchanged out every couple of days and I bet you could keep it at 16-17C.
 
Thanks Yooper.
I've been thinking about this as well.
My basement is about 60 right now, but I don't quite have a good temperature control set up yet to ferment in the low fifties, so I've been reluctant to try a lager.
 
The cooling bath method scares me. I have far too much carpet around here to mess with huge bins of water :) Not to mention my coolest room is the bedroom! SWMBO must be carefully worked around. An FV I can hide in the corner... a 10gl flower planter with a FV bin in it, I can't :)

I suppose I can just ferment at the lowest I can and accept what I get. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work :) I didn't mind my Coopers Lager fermented at 22C with ale yeast.

Is it considered "too plain" to just use Extra Light DME + Hops? Would this be "bland beer"?
 
The cooling bath method scares me. I have far too much carpet around here to mess with huge bins of water :) Not to mention my coolest room is the bedroom! SWMBO must be carefully worked around. An FV I can hide in the corner... a 10gl flower planter with a FV bin in it, I can't :)

I suppose I can just ferment at the lowest I can and accept what I get. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work :) I didn't mind my Coopers Lager fermented at 22C with ale yeast.

Is it considered "too plain" to just use Extra Light DME + Hops? Would this be "bland beer"?

As a minor point, the cooper's "lager" fermented at 22C with ale yeast was an ale. It's just called a lager for their selling purposes. If you like it, then you like ales as it should be a bit "fruitier" than any lager you'll ever have.

22C is even high for ale fermentation, but if you like it then you can continue at that temperature without any worries.
 
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