Feedback on Citra Lager/California Common

[dolanrolan]

I'm not the biggest fan of light lagers, but I've had a bunch of requests to make one. Ideally I'd like it to be light and crisp, but with a citrusy hop aroma. I also don't have a good setup for lagering, so I want to ferment at ale temp for more of a California Common fermentation. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations for brewing a recipe like the one below?

5.5 gal batch size

1.057 OG
~1.018 FG

Fermentables:
12 lb 2-row

Hops:
60 min 0.5oz Citra
15 min 0.5oz Citra
Dry hop 1 oz Citra

Wyeast 2112 California Lager
~60F

Cold crash w/ gelatin

 

[jdauria]

Personally I would use Pilsner malt for a light lager instead of Pale Ale even if fermenting warm. There are plenty of lager yeasts that create very good "lagers" at warm temps. Imperial Harvest and 34/70 dry yeast to being two, so you don't have to stick with Cal Lager hybrid yeast, though there is nothing wrong with it. If you want "crisp", make sure to mash low, between 147-149.

 

[McKnuckle]

1.057 to 1.018 is not exactly light and crisp. I would not go higher than 1.050, and 1.045 would be better. You could do 95% pilsner and 5% carahell, carafoam, or carapils. Keep the mash temp low as noted above, and mash for 90 minutes to ensure full conversion in the 140's.

 

[Immocles]

1.057 to 1.018 is not exactly light and crisp. I would not go higher than 1.050, and 1.045 would be better. You could do 95% pilsner and 5% carahell, carafoam, or carapils. Keep the mash temp low as noted above, and mash for 90 minutes to ensure full conversion in the 140's.

I made something similar to what you're looking for, except with more traditional hop choices, and I agree with above posts. Shoot mid 40s for gravity and use your mash to drive the FG down. Pils malt would also be a better choice, but 2row will get you there as well. I've never done the warm ferment, or the cali common yeast, but Ive had good luck with WY1007 in brews like this. Ferments well right at 60, but it does take a bit to drop very clear. But when it does, its crystal.

 

[Sammy86]

I'm not the biggest fan of light lagers, but I've had a bunch of requests to make one. Ideally I'd like it to be light and crisp, but with a citrusy hop aroma. I also don't have a good setup for lagering, so I want to ferment at ale temp for more of a California Common fermentation. Does anyone have any experience or recommendations for brewing a recipe like the one below?

5.5 gal batch size

1.057 OG
~1.018 FG

Fermentables:
12 lb 2-row

Hops:
60 min 0.5oz Citra
15 min 0.5oz Citra
Dry hop 1 oz Citra

Wyeast 2112 California Lager
~60F

Cold crash w/ gelatin

As stated above I would change out the 2-Row for Pilsner Malt...if you want a little maltier I would go with Bohemian Floor Malted from Wyermann.

Also, I would move the 60 min. hop addition to 30 minutes and get yourself a 10, 5, and flameout. Hope this helps!

 

[dolanrolan]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone!

Just switching to the Saflager 34/70 dry yeast pushed the attenuation way up so I was able to tune down to 10 lbs of grain for a predicted OG of 1.047 and FG of 1.007. That should be way crisper!

As for the 2-row vs pilsner comparison, I was intrigued by the post below and wanted to try plain old 2-row for a pilsner-ish beer
Grain Comparison: Pale Malt (2-Row) vs. Pilsner Malt | exBEERiment Results!

I've never made a beer without 60 min hops, I'll have to look at some more traditional recipes to see what most people do.