Who actually Lagers, is it worth it?

[cheezydemon]

I have recently been put in my place on the issue of lagering. (budweiser is not the only company using the technique, oktoberfests are made by lagering, etc.)

But in reality, who actively Lagers? who exclusively Lagers? What is the benefit of Lagering that you feel can only be achieved by lagering?

For those who lager but not exclusively, is lagering an interesting variation or a necessary component of your brewing arsenal?

 

[Evan!]

Exclusively? I don't think anyone on here does that. I do it occasionally...usually as soon as my lagerator is freed up. I've made 3 lagers (out of 48 batches), and hell yeah it's worth it. It cost me under $200 for my lagerator, and I'd do it again in a second.

The benefit of lagering is a clean, crisp profile that simply cannot be achieved in ales (kolsch gets close...but that too is "lagered"). There are certain styles of beer that call for lagering and the crispness, and I like those styles. I suppose if you were not interested at all in brewing/drinking those styles, then hey, stick with ales. It's a personal, subjective decision. Personally, myself, I'm really digging my Golden Lager that I've been drinking on. It's nice, clean, malty and deeeeelicious.

Is it "necessary" to my arsenal? Not really. I could brew all day without it. But it's a welcome addition and I love having the freedom to brew lagers.

 

[Drunkensatyr]

I lager a few brews, mostly concentrate on ales though. Since the weather is about to turn here, bout time to dust off the old munich dark lager. Lagering can add a new set of skills to your brewing. I like that you can get absolutley clean brew. Almost ALL of my ale's get cold crashed for a week or two before kegging and you would be amazed at how much diffrence just that one step can make.

 

[Yooper]

The only lagers I've made are Oktoberfests and Maibocks. But those are two of my favorite styles of beer so they are a real treat to me. Overall, I prefer ales and drink them 90% of the time. I cold condition my Dead Guy Ale clone, but that is a maibock style beer made as an ale, according to Rogue's website. I like to ferment my ales at the bottom of their temperature range, though, to give me a cleaner profile. I think my beer has improved more from that, than from the lagering process.

 

[the_bird]

Depends on if you want to brew lagers or not. Seriously, if you want to make bocks and Oktoberfests (and maybe a classic Pils), you need to lager. If you can live without those styles, don't worry about being able to lager. It's no more complicated than that.

Cold-conditioning an ale is a nice way to clean it up, too...

 

[ohiobrewtus]

I love me some Marzens, but I'm currently debating whether or not it's worth the investment that I would make vs. the amount that it would actually get used.

Of course, I could always get a ranco for it, get an extra CO2 tank, and have cold storage and carbonation of kegs outside of the kegerator.

Damn, I think I may have just talked myself into it.

 

[the_bird]

I was able to score a decent-sized dorm fridge for free, so it was just the $50 for the JC controller that I needed to invest.

Remember, it's not JUST for making lagers; it must get warm in Ohio in the summer, you want to be able to keep your ales fermenting in the high 60°'s if you can.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've lagered an O'fest and a couple of Budvar's and have been pleased with them.

Earlier this year I picked up 24 carboys (sold 5 of them) and intend on lagering in my garage over the winter.

More Budvars are on the agenda as well as 1-2 more O'fests. I was thinking about trying a couple Pilsners. Even in Germany I didnt care for the bitterness bite so I will cutting down on the (bittering) hops a tad.

I was on travel a lot so last weekend I finally tapped the O'fest I made last March. It is a definite winner in my book. :rockin:

Lagers are a lot cleaner than ales.

 

[cheezydemon]

Does the temp fluctuation in the garage mess up lagers? It would be much more viable of an option in the winter if the day to night temps and the warmer weeks didn't screw it all up.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Every year I lager a bock and a marzen. And, If i feel like it, I will make a pilsener. The bock doesn't even need a chest freezer- the beer room in my basement gets plenty cold in winter for lagering, esp if I open a window. I brew the marzen in March, and if I do a pilsener it would be later in summer, so for those two brews I need the chest freezer. If you are trying to brew a lager, then the only way to be true to style is by using lager yeast and by lagering.

 

[Brewsmith]

I'm on my second lager right now. If I had a second fermentation fridge I could do lagers and ales at the same time, but I don't so I have to wait for this one to be done before I can brew anything else.

 

[jdoiv]

I've lagered an O'fest and a couple of Budvar's and have been pleased with them.

Earlier this year I picked up 24 carboys (sold 5 of them) and intend on lagering in my garage over the winter.

More Budvars are on the agenda as well as 1-2 more O'fests. I was thinking about trying a couple Pilsners. Even in Germany I didnt care for the bitterness bite so I will cutting down on the (bittering) hops a tad.

I was on travel a lot so last weekend I finally tapped the O'fest I made last March. It is a definite winner in my book. :rockin:

Lagers are a lot cleaner than ales.

Hey HB,
Do you have a recipe you can share for the Budvar? I have one and would like to see how close I am.
thanks

 

[Jester369]

I have yet to lager, but I plan on exploring it soon. I am always interested in expanding my brewing experience and the beers I can produce.

 

[Kevin Dean]

Personally, I don't like lagers at all. There's this taste there, something that I can only define as "blunt" and I hate it.

Lagering isn't worht the investment for me.

 

[Iordz]

I lagering worth it?
One word, BOCK!
Actually I didn't invest in any extra equipment. I just buy two bags of ice and put them in an igloo "ice cube" cooler with my carboy, this keeps the temp at around 50F.

 

[Alamo_Beer]

You don't necisarily have to lager a beer to get a lager LIKE beer...I know that St. Arnold's uses their ale yeast on their O'Fest and it's awesome...

 

[homebrewer_99]

Does the temp fluctuation in the garage mess up lagers? It would be much more viable of an option in the winter if the day to night temps and the warmer weeks didn't screw it all up.

It's an insulated garage. The temp doesn't flucuate that much.

 

[Rhoobarb]

Does the temp fluctuation in the garage mess up lagers? It would be much more viable of an option in the winter if the day to night temps and the warmer weeks didn't screw it all up.

Evan's reply pretty much sums up my take on it the question of whether it's worth it.

Up until recently, I lagered all my lager beers in the garage. Where I live, it gets cold enough in the winter and stays cold enough for long enough that I can do it. I lager ~three times a year. I brew a bock, a Dortmunder and something different as the third beer. This year it was a Wild Rice lager. They've all been very good. I'll probably do it more, now that I have a dedicated lager fridge. Right now I have a holiday lager conditioning at 45oF in secondary. It contains lots of hops, Thai palm sugar and peppercorns and the samples have been very good!

I guess it depends on the location and insulation of your garage, but I never saw more than a +/-5oF fluctuation except for the very last batch I did. We had a week of unseasonably warm weather and it rose ~15oF over the course of that week. If you can keep the temps relatively steady, go for it! I covered my fermenter (glass) in a heavy towel and them placed a large brown paper bag used for yard clippings over it to block out any chance of light getting to it.

 

[cheezydemon]

Interesting. My garage is connected to the house, but you can see daylight around the automatic door. I would assume that the temps over the winter could go as low as 20 in there and as high as 35 within 1 month or so.

 

[david_42]

I lager occasionally, but most of my batches are on the dark side. Some of the homebrewers I know do lagers exclusively. About 25% of the brews in Widmer's Collaborator project are lagers. This project gives homebrewers a chance to brew their beer in a 40-barrel system, so we are talking serious brews.

I have my old garage which, in the winter, stays around 50F and the new garage that holds at 30-35F. I've found that simply putting the brew in a cardboard box evens out the temperature swings. But, the old kegger will be in use as a fermentation cabinet, so I might lager more.

 

[menschmaschine]

Cheezy, I applaud your genuine interest in expanding your brew-mind with lagers. I lager pretty much every other batch (although I don't have that many batches under my belt). The only significant differences I see in technique from ales are temperature control and time. I love British bitters and most Belgian ales, but sometimes there's nothing like a good Munich Helles. BMC gave lagers a bad name. They can be malty, delicate, crisp and clean all at once. I love ales, but lagering is definitely worth it for me. I think you're genuinely intrigued and that you should give it a go. What's the worst that could happen? If you end up thinking it's not worth the trouble, I can't imagine it wouldn't be worth the experience.

 

[neuron555]

I've only done one lager (a pils), but I used a Kolsch ale yeast for my Oktoberfest, and it turned out great. It's my SWMBO's favorite so far. I can't say if it would be different with a lager yeast, but nobody's complaining.

 

[CarlLBC]

actually, I only do lagers but that's just because I don't care much for the taste of ales and warmer fermented beers. not saying I won't try some in the future but I like what I like. Crisp, clean, clear, smooth pilsners/lagers. nothing better. but hey, that's me. to each his own. plus I like the challenge, it's hard to get them perfect.

 

[Hopleaf]

I plan to lager quite a bit actually, all I need to do is buy the chest freezer.

 

[faber]

Love ales. Grew up in Britain....it's just...normal.

Got into lagers recently. Like a whole new world.

I tink I'll make one per season (Oktoberfest, Doppelbock, Bock, Vienna, Pilsener, etc.), but focus still mostly on ales, because I like them and becasue it's easier to keep the cycle going. Don't need as much cold storage.

 

[Brakeman_Brewing]

if i want to make a sweet ass LaBatts Blue clone should i invest in lagering? or should i just continue to buy it when im broke as hell and its winter and im playing boot hockey?

 

[Spearo]

I would like to try lagering, but I have been hesitant...most of the recipes I have looked at call for lagering at 32-35F. Unfortunately I don't have a beer fridge. My basement gets down to a steady 45F in winter. Is this cold enough to do a lager?

 

[IvanTheTerrible]

Newbie here trying to wrap my head around all this...

The difference between a lager and a ale is the yeast and the temp it needs to ferment, right?

I havent brewed my first batch yet, but I love lagers and will def try it second. By then it will be late december / early January...will I be able to keep my fermenter outdoors in my shed or garage? I live in Jersey... I also have an outdoor sunroom... its probably slightly warmer than the garage, much warmer than the shed.

Will it freeze if I leave it out there?

 

[Iordz]

The difference between a lager and a ale is the yeast and the temp it needs to ferment, right?

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I don't know what temperatures you get in the garage, but that's where I would put it.

 

[IvanTheTerrible]

If I had to guess...a couple of degrees warmer than the outside temps, which at that time of the year range between mid to late 20s to mid 30s...it does get into teens sometimes. So the brew won't freeze out there? Can I use a plastic container to do the secondary or does it have to be glass? does the primary need to be outside or just secondary?

 

[Iordz]

Wow, that's cold! Lagers ferment around 45-55F so you might want to put it in the shed or in the house. Once the beer has finished fermenting you rack to the lagering tank (a carboy or bucket) and put it in the garage where it will condition for about 4 weeks at 35-40F. I wouldn't use a plastic bucket, I use all glass, but that doesn't mean you should go and buy a glass carboy just for this, use whatever you have.

 

[jdoiv]

I would like to try lagering, but I have been hesitant...most of the recipes I have looked at call for lagering at 32-35F. Unfortunately I don't have a beer fridge. My basement gets down to a steady 45F in winter. Is this cold enough to do a lager?

If it is a steady 45*F, then yes you can lager at that temp. In fact it takes less time lagering at that temp than at a colder temp like 35*F.

 

[ThomasRau]

I ended up lagering when I bought a Sanyo fridge on sale for a future kerator project. Figured the fridge shouldn't go to waste so I got a temp controller and put it to work as a lagering fridge. While I enjoy the bolder flavors of the typical ales, there are times where a nice lagered beer hits the spot. It also gave me a chance to make a Corona clone for my "wimp" friends that don't enjoy "real" beer

 

[cheezydemon]

Well I am going to try it.(if anyone still cares) Thanks for all the responses. I thought that I would do an oktoberfest, but in researching, I found out that (no to ruffle any feathers) but that style is really only popular because it has such a cool name. I may try one some day, but with the help of mensch(Thanks again) I am going for a Munich Helles. I am going to leave it in the garage most of the winter and hope for the best. Don't worry, Lagering won't live or die by the garage results for me, and I may end up with a fridge in the mean time anyways.

 

[Yooper]

Well, just a thought, but it is getting to be Maibock time! I'm brewing mine the first week of December. It's my husband's favorite style, and I only make it once a year, so it's a treat for us.

It's a little bigger tasting than a Munich Helles with a little more maltiness.

Whatever you do, keep us posted!

 

[cheezydemon]

Well, just a thought, but it is getting to be Maibock time! I'm brewing mine the first week of December. It's my husband's favorite style, and I only make it once a year, so it's a treat for us.

It's a little bigger tasting than a Munich Helles with a little more maltiness.

Whatever you do, keep us posted!

Thanks Yooper! You are great.

I went with the Munich Helles. It is in the crawlspace which should be great this time of year, but it is supposed to be 61F tomorrow???? Ouch.

I will be utilizing your "son of a" method to keep it down. Thanks again!

 

[Soulive]

The only lagers I drink are Vienna/Marzens. I don't really have any desire to lager, right now. If I want to brew a Vienna or Marzen, I'll probably untraditionally ferment them with ale yeast at cool temps...

 

[cheezydemon]

I am still a little bit of a skeptic. I will let you know if it seems worth the trouble when it is done.

 

[zoebisch01]

MMm lager season is upon me! I am fortunate to have a basement that pretty much stays at 50 °F during the winter right up to March when I brew my Pils and Oktoberfest, which cannot be made properly any other way.

Sp the long and short of it is....if you like Pils, Octoberfest, Maibock, etc then you need to lager. As for the Oktoberfest, it is a perfect beer for long days of drinking and eating which is the real reason why it is so popular. That and tradition really.

 

[hjherbenson]

I usually brew 10 gals then split it betwen two carboys one gets a ale yeast the other gets lagered. This week I'm doing my Phat Tyre one with Fat Tire ale yeast the other with a Octoberfest then just before bottling brew a Imperial version and poor right on the origanal yeast cake. Should be lots of fun