Amber/Red Lager for the guys- Critique it harshly

[BilltownBrewingCo]

I've always brewed for me and my very few hop head and/or good beer appreciating buddies. This beer is an attempt to bridge the gap between them, and the Busch Light guys. Yuengling Lager is a beer that they all seem to appreciate. Also, my ol' man is a corn farmer in Iowa, so this provides an opportunity for me to incorporate his grain into my beer. I'm not exactly looking for a Yuengling clone, but looking for a session-able (if not crush-able) lager that's red, crystal clear and has some flavor.

Recipe:

Grain Bill-
5lbs- German RedX (12 L)
4lbs- American Pale 2-Row (1.8L)
2lbs- American Victory (28 L)
2lbs- Milled Iowa Gold (Corn) (.08L)

Hop Schedule-
60 Minutes- .5oz Cascade
10 Minutes- 1oz Cluster

Yeast-
Mangrove Jack M84 (Bohemian Lager Yeast)

Fermentation-
50 Degrees 2 weeks
65 degrees 4 days (D-rest)
Rack to secondary
Crash 5 degrees daily to 40 degrees
40 degrees for 3 weeks- Gelatin after 2

I like to bottle condition, so will likely need to add a smidgen more yeast along with the bottling sugar.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/784312/amber-red-lager

 

[bierhaus15]

Have you used RedX malt before? It has a strong toasty and malty flavor by itself and you could easily make a nice amber lager just by using that alone. Incorporating corn be fine as well and get you closer to Yuengling, although you'll either have to use flaked corn or boil it separately and add it to the mash. If using RedX, I would not use any victory malt. If you insist, I'd use no more than 3-5%.

Also, I'd reverse the hop additions, cluster at full boil and cascade at 10.

Yuengling is 2/6-row malt, corn grits, and caramel color.

 

[BilltownBrewingCo]

Have you used RedX malt before? It has a strong toasty and malty flavor by itself and you could easily make a nice amber lager just by using that alone. Incorporating corn be fine as well and get you closer to Yuengling, although you'll either have to use flaked corn or boil it separately and add it to the mash. If using RedX, I would not use any victory malt. If you insist, I'd use no more than 3-5%.

Also, I'd reverse the hop additions, cluster at full boil and cascade at 10.

Yuengling is 2/6-row malt, corn grits, and caramel color.

I did consider doing a RedX/Corn malt bill. Don't hate the idea at all. Added Victory strictly for the added SRM, not used it before, but without the 2 row it likely isn't necessary.

 

[thehaze]

I've just done a Vienna Lager and I made it just a tad hoppier than the styles asks for. Here was my take, which came out extremely good and in no time:

94% Weyermann Vienna + 6% Chateau Biscuit ( just to reinforce the toasty, biscuitty notes from the Vienna malt )
1 x W-34/70 ( fermented at 62F with a few days' diacetyl rest at 68F ) / OG: 1.050 / FG: 1.011 / 35 IBU / 5.1% ABV / 5.2 Mash pH / Mash temp.: 149F / 2.5 vol. CO2
65% Brewers Gold DE + 35% Comet DE ( both German grown ) - did a 30 minutes whirlpool at 158F with 3.5 oz Brewers Gold DE and 1.75 oz Comet DE to get more hop aroma and flavour into the beer. NO dry hopping.

Came out very citrusy, with some grapefruit rind, aroma is " lager ", warm, toasty malt, some citrus. Taste is citrusy, rindy, toasty, dry, crisp, good lingering bitterness.

I too bottle. I brewed this on January 19 and bottled on January 28 with no additional yeast. Carbonation was fine at 5 days, no gushers, no flat bottles. It has since cleared out very well.

My suggestion would be to half the Victory malt, keep the corn and RedX, but I would urge you to try some Weyermann Vienna. It really adds that fresh, crisp, toasty flavour you might be looking for. I guess the hops are OK, although I do like a bit more hops and hop expression. I will post a picture today, if I open a bottle.

 

[catdaddy66]

I agree with half the victory malt. Also I think switching the hops to opposite (.5oz cluster @60', 1oz Cascade @10') would result in better flavor. That is my personal thoughts on a pretty good looking recipe.

 

[filthyastronaut]

Definitely seems like too much Victory. 15 percent of any single specialty malt is generally not a great idea. If you are looking for color adjustment, small amounts of roasted malt may be appropriate, and if you want to be sure of no flavor contribution, maybe Carafa special or Midnight Wheat. The brewery I work at uses chocolate and a medium crystal for color in our amber lager that is supposed to emulate, but not copy Yuengling, for what it's worth. My other concern would be with enzymes in that grain bill, 4 lbs. of 2-row will probably do the trick but I would double check diastatic power with your overall grains. Red X is about as dark as you can get for a base malt and I believe it only has enough enzyme activity to convert itself.