Gnomebrewer
Well-Known Member
- Recipe Type
- All Grain
- Yeast
- WY2042 or Saflager S23
- Batch Size (Gallons)
- 5
- Original Gravity
- 1.045
- Final Gravity
- 1.009
- Boiling Time (Minutes)
- 60
- IBU
- 22.6
- Color
- 7.8EBC
- Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
- 7 Days @ 12C/54F
- Secondary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
- 7 Days @ 15C/59F
I've been brewing now for several years, brewed hundreds of batches, drunk most of those batches and, no doubt, destroyed countless brain-cells in the process. It is probably a consequence of my lowered intelligence from this process combined with blissful teenage/young adult memories of drinking Australian lagers that has led me, on multiple occasions on my brewing journey, to try to replicate these cheap beers.
For those who aren't familiar with Australian lagers, they are, compared to American 'BMCs' much drier (through the use of up to 30% table sugar), more bitter (perceptively, not necessarily in actual IBUs) and, typically, more estery from warmer ferment temperatures. They are also (probably because I grew up drinking them) more tasty and drinkable.
I mentioned earlier that I've tried multiple times to replicate Aussie lagers. I've made some good Euro style lagers, great Pilsners and Helles (thanks to Gavin's recipes) and Dunkels, Schwartzbeers etc. but never quite hit the Aussie lager taste. A big part of that is probably that my pallette is more tuned to the nuances of the style, but none of my earlier attempts seemed quite right. This following recipe is spot on - it has aspects of carlton draught, XXXX and VB combined into one, which really tastes Australian. It's a bit of a letdown for me that, after many calculated attempts, this one came from using what I had in the cupboard to make a beer that was supposed to be a 'yeast builder' batch for a Euro lager that I wanted to make. So, enough of my ranting, this is the recipe. It's pretty simple - I hope you like it.
Oh, it's called 'Scorpion lager' because Two of the little bastards managed to make their way in to the boil of the first batch I made.
INGREDIENTS
Ale malt. Enough to get to 1.040. I've tried lots of different lager/pils malts and they just don't work the same. I use Joe White Traditional Ale.
Sugar. About 7.5%. Enough to raise the SG to 1.045. Add at the end of the boil. Double this (and reduce the malt accordingly) to get a drier finish).
Cluster Hops - 10g for a 5gal/20L batch at 10min, and enough as first wort hops to get to 22 to 23 IBUs. The more traditional Pride of Ringwood hop is great if it's fresh but, to me, gives a really weird taste if it's slightly oxidised. Cluster is more reliable and gives that XXXX taste.
Yeast - WY2042 (Danish Lager) or Saflager S23 both give a bit of a 'twang' that is very Australian. WY2042 is probably my favourite lager yeast - It's also great for pilsners and dark-lagers, but S23 gives a bit of fruitiness that is more like Aussie lagers.
Mash at 55C/131F for 20 minutes then 65C/149F for 90 minutes. The long mash helps dry out the beer.
Ferment for 7 days at 12C/54F, or until within about 15% of final gravity, then raise to 15C/59F for another week. I keg at that point then chill in the fridge for a few weeks before drinking (or drink straight away even though it's cloudy as I am with the current batch!). I haven't bottle this particular beer.
I nearly forgot the water. Keep it very low on salts. I've found 30ppm Calcium works well. Going to 50ppm starts to taste odd. Add phosphoric acid to your mash to get a good mash pH.
For those who aren't familiar with Australian lagers, they are, compared to American 'BMCs' much drier (through the use of up to 30% table sugar), more bitter (perceptively, not necessarily in actual IBUs) and, typically, more estery from warmer ferment temperatures. They are also (probably because I grew up drinking them) more tasty and drinkable.
I mentioned earlier that I've tried multiple times to replicate Aussie lagers. I've made some good Euro style lagers, great Pilsners and Helles (thanks to Gavin's recipes) and Dunkels, Schwartzbeers etc. but never quite hit the Aussie lager taste. A big part of that is probably that my pallette is more tuned to the nuances of the style, but none of my earlier attempts seemed quite right. This following recipe is spot on - it has aspects of carlton draught, XXXX and VB combined into one, which really tastes Australian. It's a bit of a letdown for me that, after many calculated attempts, this one came from using what I had in the cupboard to make a beer that was supposed to be a 'yeast builder' batch for a Euro lager that I wanted to make. So, enough of my ranting, this is the recipe. It's pretty simple - I hope you like it.
Oh, it's called 'Scorpion lager' because Two of the little bastards managed to make their way in to the boil of the first batch I made.
INGREDIENTS
Ale malt. Enough to get to 1.040. I've tried lots of different lager/pils malts and they just don't work the same. I use Joe White Traditional Ale.
Sugar. About 7.5%. Enough to raise the SG to 1.045. Add at the end of the boil. Double this (and reduce the malt accordingly) to get a drier finish).
Cluster Hops - 10g for a 5gal/20L batch at 10min, and enough as first wort hops to get to 22 to 23 IBUs. The more traditional Pride of Ringwood hop is great if it's fresh but, to me, gives a really weird taste if it's slightly oxidised. Cluster is more reliable and gives that XXXX taste.
Yeast - WY2042 (Danish Lager) or Saflager S23 both give a bit of a 'twang' that is very Australian. WY2042 is probably my favourite lager yeast - It's also great for pilsners and dark-lagers, but S23 gives a bit of fruitiness that is more like Aussie lagers.
Mash at 55C/131F for 20 minutes then 65C/149F for 90 minutes. The long mash helps dry out the beer.
Ferment for 7 days at 12C/54F, or until within about 15% of final gravity, then raise to 15C/59F for another week. I keg at that point then chill in the fridge for a few weeks before drinking (or drink straight away even though it's cloudy as I am with the current batch!). I haven't bottle this particular beer.
I nearly forgot the water. Keep it very low on salts. I've found 30ppm Calcium works well. Going to 50ppm starts to taste odd. Add phosphoric acid to your mash to get a good mash pH.
