American Lager Crop Chopper Premium American Lager

[LibertyBrewer]

I hit all the number on the money, which was kinda funny because when I added in my starter, I ended up with right at 5 gallons. It's been cold here, so it has been sitting in the garage on the floor. The big warm up begins today, so I'll move it to the cooler this evening. The temp in the garage this morning was 36. It was still happily bubbling away.

 

[1Mainebrew]

i hit all the number on the money, which was kinda funny because when i added in my starter, i ended up with right at 5 gallons. It's been cold here, so it has been sitting in the garage on the floor. The big warm up begins today, so i'll move it to the cooler this evening. The temp in the garage this morning was 36. It was still happily bubbling away.

yay!

 

[LibertyBrewer]

I transferred this batch to the secondary, after a couple of days doing the diacetyl rest. It tested out at 1.011, and the test jar taste test was quite favorable. If this batch is as good as I think it's going to be, I think there are plans in the works for a 10 gallon batch.

 

[1Mainebrew]

Ah yes the sweet taste of a successful brew!

 

[thrillhouse]

Just wanted to say thanks again for this recipe. It may be the fastest keg kill I've had. Loved it so much that I entered it into a local comp and the NHC. Need to rebrew asap so I'll have it in the pipeline for the summer.

 

[1Mainebrew]

Great idea! It clears like crazy with a little gelatin in the keg, it's really pretty that way

 

[Doed]

I have the ingredients for this and am going to try to brew it this weekend. It will be my first lager.

 

[1Mainebrew]

Thanks man that's a nice compliment

 

[aslander]

I added another chest freezer to my collection of appliances in the basement, and got it set up as a fermentation chamber. I decided to use this recipe for my first lager attempt. By the way, what's with the lack of american lager recipes on HBT? I didn't really see many.

Anyways, this was my smoothest brew day ever. No 'oh crap' moments at all. I wound up getting better efficiency (76%) but expected that before I started. I wound up with 5.25 gallons @ 1.051 OG. I added Gypsum, Chalk, and Lactic Acid for the mash.

Overpitched the yeast a bit, at 65 degrees, and chilled it to 51. Still no activity after about 15 hours, but I will give it some more time before trying to warm it up to wake up the yeast. I've never used S-23, is it normally a very slow starter at 50 degrees?

 

[LibertyBrewer]

I finally kegged mine. FG going into the keg was 1.010@31F., so I'm guessing it really is about 1.008. This stuff came out the clearest of all the beers I've done. No need for any finings, or clearing agents. I have it on the high pressure, so I'll be drinking it tomorrow.

Even my wife likes it. It's that good. I told her I'm brewing up a 10 gallon batch next weekend.

I'll post pics of my first glass.

Thanks, OP for a great recipe.

 

[LibertyBrewer]

Here are the pics of the beer. As you can see this is really clear. The second photo, I used the flash. It looks different, but the first pic shows the true color.

 

[1Mainebrew]

I added another chest freezer to my collection of appliances in the basement, and got it set up as a fermentation chamber. I decided to use this recipe for my first lager attempt. By the way, what's with the lack of american lager recipes on HBT? I didn't really see many.

Anyways, this was my smoothest brew day ever. No 'oh crap' moments at all. I wound up getting better efficiency (76%) but expected that before I started. I wound up with 5.25 gallons @ 1.051 OG. I added Gypsum, Chalk, and Lactic Acid for the mash.

Overpitched the yeast a bit, at 65 degrees, and chilled it to 51. Still no activity after about 15 hours, but I will give it some more time before trying to warm it up to wake up the yeast. I've never used S-23, is it normally a very slow starter at 50 degrees?

Just keep it cool don't warm it up, it'll be fine. Don't worry about the minimal krausen in a lager. It's cool. Sorry for the pun.

 

[aslander]

Just keep it cool don't warm it up, it'll be fine. Don't worry about the minimal krausen in a lager. It's cool. Sorry for the pun.

Yeah I think my buckets are getting old. I don't even get the slightest change in pressure on the airlock. I popped the cover and there is krausen. I'm hoping the s-23 does better than all the negative feedback on other threads. People were commenting that it does better in mid 50s and creates off flavors at lower temps.

 

[1Mainebrew]

Yeah I think my buckets are getting old. I don't even get the slightest change in pressure on the airlock. I popped the cover and there is krausen. I'm hoping the s-23 does better than all the negative feedback on other threads. People were commenting that it does better in mid 50s and creates off flavors at lower temps.

I ferment this at 51 and have never had any of the funny off flavors described by others. Make sure that you pitch enough yeast though! Properly rehydrated is at least 2 packs, not rehydrated is a minimum of 4, or pitch onto part of a yeast cake.

 

[Doed]

Boiled this recipe up on Friday evening. Put it into the fermentation chamber at 51° and pitched 2 packs of rehydrated S-23 on Saturday morning. Looked at it this morning and it has a nice layer of krausen on it.

 

[1Mainebrew]

boiled this recipe up on friday evening. Put it into the fermentation chamber at 51° and pitched 2 packs of rehydrated s-23 on saturday morning. Looked at it this morning and it has a nice layer of krausen on it.

sweet!

 

[aslander]

Just curious: how much of a corn flavor should the flaked corn give? Should it be a noticeable flavor? I did a d rest and tasted and can make out a corn flavor but want to make sure that isn't dms

 

[1Mainebrew]

Does it taste like cooked corn, or just like a corn sweetness? Cooked corn= DMS, corn sweetness= delish PAL.

 

[aslander]

Does it taste like cooked corn, or just like a corn sweetness? Cooked corn= DMS, corn sweetness= delish PAL.

Haha I honestly wouldn't know the difference between cooked corn and corn sweetness! Anyways it was time for me to transfer to secondary for lagering. During this, I filled a 1L bottle and force carbed it and threw it in the freezer. The wife and I had a glass each and both thought it was good. Tasted like a BMC but with less skunkiness, a bit more mouthfeel, and a mild fruitiness from the cascade. This would be a good one to make for a last minute party because you could go grain to glass in 10 days. Thanks for the recipe!

 

[LibertyBrewer]

Haha I honestly wouldn't know the difference between cooked corn and corn sweetness! Anyways it was time for me to transfer to secondary for lagering. During this, I filled a 1L bottle and force carbed it and threw it in the freezer. The wife and I had a glass each and both thought it was good. Tasted like a BMC but with less skunkiness, a bit more mouthfeel, and a mild fruitiness from the cascade. This would be a good one to make for a last minute party because you could go grain to glass in 10 days. Thanks for the recipe!

It tastes a whole lot better if you let it age. Trust me on this.

 

[1Mainebrew]

It tastes a whole lot better if you let it age. Trust me on this.

Sooooooooo true! Don't skimp on the lagering.

 

[aslander]

I went to check on and drop the lagering temp a bit more and interestingly enough the airlock is bubbling about every 2 seconds. I know it could be off gassing but I'm wondering if transferring to secondary restarted fermentation. I had gotten a stable 1.008 reading for 4 days. What FG have you all ended at?

 

[Doed]

Boiled this recipe up on Friday evening. Put it into the fermentation chamber at 51° and pitched 2 packs of rehydrated S-23 on Saturday morning. Looked at it this morning and it has a nice layer of krausen on it.

I put this in secondary on Sunday, 4/27. My OG was 1.054, FG was 1.012. The sample tasted fine, no cream corn, that I could detect. Put it back into the ferm chamber and set the STC-1000 at 0.8° C.

I going to let this sit until mid-June, about the time wheat should be harvested around here, then keg and carb so its ready for the 4th of July.

 

[LibertyBrewer]

I doubled the recipe yesterday, and made up a 10gal batch. I missed most of my numbers on the mash, by a little bit, but the OG turned out right. So much for dumb luck and patience. I have 2 5 gallon fermenters sitting in the cooler at 55 right now. I'll see about 6 tonight how it's going. I used WLP840 on mine.

 

[1Mainebrew]

I made another 5 gallons on Monday and its fermenting beautifully now. I actually overshot my gravity and needed to water it down a little going into the fermenter!

 

[aslander]

I brewed this a second time today. The first batch I brewed was excellent. I brought a keg of this and a witbier to a get-together and people chose this one much more frequently.

This time, I tried altering the grain bill somewhat. I did:

7 lbs 2-row
1.5 lbs flaked corn
1 lb flaked rice
.5 lb vienna
.5 lb victory

I also mashed a bit lower, at 147 for 75 mins.

Will let you know in 6 weeks how it compares

 

[LibertyBrewer]

I got the best compliment on this beer about a week ago. One of my friends was over and was drinking a glass of it, and told me, "I'd actually buy this."

 

[1Mainebrew]

I got the best compliment on this beer about a week ago. One of my friends was over and was drinking a glass of it, and told me, "I'd actually buy this."

Well brewed señor.

 

[1Mainebrew]

I just got my next batch of Crop Chopper on tap yesterday...now just waiting for it to carb up! I used only 2 row, more corn and less rice this time, so we will see how it changes things. I'll keep you posted.

 

[1Mainebrew]

This is the next batch I've brewed of the CCPAL. I made it with a little more corn and less rice this time and its a little sweeter and not as dry tasting, though the SG was at 1.010. My OG was 1.057 this time, I still like it