First Attempt at a Light Lager

[off7spring]

Hey everyone,

So I wanted to brew a style that I haven't made before (I've mostly stuck to pale ales/IPA's and hefeweizens up until now). I've always wanted to brew a light lager (and possibly turn it into an IPL) just because I think it'd be a fun challenge.

That being said, I am currently reading up on light lager partial mash recipes (I'm not all grain yet), but I'm not finding a lot.

Does anyone have any advice/recipe suggestions/general information on a partial mash light lager recipe?

I've been researching the lagering process and the general consesus recommends a starter since the lagering temps tend to drop out some yeast. Would pitching 2 vials of yeast be a good substitute for a starter?

Also, if anyone's made an IPL, any hop suggestions are welcome. I don't want to ruin this with the wrong hops.

Lastly, I have a temperature controlled environment (chest freezer with an STC-1000), so keeping a constant temperature shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks!

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

First, check the recipe section and you'll find tons of suggestions. Brewing lagers mainly differs from ales in just two ways. One - pitch about double the yeast (be sure it's lager yeast). Two - fermentation temp control.

Find an online pitching calculator (I use YeastCalc) and figure out your starter. Simply using 2 vials will probably not do it. You may have to step it up at least once and decant before pitching. A stir plate will help. StirStarter is a low cost option.

If you use pilsner malt, be sure to boil a bit longer. Then cool to pitching temp (~50F), pitch your yeast and hold that temp for 10 - 14 days or until you are 75-80% of the way to your FG. Then let it warm up to the low 60's for a d-rest for about 3 days. Then drop it ~4F/day until you get to the high 30's (38-ish). Let it sit there for at least a month - longer if you have the patience - and then prime, bottle and condition at room temp for a few weeks.

As you can see, temp control is critical. Unless you gave a cold basement (i.e. 50-ish), a warm house and a fridge with room for a fermenter, you will need a fermentation chamber (chest freezer) and a temp controller.

As for the fermenting process above, you will find many variations on this site. There's even a thread on here that espouses a lagering process in half the time. But I find this method to be a good basic reasonably fool proof method that doesn't require over-thinking. Good luck and enjoy!

Edit: oops. Just saw you have a freezer and controller. Good.

 

[ong]

You really need a pretty good-sized starter for a lager -- you'd want to pitch more like 4 vials of yeast, which is why it's so much more economical to do something like a 3-4 liter starter.

The only issue with PM/extract is that it's going to be harder to get it really bone dry, which sounds like what you're going for. Maybe use the pilsen extract and no crystal, and keep your mash temps low (148-ish).

 

[ong]

And hops for an IPL can be exactly what you'd use in an IPA. I recently did an IPL with all Summit, most of it added in a huge hopstand after the boil. It was pretty phenomenal -- everyone who tried it swore it was a fruit beer, but disagreed what fruit I'd added (apricot, papaya, pineapple). You can do your traditional C-hops and get a great beer, too.

Only thing I would say is different is, because of the long layering process, late hopping and dry hopping become very important to keep the flavor and aroma up by the time it's drinkable. Keg hopping is a good idea if you're kegging.

 

[off7spring]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone...they were much appreciated!

Went to my LHBS yesterday and worked out my recipe with one of the employees there. I asked about a starter he said given the fact that I had less than 24 hours until my brew day (I could only make it today), I could just pitch 2 vials of the yeast I wanted to use (WLP840). So I did that this time. Next time I definitely would like to make a starter. I just have a few more questions:

1) My OG was 1.045...I think that's normal for a light lager, but I'm not sure on what the FG should be/at what point I should be starting my diacetyl rest. I was thinking it will finish around 1.00-1.006 but I'm not sure.

2) For the d rest what's a good temp to raise to? Right now I'm at 53F in my ferm chamber. I was thinking maybe 65-70?

3) When the d rest is done, can I rack right to secondary and lager at as close to 32 as possible, or do I need to bring it back down to the 50-55 range for a day or two?

4) When I bottle, do I need to pitch additional yeast or is priming sugar enough? I was reading that corn starch based priming sugar is the one to use, but I'm not 100% sure on that.






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[estricklin]

Skip the secondary. D rest at room 67-to room temp. You shouldn't need to pitch any additional yeast.

I love brewing lite lagers, I actually brew them quite often. I realize you've already brewed by you can certainly still crank out a good lite lager with partial mash to convert some rice. Another option would be to use rice syrup.

I love brewing IPAs with lager yeast, but I had a terrible experience trying to brew an overly hoppy American Lite Lager, not sure what type of lite lager your going for here but definitely let us know how it goes.

Edit:

Oh and your D rest should probably come at 6-8 days.

 

[progmac]

personally i'd skip the IPL for now. just go with the light lager. i agree with estricklin, an overly hopped american lite lager is not going to be anything to write home about...

if you want to bring hops to the party, try dry hopping with a mere quarter ounce of your favorite hop. the taste threshold for hops is so low with this style that you'll notice it.

 

[off7spring]

Thanks for the info...it's much appreciated.

Estricklin - im not sure I follow the "you can certainly still crank out a good lite lager with partial mash to convert some rice. Another option would be to use rice syrup." part. Would I add that to the primary?

Progmac - good idea. I can definitely see where you're coming from just doing some reading online about the hops coming through. I definitely won't be going overboard with any dry hopping.

I'll definitely let everyone know how it turns out when it's done. Hopefully it's good!


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[estricklin]

Thanks for the info...it's much appreciated.

Estricklin - im not sure I follow the "you can certainly still crank out a good lite lager with partial mash to convert some rice. Another option would be to use rice syrup." part. Would I add that to the primary?

Progmac - good idea. I can definitely see where you're coming from just doing some reading online about the hops coming through. I definitely won't be going overboard with any dry hopping.

I'll definitely let everyone know how it turns out when it's done. Hopefully it's good!


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Sorry I didn't go into more detail. If your brewing an American Lite Lager, you'll want to use some rice in your partial mash, but you don't want to use so much that the amount of malted barley can't convert it. The other way to accomplish this is by using "rice extract" or rice syrup. You can add it to the boil directly as you would your malt extract. Many will use corn instead of rice for this particular style, and some will use a combination. Using an adjunct such as rice or corn takes body away and allows for a lighter crisper beer.

 

[off7spring]

Gotcha. Wish I knew about that before I brewed it today lol. Guess it's too late to add that now...think it'll be ok without it? I'm thinking it just won't be a true light lager then


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[estricklin]

Gotcha. Wish I knew about that before I brewed it today lol. Guess it's too late to add that now...think it'll be ok without it? I'm thinking it just won't be a true light lager then


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It will be perfectly fine, don't worry about it. If you used all malt then your looking at a finished beer something along the lines of a blonde lager, which is fine, and a style that can stand a bit more hops too!

 

[dfhar]

If you're serious about it and want to see what lager (and beer, really) should be I would really recommend a Munich Helles. It is the pinnacle of 10,000 years of brewing tradition.

This is the best recipe I've brewed:

http://braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php?title=Edel_Hell

 

[off7spring]

Thanks everyone for the answers and advice. I just wanted to follow up on this. I calculated my estimated FG from Brew Toad and it put it at like 1.014. I started my diacetyl rest accordingly and everything seems to be going well. I took hydrometer readings 2 days ago and just now...seems to have leveled off at 1.021. Considering my OG was 1.045, that's kind of weak ABV. I was really shooting for more of a 4.5-5 range. Is there anything I can do to get it down to that level. I'm guessing repitching another vial of yeast (I used WLP-840 and pitched 3 initially) isn't an option given I've started my d-rest? I kept the temperature within the 50-55F range as stated on the yeast instructions.

On another note, the sulfur odor given off by the fermentation process has faded a lot over the last few days, which is pretty exciting.

 

[estricklin]

Thanks everyone for the answers and advice. I just wanted to follow up on this. I calculated my estimated FG from Brew Toad and it put it at like 1.014. I started my diacetyl rest accordingly and everything seems to be going well. I took hydrometer readings 2 days ago and just now...seems to have leveled off at 1.021. Considering my OG was 1.045, that's kind of weak ABV. I was really shooting for more of a 4.5-5 range. Is there anything I can do to get it down to that level. I'm guessing repitching another vial of yeast (I used WLP-840 and pitched 3 initially) isn't an option given I've started my d-rest? I kept the temperature within the 50-55F range as stated on the yeast instructions.

On another note, the sulfur odor given off by the fermentation process has faded a lot over the last few days, which is pretty exciting.

Give it some more time and it may drop more. If you going to repitch more yeast at this point, get them very active in a starter and pitch them at high krausen and you'll be a lot more likely to get your FG down than just throwing a vial or packet of yeast in to beer that's already fermented mostly all the way.

 

[off7spring]

Give it some more time and it may drop more. If you going to repitch more yeast at this point, get them very active in a starter and pitch them at high krausen and you'll be a lot more likely to get your FG down than just throwing a vial or packet of yeast in to beer that's already fermented mostly all the way.

Thanks. I am going to check in a day or two then go from there. I agitated the fermenter some (careful not to splash the beer) to stir up some of the yeast and it looked like it was bubbling again some, so hopefully that did the trick. If not, I will pursue the starter route.