Help Me Brew Yuengling

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ere109

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To start, I'm from Pennsylvania and love the taste of Yuengling lager. I did a massive search, and came across several posts on several forums claiming to be "Yuengling," so I grabbed them all, made up a spreadsheet, and am trying to piece together a single recipe. (I'd be happy to share the spreadsheet of "other" recipes for anyone who's interested.)
My research revealed that the beer is made using 6-row, corn grits, Crystal 60 (Briess 60L) and German lager yeast, and resulting IBU's are around 17.

This will be my first all-grain batch, and also my first attempt at lagering. I'm a little nervous, and would be happy to listen to suggestions.

RECIPE:
3 lbs. 6-Row
3 lbs. 2-Row
1 lbs. Cara-Pils
1 lbs. Corn Grits
.5 lbs. Crystal 60
.5 oz. Northern Brewer
.25 oz. Tettnanger
Wyeast 2035

There were some conflicts in the steeping instructions. One suggested 150 degrees, the other 158. I was going to shoot for the old standard - 153 degrees - for 90 minutes. I couldn't tell if it wanted me to add the corn grits during the boil, or after removing the grain during the mashing process.
Next, I've got questions about the lager process. One instruction said 50 degrees for seven days, "Drycetel rest" for 2 days, then rack to carboy and lower the temp four degrees per day until it hits 30 degrees, then hold it for four more weeks.
Another recipe just said seven days at 68 degrees, 14 days at 65 degrees.

I'd like to do this batch in about two weeks, so thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
I made this beer a few years ago following this recipe:
8# 2 row
3/4 # flaked maize
1/2 # 80 crystal
6 oz black malt
1/2 oz Cluster - bittering
1/2 oz Cascade - bittering
1/2 oz Cascade - flavor

Wyeast 2308

Mashing at 153 will be just fine. Add the grits/maize for the mash. As for the lagering phase, primary ferment at about 45 or so until your hydrometer says it is about 2/3 done, give or take. Then, remove from the fridge and allow to warm to room temp for your diacetyl rest. This will take about 4 days. Then, rack and cool about a degree or 2 per day and lager at about 35 until you can't take it any longer. Warm to room temp and package. Let age for about a month, then enjoy.
 
Ok. So it sounds like this recipe takes about three months. I'm hoping to have it for a party in August, so that should work.
Any recommendations on yeast? One page suggested smacking yeast four days before brewing and using yeast starter. I've never done either of those. Suggestions would be appreciated.
 
A clean lager yeast with a healthy starter (lager starters are usually about double the amount of ale starters) and good temperature control will be your best bets. Also, don't freak out during fermentation when it's not as explosive as ales you've brewed -- at colder temperatures the gases are more reluctant to leave the liquid and bubble out so it'll look much tamer.

Not knocking what you're trying to do, but out of curiosity what made you want to brew Yuengling even though it's cheap to buy off the shelf? Again, not knocking... just curious.
 
I'm guessing it's because he grew up with tasty "Lager" and now lives outside the distribution area and is really craving it! :p I'm in the same boat and coincidentally it's next on my list too now that I've got my fermentation chamber up and running. I'm going to use the "Pottsville Common" recipe with a few changes -- it looks similar. I'll keep my eye on this thread and post how mine turns out.
 
Yes, I grew up in PA, but now live in Denver, and Yuengling isn't available off the East Coast. I'll keep everyone informed as I brew this, and if it is a success, I'll definitely share the recipe. I'm going to have to do a search for "Pottsville Common."
 
ere109 said:
To start, I'm from Pennsylvania and love the taste of Yuengling lager. I did a massive search, and came across several posts on several forums claiming to be "Yuengling," so I grabbed them all, made up a spreadsheet, and am trying to piece together a single recipe. (I'd be happy to share the spreadsheet of "other" recipes for anyone who's interested.)
My research revealed that the beer is made using 6-row, corn grits, Crystal 60 (Briess 60L) and German lager yeast, and resulting IBU's are around 17.

This will be my first all-grain batch, and also my first attempt at lagering. I'm a little nervous, and would be happy to listen to suggestions.

RECIPE:
3 lbs. 6-Row
3 lbs. 2-Row
1 lbs. Cara-Pils
1 lbs. Corn Grits
.5 lbs. Crystal 60
.5 oz. Northern Brewer
.25 oz. Tettnanger
Wyeast 2035

There were some conflicts in the steeping instructions. One suggested 150 degrees, the other 158. I was going to shoot for the old standard - 153 degrees - for 90 minutes. I couldn't tell if it wanted me to add the corn grits during the boil, or after removing the grain during the mashing process.
Next, I've got questions about the lager process. One instruction said 50 degrees for seven days, "Drycetel rest" for 2 days, then rack to carboy and lower the temp four degrees per day until it hits 30 degrees, then hold it for four more weeks.
Another recipe just said seven days at 68 degrees, 14 days at 65 degrees.

I'd like to do this batch in about two weeks, so thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Suggestions: Yuengling uses Cluster and Cascade for hops and from what I hear the Cascades are the bittering addition. The corn percentage is also pretty high, probably 40% or so. Not saying you should use that much corn but something like 25% will get you into that lighter style and still leave some malt flavor. As far as corn goes I would recommend using flaked maize. They do not have to be cooked like grits or meal, just mix them in with your other grains and mash away. Take your eight pound grain bill and try something like this:

5 lbs 2-row and/or 6-row
2 lbs flaked maize
.5 lb CaraPils
.5 lb Crystal 60L

3/4 oz Cascade @ 60 minutes
1/4 ox Cluster @ 20 minutes

My suggestions on yeasts would be Wyeast 2042 or 2035. :mug:
 
Thanks for the extra info. I guess the bottom line is that there are 10,000 ingredients and just as many combinations, and the best thing to do is to try one and see what happens. I've definitely taken some of your advice, and have changed out my hops. I'll go pick it all up soon.
My next question: what about "smacking" the yeast? I was just planning to use yeast tubes. Is it advisable to prep the yeast before going into lager?
 
this was the beer that got me into beer... it wasn't yellow and had flavor. if I get lagering abilities, I'll still just buy it. $10 a 12pk. I think I'll have one now.
 
Ok, I've done some more research tonight, and am going to try cold fermentation with a one gallon wort/yeast starter. So I'll extract one gallon on brew day, start my yeast in that while the wort chills in the fridge, then combine the two.
Is aerating the beer on the second day (before adding the yeast starter) a problem?

What sort of aerator does everyone prefer? (I've been trying to google 2-micron air stones on Amazon with no luck).
 
It needs the distinctive water of the Schuylkill River. When ever I drink Yuengling, I always feel like I can taste the Schuylkill. Looking forward to see how it turns out. I live in York, but spent a few years away from PA and know what it is like to not have "lager" anywhere to be found.
 
Ying reverse osmosis their water, then adds minerals.

ENS said:
It needs the distinctive water of the Schuylkill River. When ever I drink Yuengling, I always feel like I can taste the Schuylkill. Looking forward to see how it turns out. I live in York, but spent a few years away from PA and know what it is like to not have "lager" anywhere to be found.
Click to expand...
 
Alright, I've decided to cold start my yeast - sorta. I'm going to bring it to room temp, add it to 1 gallon of starter, then drop them in the 50 degree fridge two-ish days before I brew. Hopefully that'll be enough time to get the yeast nice and happy and healthy before I dump a bunch of beer on their heads.
 
I doubt you'll get much yeast activity for a starter in just 2 days at 50 degrees, unless you've got a stir plate in the fridge.
 
Why are you doing a yeast starter in the cold? Do the yeast starter (yes even for lagers) at room temp, remember you're growing yeast not making beer. Then because you're using a lager I would definitely decant the beer/liquid off mostly all the way. Then dump your yeast in the beer. I would pitch at ambient temp and then cool it, this will give your yeast better growth during the lag phase. Then you will want to cool the beer to fermentation temp during the exponential growth phase. That should give you a good amount of yeast to ferment with.
 
So are you saying pitch the yeast at room temp, siphon off the starter liquid, add the yeast to my wort at room temp, then immediately place it in the fridge? Should two days be enough/optimal for a one gallon starter?
 
Two days is not optimal. Most people would do a yeast starter on a stirplate, step it up once or twice (depending on batch size & Original Gravity) - then they'd cold crash the starter in the fridge, decant (pour off the clear beer after the yeast has dropped out of suspension) and then pitch.

Figure about 1 week doing it that way. Your problem with doing a 2 day starter is that the yeast will probably still be suspended & you won't be able to decant.

You probably should go do some reading here: http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter10.html

There's a whole section on lagers on howtobrew.com

You can also check out the Wiki on yeast starters here on HBT: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Starter

If you still have questions- and really want to do a lager - you can also read up on Kaiser's website of German brewing techniques (which has a ton of info on lagers and more... much more!) : http://www.braukaiser.com/wiki/index.php/Fermenting_Lagers

Good luck with it. Remember, yeast never know when you're in a hurry.... they kind of work on their own schedule. But, if you give them the right conditions, they'll make you some damn good beer if you let them.
 
Thanks so much for the links. I'm not planning to brew for two weeks, so I've got plenty of time to wait for yeast starters. My next challenge is manipulating the thermostats in my beer fridge so I can set temps to 34 in the freezer and 50 in the fridge for a perfect fermentation.
 
Consider getting a Temperature controller for your fridge. Lots of flexibility for fermenting Ales or Lagers, or for lagering & cold crashing.

Analog ones can be had new for about $60 http://morebeer.com/view_product/16663/102282/Analog_Temperature_Controller

Digital ones are just a few dollars more, and you can always keep an eye open on Ebay or here in the Classifieds section.

Good luck with it!
 
ere109 said:
Yes, I grew up in PA, but now live in Denver, and Yuengling isn't available off the East Coast. I'll keep everyone informed as I brew this, and if it is a success, I'll definitely share the recipe. I'm going to have to do a search for "Pottsville Common."
Click to expand...

Wait. What?

I live in Florida, and with a Yuengling brewery down the road in Tampa, I love the stuff. One of the few lagers I really really like, and it doesn't hurt that it's dirt cheap too. I can get a 24 pack for about $15 here. (Twist tops though, so I have to abstain whilst gaining the bottles for my bottling operation, lol).

So, i am moving to Phoenix, AZ next month. And you are telling me that I won't be able to get Yuengling there?!?!?! Oh man, I need you to pull through on this recipe buddy, because this beer has serious nostalgia factor for me.
 
You won't be able to get Yuengling in Phoenix unless by chance you find some specialty beer shop that has been able to get it (I haven't found one yet, but I always look hoping one day I'll see that bald eagle carrying me a tasty lager).

I would recommend you bring large quantities with you so you can share. :mug: I grew up in Pennsylvania and it's been hard living without out it! I think my closest alternate out here is Shiner Bock, but not quite the same.

I'm planning to give a similar recipe a try soon, so I'll post my results here too. Unfortunately I haven't had one since Christmas so I'll have to go by memory!
 
Yeah, had Shiner Bock. It's good, but it's NOT Yingeryanger.

Will get some yingyang before heading West. Do a lot of people out there know about it even though they can't get it?
 
I'd never heard of Yeungling before I went on a baseball trip to the east coast. While riding the Amtrack Acela from Boston to NY, me and 3 other guys drank every single Yeungling's they had in the drink car. The next night we cleared the Greenwich Village bar were at out of Yeungling's (I love that you don't have to drive in NYC). Please let us know how this turns out. I'll be a hero if I can serve up some homemade Yeungling's, we can't get it here in Texas.
 
I went on Ebay last night and ordered a "mini digital temperature controller." The unit is neat because it hooks up to a plug and allows you to have a heater AND a fridge plugged in, and it switches back and forth between the two as your temperature probe demands. So I should be able to maintain exactly 50 degrees for my primary, and 34 for my secondary.
 
just have to say I found a 15 pack of Yuengling Tall Boys for $10.99 today!!!!! Nice!

Enjoying an A.O.B. right now. God I will miss this stuff.
 
To give those following this thread an update, I've delayed my initial brew by two extra weeks to work out equipment issues. I ordered a temperature control unit for my beer fridge, because after sanitation temperature is THE major thing to deal with when lagering. The unit showed up last week, but was set for European/Asian voltage, so I'm currently waiting for the corrective part on that.
Aside from that, I ordered a stir bar and really cool PC fan for a stir plate, and have two beautiful yeast starters in my fridge (although I may need to restart the starters at this point). I'll have this beer brewed by the end of the month, and will keep everyone posted.
 
I'm looking forward to your results! I see you're also experiencing the added joy of equipment acquisition that that sometimes accompanies the brews we make!
 
Man, you guys are making me feel like I'm taking my Yuengling for granted. I'm still in PA, and as soon as I started with brewing I wanted to make anything but Yuengling. Partly because it's pretty much the only beer I ever drink and partly because it's so cheap to buy anyway.

I need to go pay my respects.
 
I live in RI and can't get it. The distribution of it doesn't go north of NY city and it doesn't go west. It isn't bad. It is similar to bud heavy. I prefer ales over lager, except when doing a lot of drinking lol. If I had the grain and hops I would probably make it but probably wouldn't go out of my way to make it.
 
Alright, after a month of equipment prep work, I've now got a working temp controller for my fridge, and have borrowed a buddy's plate chiller to cool my wort. I plan to do this brew on Monday. I'll keep everyone informed.
 
Bobby_M said:
Ah, the swill of PA. It tastes like dark Bud light with some cardboard added in my opinion but I understand the nostalgia of it all.
Click to expand...
X2
What I don't understand is how people crap all over micros because they don't taste like the Coors Light they're used to, but love Dingaling Lager.
Probably the worst tasting beer iv'e ever tried.
 
I'm doing a fly sparge as I type. It definitely looks and smells like beer. I've got a few spare cans of Yuengling I'm sampling as my wort goes in. No major pickups yet.
 
Current progress.

ForumRunner_20110530_160458.jpg
 
I realized, this morning, as I looked over my recipe, that I made a few unintended changes. I meant to put in Cluster, but grabbed Chinook. I also ran out of propane mid-way and lost about 20 minutes while refilling tanks, so boiled for an extra 30 minutes to make up for it. This is about what my 10-gallon batch looked like in the pot:

Type: All Grain
Date: 5/7/2011
Batch Size: 10.00 gal
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: Keggle

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 47.06 %
4.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 23.53 %
2.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 11.76 %
2.00 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 11.76 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 5.88 %
0.50 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 8.1 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 5.2 IBU
0.50 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (30 min) Hops 12.3 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2 Pkgs American Lager (Wyeast Labs #2035) Yeast-Lager
 
ere109 said:
I realized, this morning, as I looked over my recipe, that I made a few unintended changes. I meant to put in Cluster, but grabbed Chinook. I also ran out of propane mid-way and lost about 20 minutes while refilling tanks, so boiled for an extra 30 minutes to make up for it. This is about what my 10-gallon batch looked like in the pot:

Type: All Grain
Date: 5/7/2011
Batch Size: 10.00 gal
Boil Time: 90 min Equipment: Keggle

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
8.00 lb Pale Malt (6 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 47.06 %
4.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 23.53 %
2.00 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 11.76 %
2.00 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM) Grain 11.76 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 5.88 %
0.50 oz Northern Brewer [8.50 %] (60 min) Hops 8.1 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (60 min) Hops 5.2 IBU
0.50 oz Chinook [13.00 %] (30 min) Hops 12.3 IBU
1.00 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2 Pkgs American Lager (Wyeast Labs #2035) Yeast-Lager
Click to expand...

For a 10 gallon batch, you're probably way light on the corn and a little light on the crystal.

Here's what I use for a 5 gallon batch.

6.00 lb Pale Malt (6 Row)
2.00 lb Corn, Flaked
1.00 lb Munich Malt
0.75 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM)
0.75 oz Cluster [7.00 %] (60 min)
0.25 oz Cascade [5.50 %] (5 min)

The Munich makes it much better than the original. ;)
 

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