How many are brewing Lagers in 2019?

[Jlco25]

My brew schedule for 2019 is as follows:
- Bohemian Pilsner (currently lagering)
- Russian Imperial Stout
- Austrian Lager
- Saison
- Amber Ale
- Pre Prohibition American Lager

 

[JohnSand]

I don't plan much. I'll probably repeat a few of my favorite recipes, brew a couple of holiday beers, and try something new, or very old. I have a lager on tap, and one in the basement. I'll certainly make a couple more.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Just brewed a German Pils last weekend. Next brewday in two weeks will be a Dunkel. Next after that will be a Vienna Lager, followed by a Helles.
Come to think of it, my brew plan, which goes out to August with 1-2 beers a month, doesn't have any ales in it until August.

Lagers, lagers, and more lagers!

 

[couchsending]

Lagers so far in 2019

Double Decocted Helles
Single Decoction the/wheat Landbier
Double Decocted Chez Pils

Hopefully a Helles Spezial tomorrow with some Sauergut even.

Italian Pils and German Pils on the horizon.

 

[Vale71]

Sorry for the tangent, but I have to ask. What the heck is an Italian Pils??

 

[Beer666]

I am brewing at least 80% lagers nowadays. I just cant get enough. Recently made a Czech Lager, German pils, red x lager, rice lager, Vienna Lager, Maris Otter Lager and no boil lagers.

 

[couchsending]

Sorry for the tangent, but I have to ask. What the heck is an Italian Pils??

Something similar to Tipopils the Italian Pilsner that has inspired a lot of new “pilsners” here in the US. It’s what Pivo from Firestone is modeled after.

Just a very dry, somewhat bitter German Pils that’s dry hopped with a noble variety or a somewhat noble variety.

 

[Jako]

i brew with the season. lager late fall into early spring and summer ales and high temp tolerance yeast. this year i plan to build a fermenting chamber.

 

[Home_alone1]

Brewed a pils in January , brewed a Märzen rauchbier yesterday , I still need 1 or 2 more to do . I’ve canceled my lager only quest for the year because I bought that new Gose book so I have to try something out of it !

I might brew a helles next or a Vienna lager as I’ve never made one of those

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

With my 10th year of homebrewing behind me, I've decided to focus this year more on brewing lagers to enjoy and maybe some beers that my SWMBO would enjoy. With that style it definitely requires some scheduling with the available equipment and when you want to be able to enjoy the final product. Last year was lots of hoppy stuff.

I'm mainly planning on brewing double/triple batches (I have a few people w/o equipment that I am fostering into the hobby) of the following from Gordon Strong's "Modern Homebrew Recipes" book:

Stout
- Irish Stout - ready prior to St.Patty's day

Ales
- Classic Blonde
- Flanders Red - aging for a year

Lagers
- Helles - ready by the end of May
- Nothing But Vienna - have made before and am looking forward to brew again
- Killer Kolsch
- Dark American Lager

One of the things I like about this book is the addition of water treatment using RO water which I put in last year. Definitely made a difference in my brewing since I have well water as my water source.

What are you brewing this year?

After about 10 years myself, I began production of lagers this year with the construction of my fermentation chamber bringing in thermowell controlled temp control and a used freezer i got from craigs list. Now i am doubling fermenting capacity by doing one lager in the chamber and one ale in the house. Here is what is in the works.
Dry Coconut rye stout (b4 ferm chamber)
Czech pilsner
Row 2 hill 56 pale ale (indoor)
Helles Munich lager
Peanut butter cocoa nib milk porter

This should hold me over until april. I want to do a dopplebock at some point this year also.

 

[catdaddy66]

I am going with the warm lager fermentation until my birthday when I get the inkbird (shh... No one knows yet!) for my mini fridge. I can get the primary pretty darn cool in my swamp cooler so the temps stay at the upper end of the range for my yeast to thrive. Did this once before with a German pilsner using wlp800. My friend who runs the lhbs that I use cautioned me against going too warm with that yeast but the results were awesome!

 

[njviking]

I'm a gonna brew beer this year! Not gonna fuss too much about it. Not gonna play the latest trends. Gonna put wort in a fermenter. Gonna control temps. Gonna drink results. It has happily worked for 30+ years . . . It will keep working i am sure. If i stay alive long enough and my liver don't give out, i may even get to see poopy come back around to brewing beer flavored beer! Like they did when i joined this forum!!! (not TOOOOOO MUCH offense intended - but WHY is everyone so hell bent on making beer taste like everything but beer? I mean If I want a glass of Orange juice, I will just have . . . .Well a glass of orange juice!!! I spent a decade learning how to make a clear beer now everyone wants it to come out like a glass of sludge! Strange days . . . But EVERYTHING comes full circle. I'll be here when you kids catch up!)

It does indeed come full circle. I started brewing English and German beer in 1991. Followed the trends through, until the last couple where I find myself brewing English and German ales/lagers again; and my newfound passion over the last couple years.... American adjunct Lagers. The most challenging style to perfect on a homebrew scale.
Right now I have a Mexican Lager, Marzen, Berlinner, Bmc and Helles in the lagering cooler. I try to cycle them out so there are at least 5 on deck at all times.
I also have a cream ale, Mexicanish ale,Black Ipa and an Esb on tap now. Stout, pale ale, and kolsch on deck waiting the'yre turn at the tap.

Today throuh sunday I plan to get at least 5 batches done. Brut, Gose, Mex lager, Vienna , Bmc

 

[madscientist451]

I'll brew 4-5 lager batches between now and the end of April, and let them sit (kegged) in my cold basement until I put them in the cooler. I don't brew much in the summer but I'll have beer to drink.
On my list:
-Bavarian light lager
-American lager with corn or rice
-Kolsch
-A darker lager, probably a German style
-Maybe an experimental lager with rye/oats/wheat

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

It does indeed come full circle. I started brewing English and German beer in 1991. Followed the trends through, until the last couple where I find myself brewing English and German ales/lagers again; and my newfound passion over the last couple years.... American adjunct Lagers. The most challenging style to perfect on a homebrew scale.
Right now I have a Mexican Lager, Marzen, Berlinner, Bmc and Helles in the lagering cooler. I try to cycle them out so there are at least 5 on deck at all times.
I also have a cream ale, Mexicanish ale,Black Ipa and an Esb on tap now. Stout, pale ale, and kolsch on deck waiting the'yre turn at the tap.

Today throuh sunday I plan to get at least 5 batches done. Brut, Gose, Mex lager, Vienna , Bmc

What tips do you have on brewing mexi lagers? I started doing lagers this year and have 2 planned in the coming months. A basic lager that i hope is somewhere near cerveza imperial and a dark vienna style that i hope is near ***** modelo. Both recipes im using omega yeast and including flaked maize. Other than that is it really the same as a german beer?

 

[njviking]

I call them mexi lagers, but in reality they are an american adjunct or vienna lager. I just hop them with a lime/lemon type hop and use 940 yeast.
The 940 yeast is a real gem. I don't even wash it anymore. I ferment my mexicans in a conical. I collect 1 or 2 bulbs of trub then just pour wort right back on top of the yeast. I've been doin this for 2 years now and have added 2 extra packs of yeast to keep it fresh. It seems happy and there is usually enough by eyesight to just keep fermenting on it. Probably going on 30 or so batches this way.

 

[njviking]

I guess what also seperates "some" vienna vs mexican lagers is the addition of corn. A couple micro breweries around Playa Del Carmen use maze in their vienna mash bill. A little sweeter than a traditional vienna but very tastynonetheless.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

I call them mexi lagers, but in reality they are an american adjunct or vienna lager. I just hop them with a lime/lemon type hop and use 940 yeast.
The 940 yeast is a real gem. I don't even wash it anymore. I ferment my mexicans in a conical. I collect 1 or 2 bulbs of trub then just pour wort right back on top of the yeast. I've been doin this for 2 years now and have added 2 extra packs of yeast to keep it fresh. It seems happy and there is usually enough by eyesight to just keep fermenting on it. Probably going on 30 or so batches this way.

Interesting. Have you figured out what brewery the 940 is from? So this lime hop, is it a nobel hop varietal or are you using like citra hops?

 

[njviking]

940 is Modello.

any clean bittering hop like ctz or magnum to about 15, then its up to you. I like sorrachi ace, mouteka, equinot, loral, and recently I have been very taken with cashmere.
you can also zest a lime or 2 .Either at the near end of the boil or after fermentation is complete and kinda dry hop it for 4 or 5 dys before packaging.

it doesn't take much to bitter or flavor these, I think anywhere between .25 and .5 oz hop at flameout will get you a subtle lime flavor.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

940 is Modello.

any clean bittering hop like ctz or magnum to about 15, then its up to you. I like sorrachi ace, mouteka, equinot, loral, and recently I have been very taken with cashmere.
you can also zest a lime or 2 .Either at the near end of the boil or after fermentation is complete and kinda dry hop it for 4 or 5 dys before packaging.

it doesn't take much to bitter or flavor these, I think anywhere between .25 and .5 oz hop at flameout will get you a subtle lime flavor.

Why is it that I have literally never heard of these hop varietals before? Thank you for the detailed info[emoji482]

 

[deadwolfbones]

My first true lager is on tap right now and she's a beaut:

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

My first true lager is on tap right now and she's a beaut:

Truely, an inspirational image for an i can't wait for spring friday.

 

[schematix]

Been on a roll lately. All this from 2 packs of Wy2206. Repitching to get my moneys worth, and cell counts way up there. Some outstanding beer has been made.

Jan 25: 10G pils
Feb 6: 10G pils
Feb 16: 10G marzen
Mar 1: 10G pils

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

Been on a roll lately. All this from 2 packs of Wy2206. Repitching to get my moneys worth, and cell counts way up there. Some outstanding beer has been made.

Jan 25: 10G pils
Feb 6: 10G pils
Feb 16: 10G marzen
Mar 1: 10G pils

Sounds like your ferm is going well since you are turning them around in 2 weeks. How long do you lager them post ferm? Im close to tapping my first real lager. A czech pils.

 

[MildAvers]

On my 5th batch with Wyeast 2007 (Budweiser). I just love this yeast and its characteristics, soft malt w/ enough hop presence to be pleasing.

Most of my lagers are well attenuated in the 1.035-1.050 range, using a base of pilsner with rice syrup solids 66%/33% and bittered to a BU:GU 33%. I've tried 5 min. flavor/aroma hops in the last few (Saaz, Tettnang, Mittlefrau). What a delight those hops are! Grain/adjunct/hops in a golden ratio also makes an excellent light beer.

I do enjoy the bigger and maltier lagers, marzen, octoberfest, bock, doppelbock, etc... but my preference still lies in the light lagers. Helles is "big" for me.

Would love to try 940 on a Vienna/Corn golden ratio w/ Saaz... wow my mouth is watering!

 

[schematix]

Sounds like your ferm is going well since you are turning them around in 2 weeks. How long do you lager them post ferm? Im close to tapping my first real lager. A czech pils.

I have gone to extensive lengths in my brewery to speed up lager fermentation. Even at 45F, moderate (1.048) lagers are done with primary in 6-8 days. Slightly stronger lagers (1.058) take more like 7-10 days. With proper oxygenation, yeast health and high pitching rates, i see lag times around 12 hours and steady fermentation.

I am also spunding so i'll transfer them to a serving keg with a few gravity points left and then take them down to 30F over the course of a week or so. By the time they reach 30F they are already fully carbonated.

I have a well established pipeline - 13 kegs, 3 of them always on tap, and enough cold storage for the other 10. I rarely drink them sooner than a month, but from experience i can say they are really good at 4 weeks from brew day. Process process process. Also with spunding they have tremendous flavor stability. A few weeks ago i put a keg on tap that I made in July '18 and it's phenomenally fresh still. Exactly the same as the first keg i drank in Aug-Sept '18.

 

[Home_alone1]

Not fully carbonated yet but it is in bottles , I have kegs but prefer to bottle a lot of my beer.

 

[Sailingeric]

I usually have a lager tap all the time. I usually use WLP Mexican yeast but I do have a lager on now that is made from WLP 830 German yeast. Very yummy. I might have to up it to two lagers on tap at a time.

 

[wobdee]

I've brewed nothing but Lagers for the last 3 years. Usually two 2.5gl batches per month, mostly light Lagers and ambers but an occasional dark thrown in there.

 

[Cantina De Jefe]

I have gone to extensive lengths in my brewery to speed up lager fermentation. Even at 45F, moderate (1.048) lagers are done with primary in 6-8 days. Slightly stronger lagers (1.058) take more like 7-10 days. With proper oxygenation, yeast health and high pitching rates, i see lag times around 12 hours and steady fermentation.

I am also spunding so i'll transfer them to a serving keg with a few gravity points left and then take them down to 30F over the course of a week or so. By the time they reach 30F they are already fully carbonated.

I have a well established pipeline - 13 kegs, 3 of them always on tap, and enough cold storage for the other 10. I rarely drink them sooner than a month, but from experience i can say they are really good at 4 weeks from brew day. Process process process. Also with spunding they have tremendous flavor stability. A few weeks ago i put a keg on tap that I made in July '18 and it's phenomenally fresh still. Exactly the same as the first keg i drank in Aug-Sept '18.

Sounds like you are where i hope to be in about a year with my beer except i probably dont have the space to do 13. I will porbably stay topped out at 8. So what kind of kegs are you fermenting in? Also what is your yeast process. Are harvesting from the bottom or splitting your starters?

 

[WestMichBrewer]

View attachment 615304
... I have kegs but prefer to bottle a lot of my beer.

I keg stuff that I wouldn't mind drinking every day, but bottle stuff that either needs more aging, or styles that I wouldn't like to drink every day.
I like an occasional Dubbel or Stout, but wouldn't drink them every day for instance, so I bottle those.

Should also note that I can currently only tap one keg at a time, so am limited.