I have these ingredients, can I make a pale lager?

[omazing]

Hey guys,
I'm in a dry country and I was able to get these ingredients in, can I make a pale lager with them?

1- Briess Pilsen Light DME (6lbs)
2- Pilsen Belgian grain (1lb)
3- Hallertau Hop Pellets 1 oz
4- Saflager W-34/70 Dry Yeast (11.5 g)
5- 1 irish moss tablet

I can't get any more ingredients so this is what i'm planning on doing:

1) steep grain for 30 mins at 70C
2) add the DME and bring to a boil
3) add hops, boil for 60mins. add the irish moss tablet at the end of the boil
4) cool wort to room temperature and transfer it to the carboy and then add water to achieve 5G volume. pitch the yeast then.
5) put the fermenter in the fridge (about 3C) and let it ferment for 4 weeks.
6) I have no keg, so i'm planning on using bottles. I'll add sugar to achieve about 2.4CO2 volume.

will this give me a pale lager beer? if not what should I do differently?

Thanks.

 

[dmtaylor]

Your recipe and process should work fine. A couple of minor suggestions:

I would steep your grain in about 1/2 gallon water at closer to 65 C for 45 minutes. This is a little more specific and will generate a more fermentable wort. Then add your extract and continue as planned.

I would also recommend fermenting in a cooler or small tub filled with water and re-freezable ice blocks to try to get closer to about 10-13 C for your fermentation. I just did this on my last batch and it turned out great, I just replaced the ice blocks about every 12 hours for the first 5 or 6 days, after that it doesn't matter anymore and you can bring the temperature up to room temp. For the first few days, 3 C is too cold, and 20 C or higher would be too warm, so if you can bring it down to at least 13-14 C using ice blocks, then your beer will be more clean and lager-like. At least it's worth the attempt for at least the first couple of days while fermentation temperature is the most critical of all.

The rest of your recipe and process look good to me. I think you will enjoy this beer. Cheers.