Bernie Brewer
Grouchy Old Fart
OK, guys get ready to make with the skunk piss jokes. I have been brewing for at least a dozen years now, and while I know I'm never going to get seriously into the science behind it, I think I have gotten pretty good at making beer. All kinds of beer. I have made pilseners, bocks, trappists, APAs, wheats, hefes, marzens, kolsches, wee heavys, scottish ales, mild ales, American ambers, nut brown ales, & prolly a bunch more that I can't think of at the moment.
One style of beer that I have never made is a light American lager. That's right- a BMC style beer. While we here at HBT like to be downright condescending about BMC-no flavor, no body, etc.- anyone that knows anything about brewing can say that the light American lager is just about the most difficult beer to brew. Well, I gave it a go today. So go ahead and make your jokes- I don't care.
The ingredients were simple-and minimal:
Fizzy Yellow Beer
5# 2-row
2 1/2 # flaked corn (I know, I know)
1/2 oz Mt Hood 5% 60 min
1/4 oz Mt Hood 5% 15 min
Wyeast American Lager yeast
That's it. Funny thing was, there were so few grains in the mash that they didn't even reach up to the thermometer in my tun, so I had to take temps with a dial-type thermometer. I thought that was kinda funny.
Kept my mash steady at 150 for 75 minutes and batch sparged. In retrospect I probably should have used some Irish Moss, but oh, well, I didn't think of it until it was too late.
I figure my basement will be cold enough to ferment this for about another month, and by then I should have my friend's old fridge to lager it in, along with the bock and the Marzen I've already brewed this year.
If it turns out like it should, I'll take it camping on Memorial day and feed it to the BMC masses, while I drink the Bock I brewed last month. If it doesn't, oh, well, I didn't spend much money on ingredients....
OK, joke away.
One style of beer that I have never made is a light American lager. That's right- a BMC style beer. While we here at HBT like to be downright condescending about BMC-no flavor, no body, etc.- anyone that knows anything about brewing can say that the light American lager is just about the most difficult beer to brew. Well, I gave it a go today. So go ahead and make your jokes- I don't care.
The ingredients were simple-and minimal:
Fizzy Yellow Beer
5# 2-row
2 1/2 # flaked corn (I know, I know)
1/2 oz Mt Hood 5% 60 min
1/4 oz Mt Hood 5% 15 min
Wyeast American Lager yeast
That's it. Funny thing was, there were so few grains in the mash that they didn't even reach up to the thermometer in my tun, so I had to take temps with a dial-type thermometer. I thought that was kinda funny.
Kept my mash steady at 150 for 75 minutes and batch sparged. In retrospect I probably should have used some Irish Moss, but oh, well, I didn't think of it until it was too late.
I figure my basement will be cold enough to ferment this for about another month, and by then I should have my friend's old fridge to lager it in, along with the bock and the Marzen I've already brewed this year.
If it turns out like it should, I'll take it camping on Memorial day and feed it to the BMC masses, while I drink the Bock I brewed last month. If it doesn't, oh, well, I didn't spend much money on ingredients....
OK, joke away.