Lager recipes the ale way

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SnickASaurusRex

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I'm set up to do both, but I really enjoy Ales. The only lager I usually tinker about with is my Bohemian Pils recipe, and the occasional Bock.

I'm just wondering what happens if you brew up some traditional lager styles, but then ferment them with ale yeast and temps?

It's more of a curiosity thing. I've been tempted to brew my Pils with a clean American yeast like Chico, or maybe a spicy Belgian, just to see what it makes. :D
 
If you do that, you get light hybrid ales. Most people won't even notice unless you ferment really warm. Safale-05 is one that I commonly use to make light ales for summer quaffing. I think that you still get good results in the 68-72F range.
 
well, you'd have an ale. you might have more esther production and taste profile than youd be used to from you lagered version. it would taste like an ale pretty much. it wouldnt be as crisp, clean, and it would be more malty and a little bit more acrid, but it would still taste great, just wouldnt be a lager.
 
Brewing your pilsner with Belgian yeast would be the furthest thing from a true lager, though some Belgian ales actually have ingredients not too far from a pilsner, yeast aside.
 
Brewing your pilsner with Belgian yeast would be the furthest thing from a true lager, though some Belgian ales actually have ingredients not too far from a pilsner, yeast aside.

Yeah That is what I was thinking. Like a starting point to come up with some funky brews.
 
I've also made some tasty summertime ales with grain bills resembling lagers and fermented with Kolsch yeast (Wyeast 2565- the ale yeast that wants to be a lager yeast). This works especially well in the wintertime, when my basement is nice and cool.
 
a strong pils fermented with a belgian ale yeast = belgian strong pale, more or less
 
I have one on tap now and it is delicious. Mostly Pilsner, a little wheat, a little Vienna and I think a touch of crystal 10. I hopped it with Northern Brewer and Tettanager. Fermented with Safale-05. A perfect beer for warm weather drinking – it exceeded my expectations.

I say try it. Don’t be skerd ;)
 
This is what I LOVE about brewing -- Playing with different ingredients and bending the style guidelines.

Want to add an ounce of 14%AA Sorachi Ace hops at flameout? Go for it! (the results were delicious, by the way). Want to brew a sour pilsener with brett? Have at it!

This is one of the things I love most about making my own beer -- getting way, way outside the box from time to time. Some of the experimental beers will be winners, others merely weird, but all are fun.
 
the first home brew i ever made was munton's continental pilsner and i had no clue about lagering. the temp was pretty steady around 65-70 degrees through the whole process, as i read some homebrew books i realized that i screwed up and prayed that it didnt tast like crap. when finished i have to say it was pretty good, not the typical pilsner that i was hoping for. it had some ale like notes to it, and i didnt mind at all, i had no problem drinking a couple in the evenings.
 
I made Biermunchers 3-Crop cream ale with S-05.

Its just like a BMC beer most BMC drinkers will like it, but it has a very slight bit of corn taste. Thats being hyper critical in reference to BMC but right on for a cream ale.

I'm making a TriPPPle HoPPPed ML clone right now. I'm using S-05 and it tasted awesome when it went to the secondary. I added amylase enzyme to it take the gravity down to 1.000. It'll be a nice beer for $10 and good amount of ABV:4.6%

Miller Lite Tripple Hopped with Cascade
 
I have made a pils with S-23 lager yeast, and the same recipe with US-05. Other than a few degrees difference in fermentation temp, everything was the same.

You can tell the difference between the batches, but not by much. Both are very nice and tasty.

:mug:
 
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